Assumpted homogeneities

small cities and their typological characterization

Abstract

Historically, the debate on city planning and management has relegated small municipalities to a secondary position, considered as a homogeneous group and of lesser importance in the national context. There is, however, a forgotten role, easily perceived by its predominance in absolute terms – 68.3% of the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities have a population of less than 20 thousand inhabitants. This paper stresses the presumed homogeneity of this arrangement, discussing characteristics that distinguish them and that express, in themselves, other territorialities. The state of Paraná was adopted as a pilot case, constituting the research sample to performing a cluster analysis of municipalities. An exploratory approach is adopted with a quantitative methodological design based on multivariate statistical analysis. The proposition of typological groups, as a result, gathered according to certain characteristics, allow us to understand the spatial distribution of small municipalities. The paper contributes to the field by applying exploratory techniques to classify such municipalities, revealing less frequently considered distinctions, contributing to the understanding of the urban through small cities, a look at their urban roles, their diversities and relevance.