Urban growth and hidric resources: the case of Rio Claro -SP

Abstract

The urban expansion is connected to an integrated series of historical and economic factors which are fundamental for justifying and explaining the development and growth of a town. Anyway, sooner or later, growth implies greater pressure on environment and natural resources, markedly the hydrological one. The town of Rio Claro, in São Paulo state -Brazil, is taken as case study, due to its features: a medium sized town; with a certain level of industrialization and peculiar environmental aspects such as its insertion in a water basin, shared it with others municipalities, and its environmental protected hinterland area. KEY-WORDS: urban expansion, environmental impact, hidric resources.