Social equity and urban form

Abstract

The spatial distribution of social groups and the occurrence of locational advantages and disadvantages in its central and peripheral parts and on a city-wide scale serves as the rationale for the analyses of the relationship between urban form and social equity in Belém, Brazil.

The first stage of the research identifies the pattern of spatial distribution of social groups in different parts of the city. Levels of income and levels of schooling are used to define social groups and help to establish patterns of socio-spatial segregation in different parts of the city. The second stage of analyses investigates different locational advantages and disadvantages, possibly caused by outcomes of policies also identified in the research. The extent to which the provision of housing infrastructure leads to locational differences in the centre and in parts of the city periphery is measured by the spatial distribution of  amount of living space and infrastructure provision. The third stage of analysis is dedicated to a more detailed account of locational differences in urban form. The indicators used in this stage aim to complement the previous findings about locational differences associated with the socio-spatial distribution pattern of the city in the light of an analysis of urban form. The indicators used in statistical tests explore the role of the urban built form in creating locational advantages and disadvantages:

·        Locational valorisation. Measured by the spatial distribution of frontage values per road assessed in Brazil for taxation purposes.

 Accessibility. Measured by conditions arising from the configuration of the city and to the public transport network. Syntactic measurements assess potential accessibility generated by the layout of Belém and, in particular, accessibility from peripheral housing developments to the city centre.

Figure 1: Radius 5 integration (mean depth) shows how differences between the configuration of the centre and of the periphery in Belém have contributed to fragmentation and lack of a coherent layout in the city.

Figure 2: Map of public transport network in 1995, showing bus routes.

Figure 3: Map of frontage values (assessed by block frontage, part of the property taxation system) in three different parts of Belém.