Montevideo builds where the city already is

9.3 new m² per person in the highest proximity quintile; that part of the city is also the hottest.

Where is it built, and where is it hot? · Montevideo · Where is Montevideo growing, and what kind of city do newcomers get?

Parcel → CityLand and Urban RegulationTerritorial transformationChange over time

42,727 building permits from 1997 to 2026 show that Montevideo builds where the city already is: the highest proximity quintile received 9.3 new m² per person since 2013 and the lowest quintiles 2.2 to 3.5. That dense, well-served city is also the hottest: a surface temperature of 35.5 °C compared with 29.7 °C.

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The problem

Building close to services saves trips, but the compact city also holds heat. Crossing permits, proximity and temperature shows what is gained and what needs care when densifying.

What we found

Montevideo builds where the city already is
Since 2013, the highest proximity quintile received 39% of the new floor area: 9.3 m² per person, compared with 2.2 to 3.5 in the two lowest quintiles. Only 21% of new housing is in those two quintiles, where 40% of people live. It is the opposite of Bogotá, where new construction concentrates far from services.
New construction concentrates on the coast and in the center
The Centro and Pocitos municipalities add up to 3.4 million new m² since 2013; Cerro and Casavalle, 0.37 million. The western and northern outskirts receive almost no formal construction.
The nearby city is the hot city
Surface temperature rises from 29.7 °C in the lowest proximity quintile to 35.5 °C in the highest. Ciudad Vieja, Reducto, Centro, Cordón and Aguada exceed 36.5 °C; 892,000 people live in the two hottest categories.
There is room to densify, and there are also areas that need services
62,870 people live in dense areas with low proximity, where services are missing, and 61,883 in areas with high proximity and few people, where the city can add housing without moving it away from everyday life.
6.8 million m² of new construction since 2013
Between 2013 and 2026, 6,394 new-construction permits were approved for 6.8 million m²; the Centro and Pocitos municipalities account for half.
A nearby square does not cool on its own
Within 400 m of public space the surface is at 33.2 °C; more than 800 m away, at 27.9 °C. The distant zones are on the edge, surrounded by open land: in the dense city, a nearby square does not lower the temperature on its own.
Heat sets municipalities apart
Mean surface temperature is 36.4 °C in the Centro municipality and 35.6 °C in Prado, against 30.9 °C in Cerro and 30.3 °C in Colón.

See it on the map

Eight scenes: thirty years of permits, new construction by proximity quintile, housing, municipalities, heat, heat islands and room to densify. Each point is a new-construction permit.

Explore the atlas full screen

What we recommend

Make shade, trees, cool roofs and permeable ground a condition of permits as the coast and the center densify, and bring the periphery the services it lacks before more housing.

Montevideo already builds close to services; the challenge is to keep the dense city from accumulating more heat.

Building permits by proximity quintile, surface temperature, and density crossed with proximity · Montevideo, Uruguay · 2026

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