Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: LUCAS GABRIEL LIMA DE OLIVEIRA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : LUCAS GABRIEL LIMA DE OLIVEIRA
DATE: 27/03/2026
TIME: 15:00
LOCAL: Google Meet
TITLE:

Digitization of the territory and platform economy in the Semi-arid region: a study of driver apps in Caicó–RN

KEY WORDS:

Caicó; urban mobility; uberization; Semi-arid region; digital platforms.

PAGES: 63
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Geografia
SUMMARY:

This study seeks to investigate the new dynamics of urban mobility in the municipality of Caicó (RN) resulting

from the introduction of digital platforms for intramunicipal transportation starting in 2023. Based on the

understanding that the city, a sub-regional center in the Semi-arid region, previously had a precarious supply

of public transportation and a dominance of taxi and motorcycle-taxi services, the study analyzes the

repercussions of the arrival of apps such as Urbano Norte, Gira Patos, Driver Nordeste and Tôaí Passageiro,

which make up a group of regional and national applications that display specific dynamics when compared

to international platforms such as Uber and 99/Didi. The central objective is to analyze the digitalization of

the semi-arid territory through the expansion of these platform economies into cities of lower urban

hierarchy in the Semi-arid region, such as Caicó-RN, seeking to identify the algorithmic and corporate uses

of the territory by the apps; to examine the interactions and conflicts among the social agents involved (app

drivers, taxi drivers, and users) within the context of increasingly flexible labor relations; and to investigate

how digitalization affects users’ urban experience. The theoretical framework is based on the concepts of

the Scientific-technical-informational milieu, uberization and labor precarization, corporate uses of the

territory, and the city and the urban in the spatial context of the study. The methodology is qualitative

quantitative and empirical, grounded in literature review; semi-structured interviews with platform

managers and municipal public administrators; application of socioeconomic questionnaires to drivers and

users of the apps; and the processing and content analysis of data supported by thematic cartography

produced in GIS. The expected results aim to contribute to the understanding of socio-spatiality in the Semi

arid region, clarifying how the platform economy materializes in cities of lower urban hierarchy,

reorganizing flows, labor relations, and the experience of mobility, often at the margins of public planning.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - FÁBIO TOZI
Interno - 1450055 - JOAO MANOEL DE VASCONCELOS FILHO
Presidente - 1216653 - THIAGO ADRIANO MACHADO