Understanding Urban Complexity via the Spatial Diversity of Activities: An Application to Barcelona (Spain)

Abstract

Urban complexity can be measured by the numerical and spatial diversity of activities in a territory. Just as biodiversity can be measured in a natural ecosystem, diversity indices can be applied to urban settings. Urban diversity presents higher values in areas where there is a greater number of (economic, institutional, and social) activities with a high degree of differentiation between them. This study seeks to investigate the potential of applying an urban diversity index in a specific case study: namely, the city of Barcelona (Spain), known for the orthogonal grid plan of its Eixample district. Results show that the municipal territory of Barcelona as a whole is characterized by highly differentiated spaces according to their urban diversity values. Specifically, it is the Eixample district that presents the highest values of urban diversity, reflecting the densification of its morphology and its urban commercial policies.

Adapting moving‐window metrics to vector datasets for the characterization and comparison of simulated urban scenarios

“…As Rueda Palenzuela et al. (2022) observed in a study of Barcelona, the lowest urban diversity values are normally found in the peripheral areas of the city (Figure 10a2,c3), while the highest diversity is in the city center (Figure 10a1,a3). In other words, isolated and edge‐type growth normally show low diversity, while infilling growth triggers higher diversity.…”

“…Both concepts are particularly important in Spain, where the policies adopted to comply with the Urban Agenda for the EU and the UN 2030 Agenda have focused their efforts on sustainable urban development through the pursuit of urban diversity and efficient management of urban expansion, among other aspects. As a result, both the creation of a diverse urban environment (Rueda Palenzuela et al, 2022) and the control of urban sprawl (Díaz-Pacheco & García-Palomares, 2014) have become important topics on the spatial planning agenda in Spain. However, most existing studies have focused on the analysis and description of past urban growth processes, rather than analyzing possible future scenarios such as those derived from vector urban land simulation maps (Molinero-Parejo et al, 2023), which can assist in the design of proactive policy packages adapted to these scenarios (Ariza-Álvarez et al, 2023).…”

“…These offer helpful information that is easily understandable, from which a high volume of information can be extracted through spatial analysis (Ritsema van Eck & Koomen, 2008). In particular, the comparison of spatially explicit future scenarios is an excellent means of discussing the similarities and differences in urban diversity and urban form between different future pathways (Rueda Palenzuela et al., 2022). It is therefore an essential stage in the urban planning process, as it provides a better understanding of how different planning decisions can affect natural and urban areas (Herold et al., 2005).…”

The Realms of Abandonment: Measures and Interpretations of Landscape Value/Risk in Northern Sardinia (Italy)

“…The evaluation model used here is part of the operational research tools within the multidimensional analysis referred to by the tools that support shared decision-making processes, extending the knowledge of the utility sphere to the value sphere [48]. The first concerns mainly functional aspects, and the second also includes variables that refer more or less directly to ethical and aesthetic values [49].…”

Less Can Be More: Pruning Street Networks for Sustainable City Making

“…Hence, implementation plans were tailored to each neighbourhood and agreed upon as a result of a protocol and a road map for organizing the participation of stakeholders through joint commissions and regular meetings (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2020b). The initial Superblocks plan has since transitioned to the development of green axes (see differences between the alternatives superB_*** and eixV_***) (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2021b), but the effectiveness of this approach to address the societal and environmental challenges of the city has been questioned (Rueda Palenzuela, 2022;Suñé, 2022).…”