scholarly journals Identifying the Social Urban Spatial Structure of Vulnerability: Towards Climate Change Equity in Bogotá

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-379
Author(s):  
Vasco Barbosa ◽  
Mónica Marcela Suárez Pradilla

The constant modification of land use, economic instability, environmental factors, and social behaviour changes among the inhabitants of big cities characterize current urbanism. In Colombia, land-use planning processes supported by geographical information systems are a recent phenomenon and the legal instruments of spatial planning are inadequate in most municipalities. Moreover, socio-spatial equity represents a challenge for Latin American cities in which there is increasing awareness of the role that spatial planning plays. Consequently, the question arises as to how the urban spatial structure and organization contribute to an inclusive and equitable socio-spatial evolution, considering climate change impacts. The case study analysed in this article focuses upon the northern limits of the city of Bogotá. Therefore, this research aims to define the ideal balance of urban land-use distribution between social stratum classification and the vulnerability of the communities seeking to better adapt to climate change. We propose a methodological approach of analysing spatial syntax and the (social) intensity of activities and infrastructure, which enables us to characterize the urban structure itself and identify vulnerable urban instances. As a result, we find that the urban network with low values presents spatial unpredictability in its pattern, constraining equitable development based on the urban morphology of the city. This research allows us to conclude that the degree of vulnerability encountered by the social urban spatial structure is higher in expansion areas than in central areas of the city.

2022 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 747-760
Author(s):  
Fatima Asaad Tayeb ◽  
Ahmed Kareem Jebur ◽  
Husham H. Rashid

Models of digital elevation (DEMs), which provide elevation information for the ground surface of the catchment, are core components of computer-based analyzes for drainage basins. Many production methods are available, including contour interpolation, DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) interpolation, and digital photogrammetry techniques. However, data on the precision and often contradictory nature of these three techniques are sparse. This study aims at identifying some of the contributing factors and comparing the accuracy of various approaches quantitatively. Changes in land coverage break ecosystem cycles, which may directly affect land ability to sustain human activity resulting in long-term trends of decline and inter-annual variability. It can be monitored at a spatial level of detail to enable the study of human-induced changes. Remote sensing techniques (RS) and geographical information system (GIS) methods have been used to extract the spatial and temporal changes of urban land use in the city of Al-Kut. The land sat satellite images taken in periods encompassing 1997, 2007, and 2017 are used. As a result, the city has lost a large part of its urban specificity and gained randomness and disorder in most of its residential neighborhoods, which was especially exacerbated after the change in the governing system in 2003. The results show an increase of 314% and 219% in industrial and residential areas, respectively, whereas agricultural land and open spaces have decreased by 66 % and 32%. The data analysis reveals a diagnostic relationship between land-use conversion and socio-economic drivers. This research sheds light on the total area changes of the Al-Kut city before and after 2003. It highlights the significant destruction of the city life, which was established over almost three centuries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-238
Author(s):  
Arti Grover Goswami ◽  
Somik V Lall

Abstract Over the last century, the urban spatial structure of cities has transformed dramatically from a traditional monocentric configuration to varying forms of decentralized organization. This paper reviews theory and empirical evidence to understand the urban morphology of jobs and land use within a city. Our survey highlights four broad insights: (i) The evolution of monocentric to polycentric centers have been accompanied by structural changes within the city. (ii) The internal geography of a city is an outcome of the trade-off between the pull from agglomeration economies and the push from congestion. (iii) The presence of externalities implies that the equilibrium spatial organization achieved by profit-maximizing firms may not necessarily be optimal. This justifies the role of public policy in addressing associated market failures. (iv) The productive edge and competitiveness of a city can be enhanced by introducing policies that increase the overall connectivity to take advantage of economic opportunities across the metropolitan area. The survey also puts together a wide range of policy instruments useful in closing the gap between equilibrium urban spatial structures and the optimal outcome.


Complexity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Guolei Zhou ◽  
Chenggu Li ◽  
Yanjun Liu ◽  
Jing Zhang

The evolution of urban spatial structure and urban land use is a topical issue in urban studies. The analysis of the complexity of functional urban spaces evolution is valuable for a deeper understanding of the changes in urban spatial structure. Taking the central city of Changchun as the study area, the paper uses the urban land conversion method to analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics of functional urban spaces evolution in different aspects. The study found that the evolution of functional urban spaces presents significant spatial and temporal differences in different stages and different aspects. There is a close relationship between functional urban spaces evolution and scale. As the scale becomes smaller, the spatial differences and patterns of functional urban spaces evolution become more complex. In the context of rapid urbanization, the mutual replacement of functional urban spaces is frequent, which is not conducive to the sustainable development of urban space as a whole. This study will deepen the understanding of the evolution of urban spatial structure and the complexity of urban systems and provide theoretical support for the optimization and sustainable development of urban spaces.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 525-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Cremades ◽  
Philipp S. Sommer

Abstract. Cities are fundamental to climate change mitigation, and although there is increasing understanding about the relationship between emissions and urban form, this relationship has not been used to provide planning advice for urban land use so far. Here we present the Integrated Urban Complexity model (IUCm 1.0) that computes “climate-smart urban forms”, which are able to cut emissions related to energy consumption from urban mobility in half. Furthermore, we show the complex features that go beyond the normal debates about urban sprawl vs. compactness. Our results show how to reinforce fractal hierarchies and population density clusters within climate risk constraints to significantly decrease the energy consumption of urban mobility. The new model that we present aims to produce new advice about how cities can combat climate change.


Spatium ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 76-83
Author(s):  
Ranka Gajic

The paper presents findings of research about the classification of New Belgrade?s super-blocks using the typomorphology approach and the morphogenetic analysis of urban morphology in relation to land use. The example of New Belgrade is particularly interesting given the fact that the morphological patterns of land use within its superblocks were created during the period of non-market economy in Socialism, and now it is possible to review the effect that the socio-political transition into Capitalism, which started in the 1990s, has had on its land use. As a result, a data base with the typology of residential super-blocks of New Belgrade is created: from the perspective of urban land use there are four main morphological types (with the subtypes) taking into account the morphology of the position of the buildings on the terrain, and traffic (cars-pedestrian) flows. The morphogenetic analysis reveals that after the 1990s there are processes pointing to powerful influence of land policy driven by private interests. Research findings suggest that nowadays there are negative trends of using the land in super-blocks in New Belgrade - e.g. percentage of land occupancy by buildings is getting bigger and almost 100% of the un-built soil in the newly developed super-blocks is covered /paved.


Author(s):  
Ilaria Geddes ◽  
Nadia Charalambous

This project was developed as an attempt to assess the relationship between different morphogenetic processes, in particular, those of fringe belt formation as described by M.R.G. Conzen (1960) and Whitehand (2001), and of centrality and compactness as described by Hillier (1999; 2002). Different approaches’ focus on different elements of the city has made it difficult to establish exactly how these processes interact or whether they are simply different facets of development reflecting wider socio-economic factors. To address this issue, a visual, chronological timeline of Limassol’s development was constructed along with a narrative of the socio-economic context of its development.  The complexity of cities, however, makes static visualisations across time difficult to read and assess alongside textual narratives. We therefore took the step of developing an animation of land use and configurational analyses of Limassol, in order bring to life the diachronic analysis of the city and shed light on its generative mechanisms. The video presented here shows that the relationship between the processes mentioned above is much stronger and more complex than previously thought. The related paper explores in more detail the links between fringe belt formation as a cyclical process of peripheral development and centrality as a recurring process of minimisation of gains in distance. The project’s outcomes clearly show that composite methods of visualisations are an analytical opportunity still little exploited within urban morphology. References Conzen, M.R.G., 1960. Alnwick, Northumberland: A Study in Town-Plan Analysis, London: Institute of British Geographers. Hillier, B., 2002. A Theory of the City as Object: or how spatial laws mediate the social construction of urban space. Urban Des Int, 7(3–4), pp.153–179. Hillier, B., 1999. Centrality as a process: accounting for attraction inequalities in deformed grids. Urban Des Int, 4(3–4), pp.107–127. Whitehand, J.W.R., 2001. British urban morphology: the Conzenian tradition. Urban Morphology, 5(2), pp.103–109.


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