Application of the interaction potential model to studies of centrality, accessibility, and impedances of the territory: case study of Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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This article aims to assess the positioning of the city of Nova Lima in the context of the urban network. From a historical occupation of Minas Gerais, will be done through GIS techniques, the construction of urban network of the cycle of gold for Minas Gerais and the current network of the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte with the aim of measuring the power and influence of each centrality with the goal to understand the importance of New Lima in this context. This technique can be used to assess the power of attraction and repulsion of a centrality, accessibility and the impedances of the territory that make it less or more accessible to its surroundings. This information can assist to understanding the growth of certain locations and, therefore, the issues related to urban planning. In addition it is possible to identify the service area of each urban centrality. We used Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil to prove the theory that this location has always been the edge of the urban network and that its development was closely related to the mining issue.