New urbanism and its influence in Brazil: a case study about the "Cidade Universitária Pedra Branca" in Palhoça, Santa Catarina

Abstract

This article examines new urbanism, an urbanistic model that emerged in the United States, and its use in the Pedra Branca project, located in Palhoça, Santa Catarina. In the 1980s, new urbanism arose from urban-stream concepts such as the city beautiful movement and garden cities. As an offshoot of smart growth, new urbanism reacted against the american suburban growth pattern to stress the importance of dense, small towns, where urban dwellers could move about on foot or by bicycle, and the use of cars might be restricted. After 25 years in the United States, this model will be used in Pedra Branca, to guide that project's main sector. The Pedra Branca projecthas attracted widespread interest because of the size of the investment, and the project has also captured the interest of local government and large companies looking for investment opportunities. Additionally, Pedra Branca won a major international architectural award, which has further raised the hopes of local businesses. The central sector will be built based on 10 new urbanism principles, such as a variety of homes, green areas, small blocks, green buildings and mixed use areas. In spite of this, the project reveals a conflicting relationship between the entrepreneurs' and the movement's goals, meaning that new urbanism has become a business project rather than an urban-design project, and that new urbanism is being used to set this aside from other projects. This has caused Pedra Branca to be promoted as a sustainable city, leading to an oversimplified and conflicting understanding of new urbanism.