Pioneering Cities of Mining: Comparison of the Eastern Venezuela and Eastern Siberia

Résumé En

The development of the mine, gas and oil extraction in the Eastern Venezuela (Oriente and Guayana regions) and the Far Eastern (Oriental Siberia) is characterized by the emergence of pioneer small and medium cities during the last fifty years and an emerging process of metropolisation since 2000 (Yakutsk, Ciudad Guayana). In Eastern Venezuela, the urbanization is partially planned, generally “spontaneous”. In Yakutia, dynamics of urbanization is planned. In the both cases, urban dynamics is driven by the exploitation of the natural resources and the immigration. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, some mining towns disappeared in the 1990 and 2000. Since the beginning of the 2010’s mining urban regions are under a double process of territorial integration with Russian Europe and Asia. In Venezuela, small and medium sized cities are growing with the emergence of new mining territories and the exploitation of the Orinoco Belt (extra heavy oil). This article analyses the main territorial dynamics of these small and medium sized cities.