EFFECTIVENESS OF URBAN LEGISLATION IN REGULATING URBAN OCCUPATION IN RURAL AREAS: ANALYSIS FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF ESTANCIA VELHA FOR THE PERIOD 1959-2018/EFETIVIDADE DA LEGISLACAO URBANISTICA NA REGULACAO DA OCUPACAO URBANA EM ZONAS RURAIS: ANALISE PARA O MUNICIPIO DE ESTANCIA VELHA PARA O PERIODO DE 1959-2018

The aim of this study is to verify the effectiveness of laws and regulations that control urban expansion in rural areas, since they are the main Brazilian land planning instruments. Thus, we compare the expected results of the application of land use laws with the effective land occupation for the municipality of Estancia Velha, in Brazil, in the period from 1955 to 2018. This paper identifies each local urban planning law, while analyzing and mapping land zoning changes between urban and rural zones, along with identified barriers to urban expansion. The increases in the urban perimeter were assessed as to their need by comparing them to the economic and demographic context. Results show that legislation is an important land planning instrument, although insufficient, given that urban land uses were still found in rural zones and were used as a pretext for urban perimeter increases. It is also shown that urban planning laws play an important--however partially effective--role related to delimiting barriers to urban expansion, despite the fact that certain types of preexisting land uses in these places reinforce such laws. Finally, it was also noted that there is no guarantee of the barrier condition lasting over time, given the fragility of legal protection and the pressures to modify it.