Verticalization as an instrument of urban density: Possibilities and limitations

Abstract

Urban density – among its variables and forms of calculation – is configured both as a cause and a consequence of a series of urban conditions, related to compactness, the use of infrastructure, comfort and vitality. Commonly, urban legislation, composed of parameters that induce verticalization, is the main tool for the spatial consolidation of demographic density, preferably associated with infrastructure systems of high support capacity. This conception is part of the genesis of the Structural Sectors of Curitiba, which represent an urban policy in force for five decades in the city. The objective of this article is to analyze the real estate production in this geographical area, between the years 2004 and 2021, to understand the relationships between density and verticalization, as well as the factors that influence them. From the use of data referring to the municipal survey of the works completed in the period, associated with complementary sources, it was possible to verify greater possibilities of densification in buildings of up to 10 floors, resulting from their predominance and the proportion between the number of housing units generated in in relation to the built-up area. 

Keywords: housing density, population density, verticalization, Curitiba.