Streets and recent vertical condos: walled mazes

Abstract In Brazil, the process of verticalisation of cities has been intensifying, with an increasingly large number of tall towers. An analysis of the implementation of those new residential high-rise buildings indicates that there is a poor relationship between these private spaces and the streets where they are inserted. These buildings occupy large plots, with extensive façades, and it is clear to see that no consideration was taken regarding their insertion in the urban space. The aim of this study was to investigate street quality in a contemporary environment with vertical occupation. The case study consists of a street in the Gleba Palhano neighbourhood in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil, which presents a high concentration of tall buildings and is currently under consolidation. The theoretical framework of the study enabled the extraction of analytical attributes of public spaces and the analysis of the case study. The results obtained show that this context is detrimental to the daily lives of citizens, since the public space is not used as a place of interaction and social exchange. This paper points to the need to rectify this kind of real estate production in order to create higher quality living environments.