THE PRODUCTION OF URBAN SPACE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRIVATE MEDICAL-HOSPITAL SECTOR IN A MEDIUM-SIZED CITY: THE CASE OF IMPERATRIZ (MA), BRAZIL

Abstract

The private medical-hospital sector has played an increasingly significant role in the urban dynamics of Brazilian medium-sized cities, acting as a driving force of spatial and functional transformations. This article analyzes the production of urban space associated with the expansion of the private healthcare sector in the city of Imperatriz, Maranhão, focusing on location patterns, forms of territorial insertion, and relationships with the surrounding urban environment. The study addresses the problem of understanding how these enterprises contribute to the spatial reorganization of the city. Its main objective is to analyze the role of the private medical-hospital sector in the production of urban space in Imperatriz. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative case study approach, based on spatial analysis of private hospital facilities, field observations, secondary data collection, and the elaboration of thematic maps. The results reveal a concentration of these facilities in strategically accessible areas, a predominance of vertical development, and the formation of tertiary centralities associated with healthcare services, indicating that private hospitals function as structuring elements of land use and urban occupation. It is concluded that the expansion of private healthcare in Imperatriz is part of a broader process of urban reorganization, contributing to the redefinition of centralities and the intensification of specialized tertiary activities in a regionally relevant medium-sized city.