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Good practice Imported

Curitiba's Solo Criado — Transferable Development Rights for Forest & Green-Space Preservation

Brazil · Curitiba · See the Brazil profile · See the Curitiba profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 84% 33/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since the 1990s, Curitiba has let landowners who preserve forest remnants sell their unused building rights to developers elsewhere in the city — a transferable-credit mechanism formalised in Law 9,804/2000 that helped raise green space from under 1m² to 52m² per resident.

<1 m²
Green space per resident (1970) (1970)
52 m²
Green space per resident (current)
50
Designated Conservation Units
Law 9,804/2000
Legal formalisation
Curitiba's Solo Criado — Transferable Development Rights for Forest & Green-Space Preservation

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Curitiba Municipal Government (IPPUC / Municipal Secretariat of Environment)
Period
1990s policy refinement; formalised under Municipal Law 9,804/2000; ongoing
Keywords
urban planning, forest conservation, land-use policy, biodiversity offsets

Context

Since Curitiba's 1966 master plan concentrated new construction along transit corridors through floor-area-ratio zoning, the city has let owners of floodplains, forest remnants and hillside areas transfer their unused building potential ('solo criado', created land) to developers building elsewhere, rather than simply banning construction on protected parcels.

Activities

Municipal Law 9,804/2000 formalised this into a 'Municipal System of Conservation Units', allowing transfer of constructive potential, payment in kind, or land exchange to landowners who keep forest cover or heritage buildings intact — effectively paying them in tradeable development rights rather than cash for the ecosystem services their land provides.

Results

The city now has 50 designated Conservation Units — 22 municipal parks, 16 protected woods, a botanical garden, an ecological station, two Environmental Protection Areas and 11 private natural heritage reserves. Green space per resident rose from under 1m² in 1970 to approximately 52m² today, sustained continuously for over three decades under the same legal framework.

Conclusions

Because the mechanism relies on ongoing developer demand for building-rights credits, its effectiveness is tied to Curitiba's real-estate market; independent quantified data on ecosystem outcomes (carbon storage, water quality, species counts) tied specifically to the TDR mechanism, as opposed to the city's broader parks programme, is limited in the available literature.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — Uses tradeable development rights rather than direct cash payments, keeping direct municipal cost low.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Policy refined through the 1990s, formalised in 2000, sustained continuously for over three decades.
Staffing & skills
Curitiba Municipal Government (IPPUC / Municipal Secretariat of Environment)

Conditions for success

  • Zoning framework (1966 master plan) concentrating development along transit corridors, freeing other land from development pressure
  • Legal formalisation under Municipal Law 9,804/2000 creating a tradeable development-rights market
  • Continuous developer demand for building-rights credits sustaining the market

Common failure modes

  • Mechanism's effectiveness is tied to Curitiba's real-estate market and developer demand for building-rights credits
  • Independent quantified ecosystem-outcome data tied specifically to the TDR mechanism, as opposed to the city's broader parks programme, is limited

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget

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Data sources

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