Mobility and urban space quality in the environment of terminals of the Curitiba BRT system: urban design and socio-environmental conditions

Abstract

The present article proposes a reflection about the characteristics of urban spaces located in the proximities of a transportation system, assuming that an Urban Design project does not reach its objective completely without an evaluation of the work done. It is necessary to know how that projected space presents after a certain time of use and assimilation by the society, considering these places as items defined by project and governed by urbanistic legislation. Thus, the article reports the beginning of a research that initially seeks to understand the morphological, functional and socio environmental characteristics of the central terminal environment of the Curitiba BRT system – a proposal reproduced worldwide. In the study are focused blocks, lots, activities and equipment existing in the vicinity of some terminals. In this preliminary stage, a methodology based on scoring system derived from six categories of analysis defined by diverse characteristics applied to the data collected in the field and from secondary sources was tested. The results point to aspects that indicate possibilities of greater densification and diversity of uses, services, equipment in the perspective of consolidation of centralities linked to the BRT System; they put in evidence socio environmental conditions as secondary items, confirming central terminals as hubs of urban functions of daily use.

Keywords:
Urban design; Urban space quality; Mobility and land use; Surroundings space BRT terminals; Curitiba