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The article discusses the concept of polycentrism and functional urban areas (FUAs) in regions with low population density of southern Brazil. It shows that, given the polysemy of the concept of Polycentrism, there are difficulties in visualizing the concept in action in the north of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), given the population reduction in its small centralities and the current productive restructuring of this urban network. The functional regions, in a normative character, however, are strengthened in the polar regional of Passo Fundo and Erechim / RS, like nodes of this urban network and polar of centripetal flows, outlined here on the commuting by work and study. It is urgent to understand the overcoming of public policies that are restricted to municipal political-administrative boundaries, in order to advance studies around dynamic boundaries, increasingly regional planning and more cooperative objectives. Given the situation of declining population, polycentric networks and municipal associations are proving to be good possibilities, as innovative and challenging sources of new governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]