The purpose of this article is to discuss the constitution of new institutional arrangements in industrial regions with steel mills and automotive plants. This analysis has to do with initiatives forged in economically depressed contexts caused by factories' either moving away or closing, restructuring of production and downsizing. Its focus is to describe strategies and mobilizations created inside public and private organizations with a prospect of revitalizing these degraded areas. This discussion deals with the scenario in southern Rio de Janeiro State, a region that in recent years has witnessed discourse in favor of regionalization and cooperation among its municipalities. This article shows that the region has become more and more polarized between an expanding extension led by the automobile industry and another which has stagnated due to the dependence on the activity of a great economic agent. The conclusion is that this leads to structural limitations and jeopardizes the plans for more integrated development in the region.
Dialog; Regional development; Governance; Restructuring of production; Revitalization