This research looks at the work of the two circuits of the urban economy - the upper circuit
and the lower circuit - in the city of Conceição do Araguaia - PA, a small Amazonian city in
the southeast of Pará. These two circuits play a significant role in spatial, social and economic
organisation in cities in emerging countries. With this in mind, we looked at the work of the
two circuits in this small town in the eastern Amazon, where in recent years medium and large
companies have been setting up, which make up the upper circuit of the urban economy, such
as credit unions, hypermarkets, retail shops, household appliances and electronics. Given that
the vision and notion linked to the development and economy of a city or region is centred on
big projects and large companies, the social and economic performance of small businesses
has become invisible. The general objective is to understand the importance of the urban
economic circuit and its socio-economic relationship in Conceição do Araguaia - PA, in
relation to the upper circuit. In order to do this, it was necessary to look at the emergence of
the city of Conceição do Araguaia, its socio-spatial and socio-economic aspects from a
historical-geographical perspective; to identify and analyse the relationship between
commerce and the city, its social and economic motivations that allowed for the commercial
installations in the Silva Zone of Conceição do Araguaia; to analyse the potential of the urban
economic circuits as a generator of employment and income for the population of Conceição
do Araguaia; and to verify the socio-economic relationship provided by the lower and upper
circuits for the population of Conceição do Araguaia. Thus, the methodology is based on
dialectics and has two stages: the first stage comprises a bibliographical survey, seeking not
only to consolidate the theoretical basis, but also to bring in other realities. The second stage
was field research, aimed at surveying the number of establishments in the research area, as
well as conducting interviews with semi-structured questions with three groups: residents,
owners and/or managers of establishments in the lower circuit and the upper circuit. This
made it possible to see that when it comes to hiring workers, 90 per cent of the establishments
in the lower circuit don't have any requirements; 5 per cent require complete secondary
education and experience; and 5 per cent only require experience. In the upper circuit, in
addition to requiring at least a high school education, there are other requirements, such as a
maximum age of 24 in one of the establishments. Another very important point is the personal
credit offered by the lower circuit, which is a form of survival for the working class, the
poorest. Therefore, among these and other points made in this research, it is possible to
highlight the significant importance of the lower circuit in the cities of emerging countries
and, in the case of this research, in Conceição do Araguaia - PA, in the Eastern Amazon.
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