The dimensions of urban sprawl and a methodological proposal for comparative studies: a social-spatial approach in Brazilian urban agglomerations

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to further our understanding of the challenges for sustainable urbanization. This objective required both theoretical and methodological investments in the search for evidence which could confirm the theoretical proposal of a new stage of the development of modern society (social and environmental risks) and the challenges involved in analyzing the population-environment relationship in urban contexts. The index that was developed considered four social and spatial dimensions in order to compose a synthetic index of urban dispersion for Brazilian urban agglomerations: Density, Fragmentation, Linearity and Centrality. Results are compatible with the evidence presented in the international literature and suggest new challenges for urban and environmental planning.