In tropical forests, urbanization processes are usually not compatible with diversified forest agroecosystems. Far from the pioneer front, the development of small towns questions the sustainability of protected areas and indigenous agriculture. This work analyzes changes in agricultural practices linked with urbanization around São Gabriel da Cachoeira, situated in the north-western part of the Brazilian Amazon. The town has faced a steady growth of its population over the past 20 years, mostly due to migrations from the indigenous lands of the upper Rio Negro. Private land has become the main land use right in the periurban area. Despite that, around the city, primary forest remains predominant. Instead of turning to permanent crop cultivation, most indigenous families maintain swidden (slash and burn) agriculture, using the city as a source for economic diversification. Their circular mobility connects several production units and residences, thus coping with the rising scarcity of natural resources. As it was shown by geographers in Latin America, the fragmented inhabited spaces between town and country provide the necessary leeway to guarantee food security in a context of income variability. In remote areas of Amazonia, this multilocal land use system is an indicator of the resilience of the indigenous resource management systems. These territorial innovations suggest new paths for the sustainability of swidden agriculture within a context of urbanization.