Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística

About - Statistical Urban Maps

This product brings together the collection of Statistical Urban Maps (MUE), in GeoPDF format, used as a reference for the 2022 Population Census. It is a direct byproduct of the Digital Territorial Base, structured based on continuous update cycles, in which the IBGE Territorial Base Supervision teams, present throughout the national territory, annually consolidate the Mesh of Enumeration Areas.

They translate the field scan resulting from the IBGE collection operation and can serve as a reference for a set of applications that depend on detailed knowledge of the occupation patterns of the national territory. However, in this cycle, for the first time, the maps were updated after the field data collection stage, so that they incorporate improvements in the classification of geospatial information, in the toponyms of the locations and in the other cartographic elements represented.

The MUEs represent the areas of cities, towns and urban centers, according to the classification of the Mesh of Enumeration Areas. They are produced on adapted scales, so that it is possible to identify the borders of the enumeration areas that make up the country's urbanized areas.

MUEs are considered to be extremely valuable digital thematic maps for understanding the territorial dynamics of urbanized areas in municipalities. They are constructed based on the classification of enumeration areas, since they allow visualization of the spatial distribution of urban occupation, expanding knowledge about the growth of human activity centers, residential areas, in addition to the possible environmental, economic, political, social and cultural impacts of urbanization in a given area.

For many municipalities, the MUE will be the most important input for processing geospatial information to support public policies in urban centers, and may also provide initial elements for master plans, soil use laws, real estate value plans, licensing of works and activities, mapping of public services such as waste collection, transportation systems, infrastructure, health and education networks, in addition to the most varied sectorizations, in order to improve quality of life, future businesses and sustainable development of municipalities.

The MUE also contemplates all the assumptions for the construction of Statistical Municipal Maps (MME), with emphasis on the recognition of the regions that encompass the limits of urban sectors. As a result, 90% of them are presented in scales of 1:750 to 1:1:10,000, with a small remaining percentage in scales up to 1:20,000.

All Urban Map files were created in accordance with the Digital Municipal Mesh of the Brazilian Political-Administrative Division, including territorial updates made between August 1, 2022, and changes in municipal borders communicated to the IBGE by July 31, 2022 by the competent State Agencies.

They represent a leap in quality from the version of the “locality maps” adopted in the 2010 and 2007 Censuses, mainly regarding updates resulting from the following factors:

• Identification of possible inconsistencies in the enumeration areas' borders, due to the improvement of cartographic inputs used, in order to avoid omissions or invasions of territory;
• Record of updates of the names of existing addresses in the enumeration area, as well as their use;
• Inclusion and exclusion of street blockfaces, and, indicating the need to change borders, when necessary;
• Identification of different uses of building addresses throughout the collection operation;
• Identification of characteristics of urban services and equipment in existing blockfaces (paving, public lighting, etc.);
• Construction of descriptive maps of urban sectors.

This is the result of a radical technological transformation in work processes, through the creation of a Python plugin that combines the data geoservices available through the IBGE Territorial Base, with the following aspects being highlighted:

• Database of road infrastructure, hydrography, locations and meshes of enumeration;
• Application of a simplified data layer model;
• Less resources used and shorter deadlines provided by digital evolution;
• Expanding the potential value for real use of maps in the public domain.

It is also worth noting that in the past, the ability to construct maps depended on the availability and skills of qualified individuals, huge industrial infrastructure, significant amounts of financial resources and long deadlines.

The most important aspect of this transformation is the opportunity to generate and regenerate Thematic Maps more often, allowing for the progressive monitoring of changes in shorter time intervals, which combine all available data, increasing the quality of information each year and proving to be a consistent instrument, combined with the factors of visual clarity and geospatial precision, which make them essential for the IBGE, in addition to counting on the occasional feedback from improvements coming from municipalities and the general public.

This version is a contribution from the IBGE Census Cartography, as it allows for the assessment of the relationship between their occupants, places and environments in light of the continued advancement of changes in human settlements, and in line with the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF).

For the purposes of the Municipal Statistical Maps, the set of officially delimited Indigenous Lands was formed by those that were in the land status of reported, approved, regularized and designed as Indigenous reserves until July 31, 2022, the reference date of the survey, according to information provided by the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples – Funai.

The officially delimited Quilombola Territories had their borders represented from the graphic file of Quilombola Areas available in the Land Collection of the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform – Incra, plus the areas reported by the state and municipal agencies with land powers, pursuant  to Decree No. 4,887 of 2003. For mapping purposes, the set of officially delimited Quilombola Territories was formed by those that presented some formal delimitation in the land collection of INCRA or of the agencies with land powers in the states and municipalities on July 31, 2022. Quilombola territories whose delimitations appear in the vector file of Settlement Projects were also considered, but whose delimitations had not been transferred to the vector file of Quilombola territories, as indicated by the Division of Identification and Recognition of Quilombola Territories of INCRA (INCRA/DFQ1). Questions about any aspect of this level of information compiled in this product should be directly forwarded to the agencies responsible for the information.

The borders of the Settlement Projects represented were reproduced in accordance with the Land Collection of the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform – INCRA. The projects listed on July 31, 2022 were considered. The projects in the following categories currently practiced by INCRA were represented on the maps: Federal Settlement Projects (PA), Agroextractive Settlement Projects (PAE), Sustainable Development Projects (PDS), Forest Settlement Project (PAF) and Decentralized Sustainable Settlement Project (PDAS). Projects created by INCRA until the 1990s and whose modalities were discontinued were also represented: Colonization Projects (PC), Integrated Colonization Projects (PIC), Rapid Settlement Projects (PAR), Directed Settlement Projects (PAD), Joint Settlement Projects (PAC) and Quilombola Settlement Projects (PAQ). The categories recognized by INCRA were also included: State Settlement Project (PE), Recognition of Pasture Land Settlement (PFP) and Dam Resettlement (PRB) and Municipal Settlement Project (PAM). In some municipalities, the Settlement Projects had to be omitted due to the size of the units and the limitations of representation on the map scale. Questions about any aspect of this level of information compiled in this product should be forwarded directly to the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform – INCRA.

The bourders of the Conservation Units represented are based on the georeferenced file of the National Registry of Conservation Units (CNUC), maintained by the Ministry of the Environment with the collaboration of federal, state and municipal management agencies. The maps represent, whenever possible, Conservation Units existing up to July 31, 2022, the reference date for the consolidation of official borders in the 2022 Municipal Maps, taking into account the minimum time required to process this information in the Territorial Base and other IBGE registries. In some Municipalities, Conservation Units had to be omitted due to the extension characteristics of the units and the limitations of representation on the map scale. Conservation Units in the category of Private Natural Heritage Reserves (RPPN), due to scale limitations, could not be represented on the maps. Questions about any aspect of this level of information compiled in this product should be directly forwarded to the agencies responsible for the information.