Urban sprawl and fragmentation: a spatial analysis based on population distribution

Abstract

Research on dispersion and urban fragmentation considers non-spatial indicators such as demographic density and economic centrality in their analyses. Alternatively, the purpose of the article is to present a methodology based on metrics of the spatial distribution of the population in a regular statistical grid, enhancing the use of demographic data. In a Geographic Information System, indicators with data from the demographic census of 2010 is calculated for the 23 municipalities’ Urban Agglomeration of Piracicaba (AUP), state of São Paulo, in such a way as to evaluate the urban form, extent and fragmentation of the urban area in each municipality. The results show that the municipalities have characteristics such as fragmentation and spreading in different intensities and that the spatial distribution observed in the AUP is guided according to a territorial occupation vectors, such as highways. The positive and strong correlations between volume, population and forms of the urban area were detected. The case of the AUP indicates that the methodology is propitious for the spatial reading of the phenomena considered and for comparative studies. With easy-to-access data, the technique offers good spatial resolution and can be replicated to other clippings. The results allow dialoguing with the bibliographic production about urban sprawl, either by explaining the spatial component, or by the possibility of interaction with other non-spatial indicators.