Urban policies in Brazil advance housing but fail to curb urban expansion
Brazil’s national urban policies have achieved clear progress in expanding housing and improving basic services in 27 major cities over the past 30 years, yet they have failed to control urban expansion, a key challenge for sustainable development. This is the main finding of a study conducted by Beatriz Pierri Daunt at ICTA-UAB.
National urban policies are essential to guide sustainable city growth, but measuring their real impact has been challenging. In this study, Pierri Daunt evaluates how Brazil’s urban transformation aligns with the goals established in two key legal frameworks: the 1988 Federal Constitution and the 2001 City Statute. The analysis covers 27 state capitals from 1990 to 2020, focusing on five main objectives: economic development, basic service provision, housing, urban compactness, and Environmental sustainability.
The results show that since the implementation of the City Statute, Brazilian cities have made significant progress in providing housing and essential services such as water, sanitation, and electricity. These achievements reflect federal programs that strengthened municipal autonomy and financing mechanisms.
However, the study also reveals that national policies have not succeeded in curbing uncontrolled urban expansion. Many cities continue to grow in a fragmented manner, hindering progress toward more compact and sustainable urban forms. This situation is attributed to weak coordination between urban planners and real estate market interests, which often prioritize economic gains over planning objectives.
This study provides a practical method and valuable insights to help policymakers better understand and guide urban development toward social and environmental sustainability.
Pierri Daunt concludes that improving coordination between national and local governments, along with granting municipalities greater control over land taxation and regulation, are key steps to promote greener, more inclusive, and sustainable cities in Brazil and similar contexts.
Article reference
Pierri-Daunt A.B., Domingo D., Zichao H., Hersperger A.M. (2025) A conformance-based framework to evaluate the National Urban Agenda's impact on urban sustainable development in Brazil. Land Use Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107584