This paper aims to identify and analyze the levels of centrality among the cities of the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba (MRC), Paraná state, Brazil. In 1974, the Government established the Coordination of the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba (Comec) in order to coordinate actions and plan the integrated development of the twenty-nine cities that comprise the MRC. The MRC has 3,493,742 inhabitants, representing 33.45% of the total population of Paraná state; the population density of the area is 153.06 inhabitants per km², composed mostly by cities considered small in relation to the number of inhabitants. The "Central Place Theory" proposed by Walter Christaller was adopted as the methodological approach. This research was carried out with data about population, value added tax, and jobs in the MRC, divided into types of economic activity, aiming to identify the largest contributors to regional growth. Indicators of regional analysis, such as locational quotient, economic base, employment multiplier, and centrality index were estimated to complement this analysis. Results showed that, in the 2000s, Curitiba was and still remains the central place of the MRC, with a centrality index much higher compared with the other cities. Hierarchy of places related to the market areas was observed, defined not only by the population quota, but also by the ability to multiply jobs. The municipality of Curitiba employs 71.8% of the workers in the MRC, presents a high centrality index, and significantly influences its surrounding municipalities. This centrality has not changed in recent years, but it has grown stronger.
Polarization; Urban economy; Urban development; Metropolitan Region