Importância das leis periurbanas no crescimento ordenado das cidades: estudo de caso em Curitiba/PR

Abstract

Contemporary urban expansion has progressively shifted the growth of Brazilian cities toward territories located at the interfaces between consolidated urban areas and remaining rural spaces, forming the so-called peri-urban zones. These territories are characterized by high socio-spatial heterogeneity, overlapping land uses, and institutional fragility, becoming central spaces for understanding recent urbanization dynamics and the challenges faced by urban planning. In this context, this dissertation analyzes the process of formation and consolidation of peri-urban zones in Curitiba, investigating the relationship between urban expansion, land irregularity, urban legislation, and the socio-environmental impacts resulting from this process. The specific objectives are to understand the recent process of peri-urbanization and its vectors of territorial expansion; to analyze social vulnerabilities and socio-environmental impacts in peri-urban areas; to conduct a comparative territorial analysis of urban expansion in representative areas of the municipality; to examine the role of land regularization in urban inclusion and in the persistence of socio-environmental fragilities; to analyze institutional challenges in the management of peri-urban areas; and to discuss the limits of the current urban planning model and the need for specific instruments for the sustainable regulation of urban expansion. The research is based on the hypothesis that, despite the municipality’s recognized tradition in urban planning, the city’s recent expansion has occurred in a diffuse manner and frequently outside the scope of traditional territorial planning instruments, resulting in the consolidation of territories marked by infrastructural precariousness, environmental vulnerability, and land tenure insecurity. The investigation is supported by bibliographic and documentary review, analysis of the legal frameworks of Brazilian territorial planning, study of Curitiba’s urban evolution, and examination of institutional data and reports concerning land occupation dynamics and the socio-environmental conditions of peripheral and peri-urban areas. The results indicate that peri-urban zones constitute the main frontier of urban expansion, concentrating conflicts between city growth, environmental preservation, and the guarantee of the right to housing. It is observed that state action occurs predominantly in a reactive manner, through land regularization processes and regulatory adjustments implemented after occupations have consolidated, without fully addressing the structural causes of precarious urbanization. Furthermore, the occupation of environmentally sensitive areas increases hydrological risks and compromises water sources and natural systems essential to urban balance. It is concluded that overcoming these challenges depends on recognizing peri-urban zones as strategic spaces for the future of cities, requiring integrated public policies and regulatory instruments capable of anticipating occupation processes and articulating urban planning, housing policies, and environmental protection. The research reaffirms that understanding and planning urban fringes constitute a fundamental condition for building more inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and socially just cities.