Urban Design and Lively Streets in Brazil and United States: An Empirical Search of Cross-Cultural Commonalities and Local Specificities

Paula Barros (Federal University of Minas Gerais)
Vikas Mehta (University of Cincinnati)

Recently, there is an increasing recognition of the importance of streets as social spaces. However, most empirical studies on street design and planning report findings from the United States, Europe or Australia resulting in a lack of research from the global south. Furthermore, the dearth of cross-cultural studies limits a deeper understanding of whether the challenges of generating sociable streets are universal or related to specific aspects of localities. To address this research gap, this study comparesstreets in the US and Brazil. The research asks “What microscale physical characteristics and uses predict stationary and social activities on commercial streets?” We carried out an empirical examination on four streets in the city centre of Savassi in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, using the methodology used to study commercial streets in the US in 2005 and 2013. This methodology employs behavioural observations, visual surveys, user surveys and interviews to gather data that is analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods including multiple regression analysis and factor analysis. To extend the findings from the previous studies, this study also asks: “Which variables are cross-cultural and which ones are culture specific to predict stationary and social activities on streets?” The evidence suggests that commercial seating and community-gathering places are urban design characteristics likely to influence liveliness across the two cultures while block variety, permeability, independent business and street furniture significantly correlate with street liveliness in Brazil. By contrast, public seating was correlated to street liveliness in the both studies in the US. Finally, sidewalk width and block variety correlated with street liveliness in the study carried out in the US in 2005 and 2013, respectively. The methodology and findings from this research, funded by ADRC, helps us better understand environment-behaviour relations in the context of culture and contribute to strengthening urban design theory and practice.