This paper shows the evolution of the medium-sized cities in Brazil from 1970 to 2010. The industrial dispersal, the mobility of the agricultural border, and infrastructure investments that integrated the interior of Brazil to the dynamics of the national economy are responsible for the spatial dispersion of Brazilian population. The medium-sized cities have a potential strategic position for the continuity of the regional dispersal in Brazil. Moreover, they have mainly induced the diffusion of more modern activities for all national territory and, consequently, a greater population distribution in the Brazilian urban system. The recent arrival of these cities in the national scenery, creating conditions to implement planning urban projects, prevent or minimize the problems caused by urbanization that in recent history caused and still are problems of difficult solution in the great population agglomerations such as the metropolises.
Medium-sized cities; Urban system; Brazil
