Os telhados metálicos de Fortaleza: centros de distribuição e outras infraestruturas logísticas

Abstract

Fortaleza currently stands as one of Brazil's most important cities, boasting the highest GDP in the Northeast region. Large urban centers are chaotic, full of movement and flows—of people, information, and goods. The latter not only need to circulate but must do so quickly, cost-effectively, and efficiently. As a result, major companies are always seeking the best locations to establish their distribution centers (DCs). The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of e-commerce, particularly the spatial distribution of distribution centers, and secondarily, other logistical infrastructures resulting from it in the Fortaleza Metropolitan Region (RMF), given the increase in online sales compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic years. These structures — along with transportation networks, roadways, and planning strategies for goods circulation — materialize in space and must therefore be understood to improve the system and implement measures aimed at reducing the impacts caused by this activity. To achieve this, the methodology employed included bibliographic and documentary analysis, the use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems), maritime tracking software, field visits, and data processing and cross-referencing. The results showed that, much like in Berlin, Fortaleza’s DCs are located in peripheral areas of the city or neighboring municipalities, specifically near roadways that encircle the most densely populated urban cores—in this case, the aforementioned capital cities. Logistic sprawl, one of the key geographical factors behind this spatial organization and companies' choice of such locations, represents a paradigm shift where transport companies and warehouses have moved away from central urban areas or production sites (particularly those related to agriculture) toward zones of higher demographic density, while remaining confined to their outskirts. In Fortaleza, this phenomenon is observed near the BR-116 highway and its surrounding areas.