The territory and the landscape: the formation of the cities' network in the north of Paraná state and the construction of the urban form

Abstract

The english developer Companhia de Terras Norte do Paraná were responsable for the occupation of Northern Paraná State in Brazil. Between the 1930s and 1960s they designed and built a net of more than sixty new cities as part of a major business: the colonization and occupation of that unexplored territory, which was being prepared for coffee plantation. This paper analyses the design of those new cities, which considered two main localization aspects: be on the top of the hills and close to the just constructed railway. Particular attention is given in this analysis to the basic elements that helped to define each new urban form: the position of institutional buildings in the city; the design of the streets as well as its hierarchy; the form and the position of public spaces and squares; the relation to the natural site; and the urban form properly. The complexity and quality of the different projects represents the company's view of cities' and country role in the area.