The text analyzes a strand of Brazilian historiography focused on the history of urbanism and urbanization, emphasizing the pioneering work of Nestor Goulart Reis, which began in the late 1950s. It highlights the importance of the early phase of his work, during which he established the theoretical framework that would underpin his later research. His thesis, Contribuição ao Estudo da Evolução Urbana do Brasil: 1500-1720 Contribution to the Study of Urban Evolution of Brazil: 1500-1720, defended in 1964, is a significant contribution to understanding Brazil’s colonial urban past. It required articulating scales between European and American urban networks, incorporating the idea of urbanization as a social process. From the outset, the author confronted the limitations of dominant paradigms and proposed new explanatory models for Brazilian urban reality. In this endeavor, dialogue with other Latin American researchers was also vital. His intellectual production is reflected in a substantial and comprehensive body of work that consistently articulates the empirical universe with theoretical propositions. Despite its value, however, his work remains relatively unknown outside Brazil. Finally, the text reflects on the scope and developments of this intellectual trajectory.
Ricardo Hernan Medrano (Mon,) studied this question.