Transformations in the metropolitan rural landscape: the advance of agribusiness and its conflicts

Abstract

This article discusses the transformations of the rural landscape in the Paraíba Valley and Sorocaba Metropolitan Regions, located within the São Paulo Macrometropolis, based on the perception of those who live and inhabit rural spaces within these metropolises. It reaffirms the concept of Metropolitan Rural, challenging the apparent contradiction between these two terms and assuming as a premise the paradigm of the new rurality – the contemporary, multifunctional, and pluriactive rural, a fundamental space for water production, climate regulation, and food security in metropolises. The results reveal that the metropolitan rural remains an agricultural space, but food production is being transformed by the expansion of commodities, with potential impacts that threaten ecosystem services fundamental to the climate resilience of metropolises.