Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Volume 21
MILTON SANTOS
i~ ~~o~!~~n~~~up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published as L’espace partagé in 1975
by Editions M.-Th. Génin
First published in English in 1979 by Methuen
This edition first published in 2018
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© 1975 Editions M.-Th. Génin
English Translation © 1979 Methuen & Co Ltd
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trace.
The
Shared Space
the two circuits
of the urban economy in
underdeveloped countries
CHRIS GERRY
Methuen
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published as L'Espace Partage
© Editions M.-Th. Genin 197 5
Santos, Milton
The shared space .
I. Underdeveloped areas - Economic conditions
2. Underdeveloped areas - Urbanization
1. Title
330.9' 172' 4 HC59.779--42878
ISBN 0--416-79660--5
ISBN 0--416-79670--2 Pbk
Contents
Preface ix
Part I
1 Introduction: towards a new paradigm 3
National planning with immature theories 4
Underdevelopment: the historical context 6
The spatial characteristics of underdevelopment 7
Two circuits 8
The lower circuit 9
2 The two circuits of the urban economy: evolution and
characteristics 12
Historical periods and systems 14
Technologi,calmodernization and the evolution of the two circuits 15
The two circuits: composition 17
The two circuits: characteristics 20
Three classes - two circuits 24
Polarization, not dualism 25
3 The colonial urban economy: two circuits? 28
The ghetto and the lower circuit 29
Shantytowns and the lower circuit 30
The contemporary nature of the two circuits 31
Part II
4 The upper circuit 37
The import motive 3 7
Import-substitution industry 38
Export industries 40
The margi,nal upper circuit 4 5
Modem retailing 47
Foreign capital 48
The mediating role of the banks 51
The multinational corporation and dependency 52
The consequences of dependency 56
5 The state and the upper circuit 58
Concentration and the monopolies 59
'Creative destruction' for whom? 62
The characteristics and consequences of monopoly power 62
Monopoly in a Third World context 66
Third World industrialization and development policy 67
The State and the upper circuit 70
State bankruptcy, mass poverty and economic backwardness 74
Part III
6 Third World poverty and the lower circuit 79
Unequal wages and the creation of a middle class 80
Non-employment, underemployment and tertiarization 82
Modernization, poverty and the lower circuit 83
7 The nature of lower circuit employment 86
A tertiary sector? 88
The lower circuit and small industry 89
Employment in the lower circuit 90
Lower circuit: entry requirements 92
Small-scale ,;,ctivities 99
Fractionalization of activities 101
8 The financial mechanisms of the lower circuit 110
Dependence on middlemen (wholesalers and transporters) 111
The importance of liquidity in the lower circuit 114
From credit to indebtedness 119
Profit margins 124
Price mechanisms 126
9 Adaptability and rationality in the lower circuit 130
The hypertrophic nature of the lower circuit 130
Lower circuit adaptability to a changing economic climate 131
Productivity, dynamism and rationality 134
The rationality of the lower circuit 136
10 Inter-circuit relations and the parameters of growth 139
Variables specific to each circuit 140
Variables common to both circuits 141
Part IV
11 Monopoly, the state and macrospatial organization 147
The two circuits and geographical analysis: a macrospatial perspective 147
Complete and partialmetropolises 150
Integration and spatial reorganization 155
Regional inequalities and internal colonialism 160
Migration and spatial structure 165
Cumulative concentration and macrocephalous urbanization 169
Metropolises and intermediate cities 172
The marginal upper circuit 17 3
12 The shared space 175
Industrialization processes and urbanization tendencies 17 5
The urbanization process and its constituent sub-systems 177
The two circuits and the urban system 187
Two urban circuits and the problem of central place theory 193
The spatial dialectic of the two circuits 197
The shared space and problems of national planning 200
13 Conclusion 203
Notes 211
Bibliography 235
Author index 257
Subject index 262
Preface
The whole question of foreign aid can be viewed from the same
standpoint; again we see the results of basing analysis on an
hypothesis yet to be validated. Despite the critical attention which
foreign aid has attracted (Hayter 1971; Mende 1972) it is still
advanced as a miracle cure. The expected critique of that asser-
tion is rarely forthcoming for the simple reason that it no longer
appears necessary or even desirable to treat the subject to a
scientific analysis (Myint l 965a:49 l ). Exactly the same can be said
of the most urgent problems of urbanization, the study of which
has been restricted by a narrow and almost exclusively political
perspective. Thus virtually all analysis is invalidated from the
start when the researcher feels himself obliged to provide, often
in a limited period of time, the results expected of him.
As a result, research is distorted and weakened, whilst the
results are inevitably a compromise. Also, the researcher is torn
between the desire to understand reality objectively and the
temptation to prophesy and offer solutions. But the difference
between the perspective required of the theorist and that
required of the technical adviser is fundamental: the adviser has
to consider the particular variables of a given situation, which
means considering the objectives of the bureaucrats and adminis-
trators, as Moore (1965:13) so perceptively pointed out. The
results of such analyses can only be disappointing. Moreover,
they give rise to a pressing demand for studies of an even more
detached and systematic nature (Wurster 1964: 10).
Mathematical methods have been applied to the story of
urbanization in underdeveloped countries in the hope of pro-
viding a more rigorous and well-focused analysis. But we know
the results. Theoretically, the use of multivariate techniques
facilitates an understanding of the functioning of urban systems.
However, when the methodological framework and spatial
theories are patterned on Western realities, mathematical rigour
serves to perpetuate not only inappropriate theories but also
errors in their interpretation. Moreover, not all economic prob-
lems are amenable to mathematical treatment; those that are may
not necessarily be the most important. Although in certain cases,
as for example in the studies of Abiodun (1967, 1968), the pos-
sibility of description of non-dynamic conditions has been
refined, the use of quantitative models unsupported by an under-
standing of local realities has not contributed to the advancement
of theoretical models.
6 The Shared Space
Two circuits
The city, therefore, can no longer be studied as a single
homogeneous entity, but should be thought of as two subsystems,
namely the 'upper' or 'modern circuit' and the 'lower circuit'.
The first objective is to define adequately each circuit of the
urban economy, their reciprocal relations, and their relations
with society and their surrounding space. Urban life is con-
ditioned by the characteristics of each circuit, yet each circuit
maintains a discrete relationship with urban space.
The upper circuit is the direct result of technological progress
and its most representative elements are the monopolies. Most of
its relations take place outside the city and surrounding area and
operate in a national or international framework. The lower
circuit consists of small-scale activities and is almost exclusively
for the poor. Unlike the upper circuit, the lower circuit is well
entrenched in the city and enjoys privileged relations with its
environment.
Towards a new paradigm 9
~hmt~•to,, ns or slum,; ,, ith the citv cem re constitute a wr ious t,_.snsfo , 111mg thc·sc into ma, kctJblC',nanul.icu rcd good s . In 1he colo.1iJI
nli',represcm.alion of reahtv. \, •Hie stich an .!ppro.:ic h could provide city, t11c,c products \H:rc LOnsunll'c1bv J small nuno1i1v of 11 1crLhc1111s.
lechnicallv acceptable results (Frankenhoff -~J71). 1t i doubtful whether ch I ..uv ...ms anct 1·,Cdlth',· lanau,, 11
0
c1s.
it could tself lead to the construction ol a v.ilid lheon· Poor hou irg and TlrL· urb.111l'lOllOIII\ had no ,rill Lxpc,rt indu!>llv ll lJ, spC'ci.rli7l d
0
low income districts ,...-i ll cena nlv varv in c aracter wilhm ,rnd between se1,•it..es. The-wholrs..i , nw clidLC'din v rt11 all · dll 1f'ldi1ul!>lups . \\ h<'1he1
coumries; different types of s urns may even be identified within tre "' ,, 101,., rl. 1nl< ·r-it•g1011 al, c11i11t l 111
1
J 11onJI lt·-.l'I, 1hc1<h)· u-.uq1ing Llll
s.ime cit,·. dilleremiated br locJtion. appearance t e origin and activity I 11 1c11011~,11,d11•IJHli11g cir<· l'\ olu11011uf ,l l d11ll,L·mir inllu,111,rl ,111d
1 101
ot the popub ion and indiv dual and family income distribution Indeed, li11 a1u a' d ,1'~. \In d1-.ti11 LLi1111hctw('1•11~mr1ll-~Ld lC' c111d ·~rH•( ial i,.cc1',
the sran, , to,, n ,,i I rot include al the poor of J city. nor will it embrace ' illll gr<1ll'clll,111!· \.\',I ', 11 l'\ r<IClll('.
0
1
' Tlr<' 11<1/
0
,rlJI' M'l\ UI l1CJl
1
l1llr(• 1•, •(•Jlthy
al. those \,·ho could be de:ined as · poor' acco rding to a common ,111111mrn wi1h v111 1a1lly ,., L'rytlring th<'}11°(u rt'1 I.
criterion. 1he knite-~rinder wt-o lives from irr,egu ar income. the wage- C:<tn~u11 1u1i1m ,.,,,~ n111cIr mcm l1111iu·11 in 11° 0 11
.., <11 IHtll vul111111' ,11111
earr.er in sef\ ices or industries. ar.d even small scale entrepreneurs mJv c l111iu•;cil, 1·n i-.i11 g 1•,r1., 1°111 l11yo11ir,11,(1 1ht·n• ,•,c1~ h11hil'Viil1° 1i1<' ol tilt•
all live in the sJme poor district (dos Jn los 197 1). Anvone who has clc•1111>1b lrr1tit>11 1·ll1c· I. Sill( l' 1lw n>lo 11.il 1m~11 lr111h<•1 I 111 a11rl, c i\'11
visited a Latin American city will recall the forest of 1 V aerials to be !>1°rv,1111
,, 1111 n l1,1111-, c111l 't d c1l1lryl,11
1 11lm,11 t•r,, 111<r>nll' d,.,.1,-11ii rt\ 1•,l'H'
seen above e, rn the poorest slums and fm etas. rl'I,, iVL'I) ..,111,rll. H11u:-0L ' 1old ~l'rv,1111, • .t 1<1011-l •r 111
11l1•n•1111>h)yt•cl ,,, 111- n-.'
Thus the contrast to be made is nm thal bet'.\ een shant)'to•,•,n and the ct111 1p1011w..i, 111111111r1
,1111 I .i•1cl,,.,,,,, 111,rnrl) ,r11i, fin l hy 1lw .tl ' " til,..,ell
Ml ~,rn:-v.:ho v,1•1t•~ l' I t<r lw crn1fr11 11ll'dh) 111ch, ...1n al 1r)mpt'l11l1m c1111I
city centre but bet,veen the lower and uppe r circuits. \,\'hi ls1 some
sham, to,, n residents ma, pan;ally escape the lowe r circuit. residents ol cu11l1th11"pm,· d<•11m-.ic\•r,1hl1·hw,rl 1·1•1;1 loy11 H·11.
miler districts ma~•.on the mhcr hand, be compleceb,.anached to it. The Wlrl'rt' 111du1ri.-1 li1o1 t1on hl-'g(111E>arly , 1lw 1111ti ,rl Pffl' < ,.,, v.-'l' TP 11 ut
dJngcrs ot ignoring these factors arc mam and va ried. cc:rnlr11vc•tc, 1lw ..,11111ar l'C111" d1>vl'lop 1111°
nt r,' 1wo 11rh.i11< in 1111-. . R11r r1l-
The debJle concerning the existence ol 'urba n , J,aliz.ation' has 11~1,1111111 gr,rt1on wa-. i11-.i~111 I wr1n1<11111p r1w1l wrtl 1r,clr1y; pt>1>ph-l\ol'rt'
contin:.icddespite an apparently conclusive refu:ation in stJd ies b~ Leeds 1m,h,·d (by ad Wl"'>t' kt<.-11to rnl11 1011" ). r;ulrPr thr111 prilkr/ \ 1r1 the
Jnd Leeds (1970) . E,,en toda,. nc,, urbannes ar e la.-qucml, ca lled 'n.1rals dl'11op.,1r,1tion pfft•u. S11d ..,uh;et 11w pl'r< 1°plio11<;of p1)Vl'f't\ only
in th~ cit)' . r rJni,;enhott 1197 1) has made the sug~cstion 'that the major e, ulved 1,rt.•r. A 1~1J ..,m< P i11 d11..tn r1I,re 11vi1v •,•,w , 11
111r1<,<01 1 e11t ratPr' d':i it
lunc11onof the slunty(m , i1 labour fo,ce is the p1ovision ol manpo,\•er to 1,; wclc1),rnd uw d Ll't rr rolog,..-. wlm h guiirar teet hn1h ·m · b'-ulutl' <Hid
1he 'ccnt ,e' . Jnd that 1his tc1cto1 comrols existing I elations bee,,,ecn the rel,t•i\'e cxpat -.ion of Prnr loyne 11 t, Joh oppnn 1111i1 ,.--. in 1m, "" wen•
~\\ O entitie:,. thi., appcai:, 10 be .is deb.itablc .ss 1l1e ·thco,, ol J1bJn
r1~<,urf'd . l\1oderni1r1 tinn q i pmdt1tt1rinr11 11I11',rrkelmt did , 0 1 IPrtd to 1he
expo, ts' t, om \vhich it i-. de, h,ed. I\ lcCec ha~ shm, n !h.i.t 1he1c exis1s t re,Hil>r of very hrge -'lt <1lemanLft1t1unng or cummercldl umts. dill.I the
con, idc1Jb lc ditf e1en1ia1ion bc-1,\'ee,11he commodit\• I lo,,., '" hie linl. exi.,.1e11tPof rrlr1t1vdy l,1rgl'enterpr'"e" Cf)llld11 0 1be held rP.,p<Jnstble fur
togclhc, the 1,,10 ~ub....,,s,enh ot the u, ban economv. ~101cove,, both che tire c ::,,
1ppe·1rc1,Ke of ,r ailer ::,17ed unts
lo,\'C'r ci1cui1 and the sh.rm\l o,, n, gcnc·,acc econom ic Jc11,i1v. The mere _mte indu5tri,rl exµan-.inn Wd S lmkerl tn that of the nnr '·et (Fun..rdo
plL'tl'l1Cc ol indiv1dJJl s 11 0 1 pc1m,.memh, cngaa,.cJ m !he cconum\. of Lhc 1~68). the relc1 t1Vely t.1ble ptice c;tlfnure tended to .,ti'11ulate
ccnuc c1ea1e. .icti\it ics which 01c,a1e in eprndentl, of ·ccn11al' consumpt.on l11cre.:1s es in prodt1<. tion did not ne<..e::.sJ rily require, .is they
de 111o1nc1.Ne\, needs imposed b~· 1cchnological mode, ni1.J 1io11,, ill, .u the do todJ._v,tl-e miliLatio of the most up-to-<lare technologv; thu"' a
eg,)!Cll'vd , j)hKIJCCllll' apptopr 1<1
dl.\ctr lc ,L...,
10,1~cs fll>m1hP pl>or. ·po<inive feeab.ick · Wd'.i tleve oped in .ill urban .:icti, ities, with proc:uc1ion
,ind emplov rrent incre.i.sing imultaneously,
ctivit_ie:.complemenlJT)' lo modemiz.alion (e.~. rJ.ilw.:iy and port
'l he contempora1·y nature of the two circuits construcuonl al o gene ~ Ledemplo,-menl Distribution and other ten iarv
AccordiITgto our def nit on. e t\•:o circuit Qf tre urban econom \' are acli, ilies were mechani led to ~uch a minim"' C'<ll'lll that Lhev also
both prooUClSof concempor.ny technological 11iOdem ization: \\•hether opened up job opporrunities. Go,·emment activities also tended to
industrializJt'o1 was iniliated before the ,,.i~t \Vorld War or no re expard rap•dlv so that considerab e public service employmem wa
recemly . the t_wo_~irru its did rot previously exist in underdeveloped ensured. "i'lce national effons toward industri.ilizJt"on and
countres. 1m1lanues ben•:een the co onia Jnd the contemporary lh ird infrastructura development were based on its export capaciry. cash-crop
1.011cs ....cic cnlJ1~C<lJnd nC\', arcJs developed, lhe su1plus populn!ion o l
I JlJ I arcJ11n1ov111~both co UH' ciLies Jnd the nc1,\ iltcas ol con1n1c·1cial
ag1icJll urr. Con.,C(jucnlh', ic is not sul'p1isinµ, char the 11 1r.grn cc o l
sh.Jn1v10-.,11~ did nor bcco,nc gcncrJli Lcd u,uH 1hc 19~0s.
In 11,c colonial pcuod, 1hr 101eign p, C:,L •,1rf' cook scvci JI lorn, ....
n1.Jntk ii!C'O . 101 l.'x..111'.l lC'. in ho1h 1hc· aun•al ol i1111n i(),1hnL<;and 1l1c
pf'11eua1;on ol 101r ia,n c..pital. CquJll" so. 1nig1a1aons havl• takPn pldcP
.1nd I dillf•1t·111.,i ...tc11iLal fo11ns.ont· \\' cl.Ve ,.,,ns init.dlC•db • -.,1l"'t·1 povc•itv ,
anr.11c•1 h)' th<· c1c--;i1t• 10 'sl 1ik<· it I irh'. In J\ 1genli11t1, lhL·1)1o p111110n iof
tht· pop 1l..ilin11ul lort'ign hi, th ,,.,d.., 12 pe, <r nc in 1ll59 , :!6 ( 1 l l lll i11
109"i Jnd h,.t1 1i,,('11co 10 JJ!'1' rt ·111 hy lhC'bl ginn 11gof chc· Fu~l \, •·0 1lei
Wat (C.t'l lllolll JGfio:JA6. Tahh• 1). J\nn l!l(•1 lj'()l' of n1iP,lilli011l O 1lrl bl 1
~,r.-1ll
11t1p•t.'ff>rn •cll 0:--1,o.1oli1r111 <1111,111 11111 <111 ,111d c<11-1.e,111f'rt ly 1111p1Htc·d
111;try ctl 1h1 ~uo:1-. ii dc•,in•cl, ll',1Vi1111 l<wal 1trnd111'Iio11 1<1,c•1v1· 1l1P
1
111ll·n·,-. u( 1lw 11ri1,111·11a-.-.f .... Tht• han !'>,~l' n' rn.iinly ·1 Prl'!'>lc ·d 11i
111·pu r1-c•x1n1r1 ,1111\ •it 1+>,ancl 1111'J;ir~•• 11rori1-. 1c1 Ju, e<1 n 1pcllhPrtJl1_r;, 11 ~·1
1111l11,1r} "' c•-,:t'> lt•cl ,, rl!'>forr 11dto r<'ly 1>111,n·-~·\1-.1inr,1w1wn·l..!'>of <T L d11 1
,111~1t ,IJH!rtl.
1hP ...11,P uf <ulon1<il11rh,r1 an•c1-.(<,1n a ll hy lo<k1 y ·, '>lrtnd.ir:1,), rt If',..,
111~rkt'd 111 P')la.il11y i11 11rhan 1n<n1nl'..,, ...ind ti pnn 1i1I\'<' tr,in...port ;i11r l
<.011nunii· .1tior-. infra true· 11r P, oil c(lntrihl ted •u chP pn- ;ervat 11111 or
11
.,rt -.,1n.il pr(,c.h1t11n, I h11'i 1lw"e i li11lt> 1-'V itlence 1n ...uggl'-.1 11P , o-
ex i, 1Pn<.P nf an up;.1er c!1 d ,1 lower circ.ll i1 111ti·,. t II I01 •, ii urbr1n c->t_·n r ony .