new dynamics of Paraná municipalities

This article has the intention of providing a new proposal for the Paranaense municipalities classification, taking into consideration their socio-spatial and economic dynamics. The justification for it is the fact that in the majority of the existing studies the municipalities or the cities are defined respectively as small, medium or large; which many times creates problems in relation to the adopted criterion. To verify the municipalities dynamics, it was defined five indicators: the cities influence, economics relevance, the IPARDES index of Municipal Performance – IPDM, poverty rates and the population geometrical growth. Therefore the 399 Paranaense municipalities were classified into four groups: i) strongly dynamic, ii) dynamic, iii) intermediary, and iv) peripheral. The proposed classification allows us to identify the spaces that are inserted in the capital flows, services and merchandises at a national and international level, as well as the spaces that face serious socioeconomic problems.