One year of pandemics: Covid-19 evolution and territorial dispersion in Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre (RMPA)

Abstract This article aims to analyze the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic in the context of the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre (RMPA), marked by the metropolitan characteristics of commuting, high population density and concentration of areas with a lack of urban infrastructure. The analysis goes from the disease dispersion process in the region to the behavior of the territorial and demographic characteristics of the RMPA. For this study, data on cases and deaths provided by the Rio Grande do Sul Health Department between March 2020 and April 2021 were used, and these were related to data on commuting by work provided by the IBGE, in order to understand the dispersion of Covid-19, since the association between the urban network and territorial dispersion of Covid-19 expresses the need to understand the relationships between mobility resulting from the work factor. In addition, through microdata from the IBGE Census, a relation between inequality in access to basic services and the spread of the disease was stablished. The research also identified the search for hospital services, the commuting to work and the lack of basic infrastructure in the homes as potential factors for agglomeration and greater spread of the disease. It also reveals the necessary integration between themes related to urban and regional planning and public policies as essential components in contexts of risks to public health.