Territorial tripolarization in Bolivia : genesis and current situation
type: Dataset
description: The Bolivian urban system is outstanding : three major cities concentrate about half of the nation’s population and employment. Their territories’ trajectories lead us to question their economic role in the face of the successful economic achievement of Potosi and Tarija, territories well endowed in natural resources. We wanted to highlight the Bolivian current territorial tripolarization, firstly by studying its emergence, through the study of their economical history; secondly, by investigating the most recent economical data in order to display the strengths and weaknesses of this tripolarized system. Each component of the tripole is situated in a different geographical setting. In the West, La Paz, where the government is based, belongs to a mountainous region of high plateaus; in the East, Santa Cruz, 900 km distant, belongs to the central area of Amazonian plains, whereas Cochabamba rests between those two, in the region of intermediate valleys. This tripolarization is recent ; Urban hierarchy previously dominated by a major city is now characterized by three of them ranking first in this hierarchy. The specific emergence of such a system in Bolivia, together with the abundance of natural resources in certain territories, contributes to explaining the current situation, which has been analyzed using indicators of economical activity and of the international role of the territories. This economical approach combined with geographical, demographical, historical, political and human development elements, helps us to disclose two different but complementary logics: a kind of territorial domination of La Paz - Cochabamba - Santa Cruz, permitted though made vulnerable by the exploitation of natural resources in Potosi and Tarija
identifier: NNT: 2012DIJOE005
issued: 2026-05-09T05:25:51.107239
language: fr
modified: 2026-05-09T05:25:51.107244
contact point: Organization
  fn: CCSD
keyword: bolivia
keyword: bolivie
keyword: conjunto-de-ciudades
keyword: economia
keyword: economics
keyword: economie
keyword: especializacion
keyword: histoire-economique
keyword: historia-economica
keyword: history-of-economics
keyword: infoeu-reposemanticsdoctoralthesis
keyword: natural-resources
keyword: polarisation-territoriale
keyword: polarizacion-territorial
keyword: recursos-naturales
keyword: ressources-naturelles
keyword: shsecohumanities-and-social-scienceseconomics-and-finance
keyword: specialisation
keyword: specialization
keyword: systeme-des-villes
keyword: territorial-polarization
keyword: theses
keyword: urban-system
landing page: https://theses.hal.science/tel-00877869

Territorial tripolarization in Bolivia : genesis and current situation
type: Distribution
format: HTML
issued: 2026-05-09T05:25:51.109764
modified: 2026-05-09T05:25:51.080278
access URL: https://theses.hal.science/tel-00877869

test_moissonnage_selune
type: Agent