[1] [2] [3] CHARTER FOR THE ECOSYSTEMIC PLANNING OF … FOR THE...existing cities, this problem...

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[4] CHARTER FOR THE ECOSYSTEMIC

PLANNING OF CITIES [5] Charter for designing new urban developments and

regenerating existing ones [6]

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Introduction

[1] The majority of the world's population lives in cities. We are undergoing an exponential

increase in the urban population, and by the middle of the century it is expected that

over 70% of the planet's inhabitants will live in cities or metropolises. This process,

combined with the urban production of industrial society, has created vast simplified

urban landscapes, which are both unhealthy and, in many cases, uninhabitable (today,

more than 800 million people live in marginal areas, in conditions of basic survival). The

scale of how far urban landscapes and quality of life have deteriorated in most cities

around the world calls for a thorough regeneration of urban systems on every level, in

addition to planning new urban developments based on foundations that are far

removed from conventional urban planning proposals1.

[2] In addition, urban environments are currently the main factor behind the pressure

being exerted on the earth's ecosystems, on every level. The extent of the impact is

such that the current historical period has been classified as a new geological age,

known as the Anthropocene era. The process behind these uncertainties has been

described as unsustainable and, today, we can say that life on earth depends on a single

species and, above all, on the urban systems created by it2.

[3] Urban systems will therefore be the focus of our attention. Without regenerating

existing cities, this problem cannot be solved, and every day that passes sees

uncertainties grow. The suggested solutions must, of course, deal with new urban

developments, but it is even more important to find solutions for systems that are

already built, and which are currently causing damage.

[4] On many occasions urban planning tools were scarce, while in other cases they were

inspired first and foremost by the Athens Charter. Although the Charter aimed to

rationalise the compatibility between uses and functions resulting from industrial

society, it was unable to predict the serious issues that its proposals would cause, and is

clearly incapable of addressing the challenges faced in the early 21st century.

[5] An analysis of the biggest problems facing urban systems today has led both

continental and global institutions, with the United Nations at the fore, to meet

numerous times since the '70s in search of solutions. The last such meeting, held in

Quito in 2016, approved the Urban Agenda. Although the Agenda has good intentions,

the results achieved so far are not as expected. Perhaps one of the many reasons for

this is the lack of an agreed theoretical framework that intentionally channels the

technical, technological, regulatory, economic/financial, organisational/institutional

and educational tools required to achieve the framework's objectives, and the

theoretical reference points for different environmental, economic and social

conditions.

1 The biggest issues facing cities today. (Annex 1) 2 The biggest problems created by urban systems in the planet's ecosystems. (Annex 2)

http://bcnecologia.net/sites/default/files/annex_1_charter_for_designing_new_urban_developments.pdf


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[6] This document is a draft for a Charter with an ecological foundation, which should

serve as a guide for designing new urban developments, for regenerating existing urban

systems, and that responds to the current challenges related to sustainability in the

information and knowledge age.

[7] Ecology, the basis for a theoretical framework

[8] We are in the midst of a change of era (the transition from the industrial age to the

digital era), and in the midst of formulating a much-needed new paradigm3. During the

industrial era, the limits of certain variables, essential for guaranteeing the future, were

exceeded. The lasting impact on the earth's ecosystems, and on cities and

metropolises, urges us to change the internal logic behind creating cities in terms of

existing urban systems, as the rationale behind new urban developments. The scope

and scale of the damage and imbalances force us to move the goalposts and come up

with standards that encompass all the variables at stake. The only conceptual

framework that allows this is ecology.

[9] Ecosystems are the subject of the study of ecology4. Cities are urban ecosystems in

which human beings are the main component. Urban ecosystems are the most complex

systems created by the human species. When approaching the transformation of urban

systems from a holistic perspective, we must create synthetic models that touch on the

main components of urban systems.

[10] A more sustainable urban model in the information age5

[11] The set of components that make up a city, and the relationships and restrictions

between them, result in a system of proportions. These proportions, which are the

result of a number of factors and interests, can create a range of different issues. For

example, if the resulting city has excessively extensive suburbs, then there will likely be

social segregation by income, culture and ethnicity. The inequality between different

areas will become a reality. In the suburbs, which usually have an exclusively residential

function, the shortage of basic services and facilities will force residents to use cars to

access them. If the use of transport tends excessively towards private vehicles, then the

occupation of public spaces by cars, combined with traffic congestion and poor air

3 A change of era and a change of paradigm: from an industrial society to the information and

knowledge society. (Annex 3) 4 A system is a series of physical and chemical components that relate to each other, and that can be

distinguished by the restrictions established between the connected components. When the components in a system include living organisms, the system is known as an ecosystem. Ecosystems are open systems in terms of information, matter and energy, following Margalef's principle on ecology, and they are scalable by nature: a room, a building, a neighbourhood or a city are ecosystems because they meet this definition. 5 Rueda, S. (2002). Barcelona, a compact and complex Mediterranean city. A more sustainable vision for

the future. http://bcnecologia.net/en/publications/barcelona-compact-and-complex-mediterranean-city-more-sustainable-vision-future


http://bcnecologia.net/en/publications/barcelona-compact-and-complex-mediterranean-city-more-sustainable-vision-future

http://bcnecologia.net/en/publications/barcelona-compact-and-complex-mediterranean-city-more-sustainable-vision-future

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quality, among other things, will result in lower-quality urban spaces and habitability.

Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions will increase, air quality will worsen

and this will have a consequent impact on human health. Similar analysis can be

extended to other urban variables. This example highlights the need to integrate a

series of variables so that their proportions work in synergy to address current

challenges.

[12] As mentioned above, the city is the most complex system created by the human

species. The only way to approach this complexity and reach a system with balanced

proportions is via intentional models that seek to address current challenges and

uncertainties, while simplifying current situations and allowing a channel for the energy

of change. Defining intentional models allows us to set the playing field for applying

transdisciplinary perspectives, in which experts can later apply their knowledge with a

clear understanding of the limits of the playing field and the rules of the game. Today,

from an analysis of the problems shown in many urban systems, and an analysis of the

systems that have managed to reduce these problems, an intentional urban model has

emerged that has a compact morphology, complex organisation (in terms of mixed

uses and biodiversity), metabolic efficiency and social cohesion.

[13] Compactness and urban functionality are the core concepts that deal with morphology

and formal solutions: building density, distribution of land use, and the percentage of

green space or roads. It determines the relationship between urban uses and functions.

It is also the core concept that defines the system's functionality, and forms the

backdrop for mobility and public space.

[14] Urban complexity deals with urban organisation, and the mixture of uses and functions

that are implemented or will be implemented in a given area. Urban complexity

qualifies the interactions between organisational bodies, or legal persons, in a city:

economic activities, associations, facilities and institutions. This component includes

the information flow model and knowledge-intensive legal persons, which make up the

foundation of smart cities. This core concept also includes biodiversity as an expression

of biological complexity that coexists with human beings in an urban ecosystem.

[15] Urban metabolism looks at achieving efficient flows of materials, water and energy,

which make up the support network for any urban system, in order to maintain proper

organisation and avoid pollution. Natural resource management should be as efficient

as possible in terms of use, causing minimal disturbances to the supporting ecosystems,

and in accordance with the fourth metabolic regime6. Due to the intrinsic nature of

urban ecosystems, the proposed urban metabolism must transcend them and

incorporate them in a broader regional context, where their functions of generation,

regeneration and reproduction can be carried out. This regional scale is defined by

6 A change of era and a change of paradigm: from an industrial society to the information and

knowledge society. (Annex 3)


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variable geometries for each one of the metabolic components, and is the key to

developing strategies aimed at self-sufficiency with renewable resources.

[16] Social cohesion refers to the coexistence between the people who live in an urban

space, and the relationships they establish with each other. Cities cannot fulfil their

function as engines of social progress, economic growth and as a space for the

development of democracy unless there is a social balance in place, both in intraurban

and interurban terms, while protecting cultural diversity and establishing a high-quality

urban environment. In a context that is aware of social vulnerability, a mixture of

income brackets, cultures, ages and professions has a stabilising effect on the urban

system.

[17] These four key aspects are closely related, and interact in synergy to provide integrated

responses to urban realities, both in terms of rehabilitation and regeneration

processes, and to support those who plan new urban developments. The model has an

impact on and shows itself fully on a number of scales, ranging from an entire

metropolis to an area of about 16-20 ha.

[18] A regional model that forms a city network with multiple nuclei:

more countryside and more city

[19] A regional model that has proved sustainable for centuries in the middle latitudes is a

mosaic made up of farmland, forests and pasture, linked by borders, hedges, ditches,

streams, rivers and more, with a compact and complex city in the middle, so that the

region is set out as a multiple nuclei city network. The synthesis of the two models –the

urban and the regional– would mean creating more city space and more countryside at

the same time. Experience shows that these two models can be maintained and

developed when the mobility model works to enhance the layout of the nodes or

nuclei, making it more difficult for urban dispersion to develop.

[20] The key foundations of Ecosystemic Urbanism7

[21] Urban planning as a social practice that involves creating and transforming cities is a

tool to deal with current challenges. However, the limitations of current urban planning

practices mean a new urban planning method is required, rooted in ecology and with a

broader focus, which allows us to increase our ability to plan ahead in the face of the

current uncertainties created, above all, by urban systems.

[22] a) Context

[23] In ecological terms, addressing the transformation of a given region means taking the

surroundings into account (both the internal environment and the broader support

system) from every angle: the environment8, the economy, society and culture9. The

7 Rueda, S. Urbanismo ecológico. Su aplicación en el diseño de un ecobarrio en Figueras.

8 Avoiding building on floodplains or on areas at risk of landslides, etc.

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chosen solution should not create disruptions in the context, or in the accompanying

secondary variables.

[24] The components of context are as broad as reality itself: landscape, heritage, cultural

identity, geography, metabolism, biodiversity, etc. The scale of context changes in

geometry depending on the characteristics of each variable. Taking atmospheric

emissions as an example, pollution can have a significant local impact (sedimentary

particles), regional impact (SO2, VOCs, etc.) or even global impact (greenhouse gases).

Any action taken in a given region will result in more or less of these pollutants being

emitted, which means that the context, in this case, will apply on every scale, all of

which must be taken into account.

[25] On the other hand, it is important to understand the specifics of each urban system,

and the factors involved in any changes therein. Intervening in a World Heritage city

creates a different context to a city without this status. Recognising cultural diversity as

humanity's most important heritage is an essential factor in urban and social life. Much

like the environment, it runs the risk of destruction and extinction due to a

standardised globalisation with dominant and excluding cultural moulds. It is important

to ensure that culture is present in every urban development process, especially in

those relating to historic town centres, as a strategic and cross-cutting aspect that

should be present in every urban planning and decision-making scenario.

[26] Requirements for designing new urban developments and for regenerating existing

ones, within the framework of this document:

[27] - Current situations relating to landscapes, cultural identities, geography, metabolism

and biodiversity, etc., will be taken into account under the terms set out in the

Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification, and under other terms that are justified in different

contextual circumstances10.

[28] - Any buildings or urban complexes that express the historical, architectural and urban

heritage of the city should be protected. Their renovation, where applicable, should be

adapted to the assertions made in the principles of ecosystemic urbanism, which are

established later on.

[29] b) City vs. Residential Area

[30] For a number of reasons, and depending on the context, the current trend for

constructing cities has led to vast low-density suburbs being built. These areas can be

defined as urbanised areas, but not as a "city". The main characteristics that distinguish

a city from a residential area are the existence of public spaces, and a range of legal

9 Culture is a complex category in itself, defined by UNESCO as the set of distinctive spiritual, material,

intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, that encompasses, not only art and literature, but lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs. 10 Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed.

BCNecología. ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf

http://bcnecologia.net/sites/default/files/ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION_SRueda.pdf

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persons. The two features that distinguish a city from a residential area do not coincide

with the main process of constructing a city today.

[31] The existence of public spaces is a necessary requirement for a city to become a city.

Suburbs have buildings (mostly single-family housing) and the spaces between buildings

almost exclusively function to allow vehicles to pass through and reach their respective

car parks. These are single-purpose urbanised spaces (used only for mobility) that are

part of simplified and monofunctional urban areas (residential, services and industrial

areas, etc.), but they are not public spaces that provide the potential uses offered by a

multifunctional and complex city.

[32] A public space is a meeting place, a place made to be shared, where a large number of

urban interests coincide. Interests that may be opposing, in some cases. In order for a

public space to exist, or in other words, in order for it to make sense as a space for daily

interactions, and as a space that can be used for all the purposes that make us citizens,

the public space must be occupied by a sufficient number of inhabitants and legal

persons.

[33] The second feature that differentiates a city from a residential area is the number and

range of complementary legal persons (in terms of economic activities, associations and

institutions). The complex and multifunctional organisation of a city, generated by the

range and mixture of uses for that city, is much more complicated than the organisation

of a suburb, which has a simplified and monofunctional structure. Compared to the

organisation of natural systems, a city with a highly diverse number of uses could be

comparable to the diversity of species in a tropical forest, while a suburb could be

compared to a desert.



[35] - The aim is to build a city, not a residential area. Every square metre taken from nature

for urban development must be justified, and this is not the case when the resulting

intervention does not produce a city.

[36] - Urban zoning regulations should avoid classifying land for use that does not meet the

real needs of an area. Thus, developable land should meet real needs, for a given period

of time, whenever they cannot be met by recycling existing urban land, or using vacant

spaces on the urban landscape. The extension of urban areas should be a continuation

of the already constructed urban fabric, avoiding building in non-contiguous areas.

[37] c) Principles and objectives of ecosystemic urbanism when regenerating existing

urban fabrics, and when planning new developments

[38] The following shows the principles of ecosystemic urbanism, which bring together

objectives and strategies for constructing a city. They make up the core concepts of the

intentional urban model. The following fifteen principles aim to summarise the key

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points for urban regeneration and for designing new urban developments. Achieving

these premises and objectives would allow for a balanced system to be obtained in

order to ensure that current challenges, on both an urban and global scale, are dealt

with.

[39] 1st. COMPACTNESS vs. DISPERSION: Reducing land use by increasing the proximity and

critical mass of inhabitants and legal persons.

[40] 2nd. DECOMPRESSION vs. COMPRESSION: Urban equilibrium.

[41] 3rd. ACCESSIBILITY vs. PRIVATE MOBILITY: Alternative transport to cars, guaranteeing

that all citizens can access the city.

[42] 4th. CITIZEN vs. PEDESTRIAN: Uses and rights in the public space.

[43] 5th. HABITABILITY IN THE PUBLIC SPACE: Controlling environmental variables.

[44] 6th. COMPLEXITY vs. SIMPLIFICATION: Increasing urban complexity with a greater and

wider range of legal persons.

[45] 7th. HYPERCONNECTIVITY: Information flows in the digital era.

[46] 8th. GREEN SPACE vs. ASPHALT: Increasing green space and urban biodiversity.

[47] 9th. SELF-SUFFICIENCY vs. DEPENDENCY: Moving towards energy sufficiency.

[48] 10th. WATER SELF-SUFFICIENCY WITH NEARBY AND RENEWABLE RESOURCES:

Conservation in the water cycle.

[49] 11th. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE vs. WASTE: Moving towards self-sufficiency in terms of

materials.

[50] 12th. ADAPTING TO AND MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

[51] 13th. SOCIAL COHESION vs. SOCIAL EXCLUSION: Moving towards social cohesion

between a mix of income brackets, cultures and ages.

[52] 14th. UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO HOUSING IN MORE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS.

[53] 15th. BALANCED RESOURCES AND DISTRIBUTION OF FACILITIES

[54] The systemic and eco-integrative approach of the proposal means that the principles of

ecosystemic urbanism work in unison and in synergy.

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[55] 1st PRINCIPLE.

[56] COMPACTNESS vs. DISPERSION: Reducing land use by increasing the proximity and

critical mass of inhabitants and legal persons

[57] The urban planning and structure of the area should encourage compact and

multifunctional urban structures and morphologies, establishing priorities such as

processes that encourage recycling existing urban fabrics, recovering disused land in

urban areas, and processes that redensify disperse land. Taking action in urban

expansion areas that are residential in nature should be carried out when the borders

of urban fabrics or new centres appear, with an emphasis on criteria for accessibility

and urban attraction.

[58] A certain level of compactness allows a critical mass of people and legal persons to

gather in the same place, in order to encourage exchanges and new lines of

communication between people, entities and activities. The types of building are

primarily collective housing, which should provide minimum population densities to

allow for those urban functions linked to sustainable mobility to develop efficiently, as

well as providing public transport services, infrastructures linked to information flows

and urban metabolism, and basic facilities and services.

[59] Building intensity should be adjusted to minimum buildable land values, calculated

using a quotient that links the gross building area to the floor space of the urban area in

question. It aims to reduce the distances between uses, public spaces, facilities and

other activities in order to create proximity patterns and ensure journeys are mainly

carried out on foot.



[61] - Density and compactness are decisive factors for guaranteeing urban quality of life

and habitability. In order for urban fabrics to have the required structural tension, and

for them to facilitate social and commercial relations between complementary fabrics, a

compactness threshold needs to be established in order to ensure a critical mass of

people, activities and services in a given area. An absolute compactness11 of 5 metres, or

the equivalent for a gross floor area of 1.25 m2t/m2s, has been set as the minimum

density for which residential urban fabrics should aim. High-rise multi-family buildings

should be built as a priority, to reduce land use among other things.

[62] - The study of a significant sample of residential urban fabrics in different cities

demonstrates that a housing density of more than 80 dwellings/ha can be achieved with

an average absolute compactness measure of 4.7 metres and 100 dwellings/ha, based

on absolute compactness of 6 metres. These standards set a minimum density

parameter, in order to avoid disperse urban fabrics and to encourage socially inclusive

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Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed. BCNecología. ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf (See “Absolute Compactness” calculation, page 445).


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urban spaces. Urban fabrics of between 100 and 160 dwellings/ha (with an average

occupation of 2.5 people per household) means that a sufficient critical mass of people

(more than 250 inhabitants/ha) and activities (more than 25 act/ha) can be located in

the same space in order for core functions to develop correctly, such as the provision of

proper public transport, basic facilities and public spaces. Densities that are well above

or below these values are not desirable for the most sustainable outcome. In the former

situation, it is difficult to achieve energy self-sufficiency while resulting in a level of

congestion that can be costly for the population in terms of public space and services.

The latter situation, meanwhile, would mean buildings would be too dispersed, leading

to a higher consumption of resources, and with a population level too low for urban

functions to develop normally.

[63] - In urban regeneration processes, and even in the dynamics of regulated urban growth,

for example in urban codes, a growth in density for areas with low density will allow for

values greater than 100 dwell/ha, but will aim not to exceed 160 dwell/ha. In the event

that these levels are exceeded, the urban equilibrium values defined in the 2nd Principle

must be met.

[64] - In areas with densities higher than the recommended density and, therefore, with

excessive urban compression, there will be a limit to new density increases and

mechanisms will be established to reduce excesses. In some cases, where it is not

possible to reduce density, this should be compensated for by increasing urban

decompression spaces, and increasing green and public spaces.

[65] - We will try to find formal solutions that guarantee a sufficient number and diversity of

legal persons in order to reach the critical mass that justifies the existence of public

space and provides sufficient basic services for residents, etc. Building city blocks with

façade fronts on the ground floor is a better solution than building isolated city blocks

and towers. The number of legal persons that can be in the area is significantly higher.

[66] - The heights of the buildings and width of the streets must make sure that the sunlight

that reaches the public space, in the season when the sun is at its lowest, is no less than

1.7 hours a day. Similarly, the height and orientation of the buildings should ensure that

solar radiation can generate enough energy through solar panels to provide the

greatest energy sufficiency through renewable energy.

[67] 2nd PRINCIPLE.

[68] DECOMPRESSION vs. COMPRESSION: Urban equilibrium

[69] Compactness is a necessary condition for certain variables, as indicated above.

Nonetheless, excess density leads to issues that must also be resolved. Correcting

compactness is essential to ensure a balance between compression and decompression

that removes the issues and impacts of excessively compact urban fabrics, and the

issues that come from urban fabrics that lack structure, such as those in the suburbs.

[70] In the city, certain spaces are allocated to make sure the city is organised and runs well.

Anthropic organisation and functions are related to buildings and roads. Both offer uses

and functions that create and produce a fabric with sufficient tension to ensure the

urban system is organised. The result is that, in order to obtain a competitive city, it is

necessary for there to be a certain level of "compression". To make sure the city has a

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fabric with sufficient tension it is necessary to have a certain compactness that, when

excessive, can generate a pressure of the same size. In order to achieve urban

equilibrium, it has been shown that cities with "sufficient" public spaces, aimed at

leisure and being in contact with nature and so on, provide a higher quality of life and

urban landscape.

[71] In order to obtain a "balanced" urban life, any excessive compactness must be

corrected by freeing up space that is currently dedicated to mobility or buildings.

Freeing up space from mobility is easier than freeing it up from buildings, for obvious

reasons. At the other extreme there are excessively lax urban fabrics, which normally

occur in suburbs, which do not have any tension. The correction comes through higher

density, which increases the population and the number of legal persons. Urban

equilibrium is obtained when the "necessary" tension and "adequate" decompression

are combined.



[73] - Residential fabrics aim to achieve an urban equilibrium between urban compression

and decompression. The corrected compactness indicator12 allows us to establish an

adequate balance between spaces related to activities and the organisation of the

urban system (the constructed space), and spaces for decompressing urban tension that

aim to satisfy leisure needs, the opportunity to spend time outside and relate to others

(public spaces or areas available for the use of citizens). Values of between 10 and 50

metres show a balanced level of compactness has been reached. Values over 10 metres

of corrected compactness indicate a city, while values below this indicate suburbs or low

density areas. Values under 50 metres indicate a balanced city, while values above this

figure show an excessively stressed city.

[74] - Compact residential fabrics generally have a considerable lack of public staying spaces,

that is to say, green spaces, squares, exclusive space for pedestrians and/or space for

cohabitation13, walks, sufficiently wide paths, etc. For this reason, a quantitative

minimum of 10 m2/inhabitant has also been determined.

[75] 3rd PRINCIPLE.

[76] ACCESSIBILITY vs. PRIVATE MOBILITY: Alternative transport to cars, guaranteeing that

all citizens can access the city.

[77] The important thing is not mobility but access to the city and its services. The main

objective is the right to the city.

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Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed. BCNecología. ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf (See “Corrected Compactness” calculation, page 449). 13

Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed. BCNecología. ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf (See public “Staying Space” calculation, page 451).



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[78] Today, most of the city streets in the world are used for pedestrian mobility and in

particular to vehicle mobility. If public space needs to be freed up for other uses, and

environmental variables need to be controlled to improve habitability in the public

space, then the mobility model needs to be modified, or in other words the percentage

of trips made via each mode of transport, meaning that most current trips made by car

need to transfer to other means of transport.

[79] The percentage of trips made by car should be reduced to an absolute minimum, even

if made by electric cars, since the limiting factor in urban systems is land space. All

other trips should be made by alternative means of transports to the car, which should

have adequate transport units and an appropriate infrastructure to offer a real

competitive alternative to private cars in terms of time, energy and accessibility.

[80] Trips on foot are more efficient, in terms of time and energy (compared to a car) when

the distance travelled is under a kilometre. The percentage of public space with priority

for pedestrians should not be less than 70%, although in existing urban fabrics this

depends on the urban morphology in question. On roads with vehicular traffic, paths

should be at least five metres wide to allow two people in wheelchairs to pass by each

other, and so that two people can converse easily without interrupting the passage of

people with reduced mobility.

[81] On the roads, the most efficient means of transport in terms of time and energy

efficiency is the electric bicycle. For a distance of less than 11 km in a city space,

journeys take less time by electric bicycles than by car. The average distance of a

journey taken by electric bicycle is, on average, about 10 km (half that for a traditional

bicycle). For a trip of 4 km, the energy consumed by an electric bicycle (the engine and

the cyclist's metabolic energy) is less than the energy consumed by foot (metabolism).

Apart from a reduced energy consumption, the electric bicycle does not cause

pollution, and does not make noise. The approved engine has a maximum speed of 25

km/h, reducing the severity of accidents; it allows for an average person to go up slopes

of 20%; it is comfortable even in the hottest months; it is healthy; it takes up less

parking space, and it becomes the ideal urban electric vehicle, ahead of the other

electric vehicles. The classic bicycle is more efficient than a car trip, both in time and

energy, when the distance travelled is less than 4 km.

[82] To ensure the safety of cyclists, especially in the early stages while bicycle trips are

growing, a continuous and segregated cycle lane network should be implemented

throughout the city. When space allows, the main network of bicycle lanes should run

through normal routes, sharing the road with public transport and cars. The speed of

the electric bicycle means that the green wave does not have a negative impact on

bicycle travel. Bicycles can cross pedestrian areas at an appropriate speed (provided

that the number of pedestrians is less than 200 pedestrians per m2/hour), and can

travel in both directions (secondary bicycle network) on the road.

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[83] Collective transport networks on ground level are usually radial, creating redundant

areas and resulting in an urban service that varies in quality from the centre to the

periphery. In urban systems, the most efficient network is an orthogonal shape. A bus

trip is usually more energy efficient than a car trip per passenger transported, although

it is usually not more efficient in terms of time. Nonetheless, public transport on ground

level (the most common type in the vast majority of cities) is necessary to ensure

citizens can access the city and its services, especially when the city is compact and has

the critical mass of people and legal persons to make it sustainable. It should be noted

that the majority of the population does not have access to the city autonomously,

either because they do not have a driver's license, because they are very young or very

old, or simply because they do not have a car.

[84] The motorcycle is the most efficient urban vehicle in terms of time, but not in terms of

energy. The main problem for motorcycles is the number of fatal or serious accidents

that occur in comparison to other means of transport.

[85] The car is the most researched object of all the items created by the human species,

and it is suitable for certain uses that cannot be carried out with alternative means to a

private vehicle. In a compact city, the number of car trips per day should not exceed

10% of total trips, including journeys made to deliver goods. Car parking spaces should

be away from public spaces (roads), and this is easy to do if car parking is not allowed

and chargers for new electric vehicles are not installed on the public electricity

network. Changes in automotive technology are a unique opportunity to clear public

space of parked vehicles.

[86] Considering mobility as a service, where the most important thing is access to the city

and its services, rather than ownership of vehicles, would allow for a drastic reduction

in car use and, at the same time, would contribute to a less materialistic economy.

Electric vehicles should be basically shared.

[87] In many cities, there is a high annual increase in urban distribution units. This causes

many issues in terms of urban vehicle flow. It would be a good idea to enable logistic

platforms for urban distribution with electric vehicles, which could load and unload

their cargo at night.

[88] Requirements for designing new urban developments, and regenerating existing

developments, within the framework of this document:

[89] Accessibility and mobility

[90] - A clear road hierarchy should be defined for the entire metropolis/urban system,

according to the functionality and the associated uses for each road, while establishing

speed limitations.

[91] - Main city roadways (or roadways in the area with new urban development) will be

established and will integrate the whole set of mechanical means of transport, in a

shape that is as orthogonal as possible. The structure will aim to leave a perimeter

14

inside the basic roadways, covering 16-20 ha, which will not allow vehicular traffic.

These areas will be known as superblocks14, and will form the basis of the new

functional model and the new urban model.

[92] - In order to integrate all the variables related to urban functionality, a Mobility Plan

should be designed based on superblocks, setting out the number of cars to be reduced,

and the actions that should be taken to achieve this.

[93] - In order to implement the superblocks in the existing urban fabric, and in order to

reduce resistance to changing habits, a preliminary stage of placation should be

established. During this stage, the directions of each street will not be changed, and

there will be a speed limit assigned to each section of street. The roads will be classified

according to the traffic flow and the function each street plays in the urban mobility

network. Speed limits for the fastest urban streets should not exceed 80 km/h. The

speed limits for the roads on the periphery of the superblocks should not exceed 50

km/h when they are part of the network of main roadways, and should not exceed 30

km/h when they close off the superblock area, although they are not main roads. Inside

the superblocks, the maximum speed limit will be 20 km/h, since the priority use in this

stage will be mobility.

[94] - In the second stage, cars will not be allowed to enter the superblocks. Streets will

become public squares, so that citizens can take advantage of all their uses and rights,

even the most vulnerable members of society: the blind, children playing, etc. The entire

section of the street will aim to be a single platform. During this stage, the maximum

speed limit will be 10 km/h. A speed limit of 20 km/h could be accepted for cars, but this

is an excessive speed for bicycles; for this reason, the speed limit will be set at 10 km/h.

Inside the superblocks, a speed of 30 km/h will not be accepted under any

circumstances: at this speed, in 100 accidents between a car and a person on foot, five

of the pedestrians will die.

[95] - The roads in the superblocks should be laid out so that more than 70% of the public

space is freed up for pedestrian use, which will be given the highest priority on the

hierarchy for modes of transport. Public transport will be in second place on the

hierarchy, while bicycles will be in third place.

[96] - A new public transport network that is fair and accessible to all (transforming the

current network) will be designed on a ground level. The best design formula are

orthogonal networks following the peripheral roads that mark the edges of the

superblocks, as this guarantees the best connection and access to any point in the city,

providing the same services to the centre and the periphery.

[97] - In order to free up the public space used for parking, car parks will instead be built off-

road in buildings that should be designed in a flexible way, and that may house other

uses in the future. These buildings, when built on several storeys, will have a façade

front that houses economic activities, so as not to create urban deserts, and should be

located where possible on the main streets of the superblocks. The distance from

residential buildings to car parks should not exceed 300 m, which is the maximum

recommended distance to reach a public transport stop (bus).

14 The minimum urban ecosystem in which the principles of Ecosystemic urbanism can be integrated

(Annex 5).


15

[98] - Parking in residential buildings will be prohibited or restricted to an absolute minimum

(with car parking for the disabled, for example, provided there is no other alternative).

On the other hand, there should be parking spaces for bicycles.

[99] - A network will be established for bicycles and electrical devices that are compatible

with bicycles. This network will extend throughout the city and will run alongside the

main roads of the superblocks whenever the road section allows. Inside the superblocks

the bicycles should have clear paths in both directions and should adapt, at all times, to

the uses of the area. Where necessary, the cyclist should dismount from the bicycle.

[100] - In order to free up public space from parking, electrical connection points should not

be installed on the street. Only the bare minimum should be installed for pre-established

uses.

[101] - For every superblock, or for every few superblocks, an urban distribution platform

should be established at the periphery of the superblocks, to distribute cargo. Using low

tonnage vehicles, electrical where possible, the platform will distribute goods at times

that are compatible with the presence of children on the street and with other uses as

defined in each case (preferably at night). The platforms will also serve as collection

points for parcels, which will avoid the use of multiple motorised transport units to

distribute items ordered online.

[102] - A single transport system will be established, with tickets that cover all means of public

transport (bus, BRT, tram, train), as well as public bicycles, carpooling (whether private

vehicles or otherwise) and public and underground car parks. The price for each service

will be related to the transport hierarchy, and off-road parking will always be less

expensive than parking in public spaces.

[103] Infrastructures

[104] - An integrated service infrastructure plan will be defined (including transport

infrastructure) that covers all urban and metropolitan areas. This plan will guarantee

that urban systems are organised and function properly, and will avoid unnecessary

impacts on the biophysical network as well as preventing urban settlements that are

usually caused by disorder.

[105] - Within the urban fabric, service infrastructures will be organised on three dimensions

(use of underground space will be encouraged, whenever possible, by building

underground utility tunnels) to avoid conflicts and impacts on the population, built

heritage, urban green space, etc.

[106] 4th PRINCIPLE

[107] CITIZEN vs. PEDESTRIAN: Uses and rights in the public space.

[108] It is fundamentally important for the majority of urban space that is currently used for

mobility to be converted and made available for an increase in citizen uses and rights,

turning the streets into places for cohabitation. The public space is a space for all of us,

a place for meetings and exchanges, a place to exercise citizens' rights: exchanges,

16

entertainment and living, culture15 and knowledge, expression and democracy and for

travelling from one place to the next. A city cannot exist without public space, and

public space makes us citizens. We are citizens when we have the opportunity to

occupy public space, so that we have the chance to exercise our rights. Today, the

impossibility of exercising these rights relegates us to being pedestrians, which is a

word that only defines a means of transport.

[109] Returning the citizen to the public space that was lost due to the current mobility

model must form a fundamental part of new urban planning and new models of

mobility and public space. Electric vehicles can reduce some of the noise (noise at

certain speeds is due to friction from the tires on the road surface, rather than the

engine) as well as air pollution (almost half of air pollution from particles it caused by

"dust" from the wheels, which comes from tyre particles, brakes, the lubricating oils on

the bearings, etc., which are known to contain heavy metals and highly toxic

components). What they cannot reduce is the space they occupy, with that space being

one of the scarcest goods in most cities.



[111] - With the implementation of the second stage of the superblocks, freeing up the public

space that is currently dedicated to mobility will allow this space to be allocated to

citizen uses and rights, turning the streets into "public squares". In addition to

prioritising pedestrian travel, interactions and cohabitation are encouraged.

[112] - Today, more than 80% of public space in cities is allocated to mobility. Public space

management is, almost exclusively, the responsibility of traffic police, who must

guarantee the right to travel. By freeing up almost 70% of the road space by

implementing superblocks, municipalities will have to fundamentally change their

organisation in order to manage the new uses of public space, related to entertainment

and leisure for all ages, culture and art, economic exchange and trade, and with the

right of democratic expression and the free movement of people and goods.

[113] 5th PRINCIPLE.

[114] HABITABILITY IN THE PUBLIC SPACE: Controlling environmental variables.

[115] Successive or evolving natural ecosystems tend to "control", through the relationship

between the components of said ecosystems, the variables in the environment:

humidity, temperature, the binomial between sun/shadows, roads, etc. that are key to

increasing and/or maintaining their biodiversity.

15

The public space is a privileged framework of cultural development in a state of constant evolution, and it constitutes the field of creative diversity, in which the perspective of encountering things that are different (in terms of backgrounds, opinions, ages, genders, ethnicities and social classes) makes integral human development possible. (Agenda 21 de la Cultura, 2004).

17

[116] In urban ecosystems, public space is the environment in which the relationships

between the components of the system coincide. Temperature, energy dissipation

(noise, heat), air quality, attractiveness, safety, etc., are all environmental variables of

the urban ecosystem. In the suburbs there are normally low levels of noise and

pollution. However, the suburbs do not have the same level of attractiveness as the

city, and are typically urban deserts. In the city centre, the attractiveness levels are

sufficient, but there are excessive levels of noise and pollution. For both urban fabrics,

the level of quality and habitability can be improved.

[117] The lack of control over these environmental variables can frequently be seen, both for

existing urban fabrics and in planning projects for new urban developments.

[118] If it is understood that public space is fundamentally important in the definition of a

city, then ensuring habitability is too. An urban planning proposal would have to

ensure:

[119] a) A comfortable public space, through controls for noise, air quality and temperature.

[120] b) Attractive public spaces, by implementing basic services for residents; a diverse

range of legal persons and urban green space.

[121] c) Ergonomic public spaces, allocating most of the space for uses other than mobility;

ensuring accessibility to "all", and establishing an adequate relationship between street

width and building height.



[123] - The processes of change in most cities and metropolises today often omit the needs of

the most vulnerable members of society. The type of urban planning that is being

developed does not include the perspective of gender, children or people with

disabilities. The habitability of the public space begins with the groups mentioned

above, and habitability is the best indicator. Guaranteeing accessibility, independent

movements, security, etc. is fundamental to ecosystemic urbanism.

[124] - Implementing superblocks allows the areas inside these urban blocks to be freed from

pollution and noise (almost 70% of public space). With the arrival of electric vehicles,

the reduction of both variables will also extend to main roadways. By replacing cars

with urban green space and permeable surfaces, the urban heat island effect will be

lessened, and more comfortable temperatures will be achieved. In new developments,

building height must allow for a certain number of hours of sunshine (as mentioned

above, at middle latitudes there should be at least 1.7 hours of sunshine in public

spaces, during the time of year when the sun is lowest).

[125] - The interior of the superblocks should, preferably, have a single platform with the aim

of guaranteeing access to all. This single platform is also essential to avoid providing

any one street front with a particular importance, hence encouraging the

implementation of economic activities.

[126] - In order to increase security in public spaces, vegetation and street furniture should be

placed so that they do not create excessive blind spots, and providing the space with

18

enough light for a person's face to be seen 8 m away. The proliferation of nearby

activities and services for residents is the best way to control the public space used by

the community during the day.

[127] - The facilities connected to local residence should be properly distributed: education,

culture, sports, health centres, community centres, markets, etc., at distances of no

more than 600 m (10 min. walk).


[129] COMPLEXITY16 vs. SIMPLIFICATION: Increasing urban complexity17 with more and a

wider range of legal persons.

[130] Although compactness is the starting point for ensuring the physical and functional

intensity of urban systems, the uses and activities that take place in built spaces are

equally important. The main objectives of ecosystemic urbanism depend, to a large

extent, on the number and diversity of legal persons within that urban system. In

other words, it depends on the organisational complexity, or rather, the level of

organised information.

[131] Attracting new economic activities and institutions is closely related to the number and

diversity (complexity) of existing ones. The greater the number and diversity of said

bodies, the higher the level of attraction and the higher the probability of increasing

organised urban information.

[132] Intentionally increasing organised information is a competitive strategy, as information

complexity confers advantages over other systems that have less organisational

complexity. Information is not added, but multiplied (money behaves in a similar

fashion). In this strategy, it is especially important to include the activities that govern

the present and that are anticipated for the future, that is, those that involve the most

knowledge and information: they are "@" activities or knowledge-intensive activities.

[133] There are several initiatives aimed at creating new central points in the existing city, by

planning the placement of aspects that are attractive for transport, sports, culture18,

society and the economy. The ultimate goal is to increase the level of urban complexity,

especially in more simplified areas. Extending complexity to the majority of the

consolidated city, as well as to the suburbs, is fundamentally important for the new

competitive strategy.

16

In an urban ecosystem, complexity is an expression of a set of measured variables with significant information content (legal persons), their respective numbers and their interactions, and how they are integrated into the space and time. 17 Rueda, S. (1995) Ecologia urbana: Barcelona i la seva regió metropolitana com a referents. Ed. Beta

Editorial. 18

It should be specified that culture, no matter how important it is as a tool for development, cannot be relegated to a subsidiary function as a simple promoter of economic growth. The role of culture is not just a means to achieve an end, but it actually forms the social basis of the ends themselves. Development and the economy should be understood as part of the culture of the people.

19

[134] Establishing strategies to increase the number and diversity of legal persons is essential

to improving the relative position of one urban system over others. On the other hand,

producing a disperse city with extensive monofunctional areas leads to urban

simplification, and is a cause of imbalances, inequalities and social segregation, a

reflection of the difference in complexity between parts of the same urban system.

When there are very large simplified areas, such as in the suburbs, these issues

multiply.

[135] The issues created by the suburbs are such that introducing diversity into

monofunctional urban fabrics has become an urgent concern. This could be achieved

through "centralisation" strategies, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by

transport hubs, new tram lines, the opening of new metro stations, regenerating

obsolete urban fabrics, etc. Prior to these monofunctional areas being reclassified,

these nodes will act as hooks to attract new activities, and they are ideal for locating

facilities and centres for social, cultural and economic activity and, ultimately, for

creating new areas with greater urban diversity.

[136] When an urban system has a broad diversity of legal persons, it has a better ability to

respond to impacts of different kinds, and with better resilience. A number of cities

have fallen into decline because they have focused their energies almost exclusively on

certain economic sectors. When the conditions that "fed" these sectors have changed,

they have collapsed, dragging the surrounding economic activity with them, which was

dependent on it in one way or another. Developing strategies that multiply the number

and diversity of economic sectors, while working in a network, will allow us to face the

transformations of the future, reducing their impact while increasing the probability of

following alternative paths. With these strategies, the adaptive capacity of urban

systems grows, while reducing the potential impact of forces that could disturb the

system. The measure of diversity (H) gives us a certain measure of complexity that is

necessary to provide the system with a certain stability. Multiplying the number of

significant activities and organisations can influence the urban future and, to some

extent, guide it.

[137] In cities, knowledge —understood as useful information— is mostly held in urban

organisations, or in other words in legal persons. They guard it and provide an output

for current knowledge. They are the ones who, in their daily work, distribute and

expand knowledge in a dynamic process that allows the urban organisation to be

maintained and grow in its complexity. The incorporation of information and

communication technologies in the social and productive body as a whole has allowed

the number of contacts and the transfer of useful information to increase. This has also

given way to a new, less materialistic service economy, which forms the basis of a new

competitive strategy based on information and knowledge. This has all been possible

thanks to the profound transformation brought about by the digital era, which has

allowed a new collaborative economy and social innovation to emerge. This in turn has

created a new generation of digital platforms for shared resources, new mechanisms

for collective financing, and emerging models for online entrepreneurship. This means

20

forming a new socioeconomic context, characterised by the disintermediation of value

chains, widespread servification and hyperconnection. Cities are forced to position

themselves somewhere on this complex global network as innovative and sustainable

geopolitical actors, with the ability to attract and retain talent (either from legal

persons, citizen organisations or other bodies).

[138] The essence of Smart Cities lies in the number and diversity of knowledge-intensive

legal persons, and not in their gauges. These gauges are, in any case, a means of

capturing and transferring information and nothing else. In a city, the number and

diversity of knowledge-intensive legal persons is the best indicator of the level of

"intelligence" reached. In order to discover a city's level of "intelligence", you need to

know the number and diversity of knowledge-intensive legal persons. The increase of

knowledge-intensive legal persons means that a city can improve its competitive

position within a region. It also means increasing creativity and attracting better talent,

which increases, in turn, the number of better-paid jobs and communities and

collectives that tend towards producing creativity and urban dynamism.

[139] Cities that base their position strategy (P1) on consuming more land, materials and

energy — which are currently the vast majority, if not all cities — follow a strategy of

ADDITION, based on quantity and echoing the maxim "the big is powerful". It is known

that units of information (legal persons) that enter larger systems enjoy the advantages

of size (they are complex systems as a whole, not in their parts). They tend to be

immense urban systems, in which most consumption is based on inefficiency and

waste. They are clearly unsustainable systems.

[140] If we want to continue down a path that guarantees the future, then there needs to be

a change in direction towards strategies linked to information and knowledge. In favour

of this new strategy, it should be indicated that the information units involved in

systems with more complex information have more advantages, because the

information is not ADDITIONAL, but rather EXPONENTIAL (measuring complexity

through logarithms). The level of influence (P2) and therefore the level of

competitiveness obtained by a city of a relatively smaller size, but with higher

complexity, can be even greater than in a city that is several times larger but that has

immense suburban areas with a lower complexity (P2 > P1). This opens a way forward to

establish planning strategies for urban ecosystems, based on an increase in the

complexity of the whole and its parts (areas for new centres), and less on wasteful

consumption of natural resources. With these strategies there is an increase in the

capacity for anticipation, and a reduction in the uncertainties that result from limiting

the impact on the environment (through exploitation or pollution). In this scenario, the

most sustainable city model and the smart city model go hand in hand.

[141] Planning for a mixture of uses must encourage spaces for economic activity on a

smaller scale: offices, small businesses, and small-sized commercial premises. It must

provide a mix of economic activities that are compatible with residential areas, and it

must encourage industrial fabrics being transformed into spaces for mixed activity

21

compatible with urban life. Finally, planning must revitalise old industrial fabrics,

generally close to urban fabrics, through intermediate areas for mixed use rather than

promoting relocations to increasingly distant places. On the other hand, high density

monofunctional activities should be limited, such as large shopping centres, leisure

centres, etc. Such activities have a simplifying effect on the existing city and have a

significant environmental impact because they are linked to car journeys.

[142] Trying to achieve a mixture of uses that allows daily life to be carried out with ease in

the immediate area is one of the objectives of more sustainable urban planning, and

one that manages to fulfil environmental and social objectives at the same time. A high

complexity in a relatively small area allows space for basic services for residents, while

also being an important part of local jobs; it also avoids daily trips and prevents existing

structures from being abandoned. Travel times are significantly reduced, increasing

quality of life for a significant proportion of the population that will not have to

unnecessarily "waste" their lives. Equally, this is a fundamental objective for addressing

the challenges of developing an acceptable work-life balance.



[144] - In urban planning it is essential for urban fabrics to have properly integrated uses and

functions. A variety of uses guarantees a balanced development of social and productive

links. In order to guarantee a broad range of uses, a minimum percentage of non-

residential uses is established as follows, corresponding to the total built area: 20% for

non-residential uses, preferably 25%, and no more than 35%.

[145] - Urban organisation and its complexity are represented here by nH, where "n" is the

number of legal persons: economic activities, associations and institutions, while "H", is

the diversity of those legal persons. As the levels of "n" and "H" increase, urban

organisation is maximised, along with the possibility of competing with a new strategy

based on information and knowledge. GDP also increases, as well as the number of

workers with better pay. On the other hand, an increase and bigger diversity of

organisations linked to physical flows (such as water, energy and materials) increases

habitability while reducing uncertainties caused by an increase in resilience, and greater

self-sufficiency in metabolic flows.

[146] - The presence or future implementation of large urban attractors is key to increasing

the number (n) and diversity (H) of legal persons, creating new central areas. The new

centres are, in turn, attractive poles for new activities and they radiate this power, not

only in the new centre, but also in the connecting roads. Areas with important attractors

and new centres should have diversity levels19 above 6 bits of information per individual

(H > 6) (> 25-30 activities/ha). In the rest of the urban area, diversity should exceed 5

bits of information per individual (> 15 activities/ha) wherever possible. Urban fabrics

below the minimum threshold are for mixed urban fabrics in which the types of building

are mainly blocks and/or single family homes. In these urban fabrics it is impossible to

19

Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed. BCNecología. ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf (See “Diversity” calculation, page 501).


22

achieve a satisfactory urban diversity index (H > 5), since the activities in place cover

daily needs, but do not play any functional central role in the city.

[147] - Among the basic facilities (see 15th PRINCIPLE), we propose putting together a

network of local markets in order to multiply the number of attractors while, at the

same time, ensuring basic services to provide food in a distance under 600 m.

[148] - In order to maintain existing urban complexity and, where appropriate, to increase it,

it will be forbidden to construct large commercial areas that have caused simplification

across large urban areas and that promote mobility models based on cars.

[149] - Complexity, competitiveness and innovation are the main objectives of ecosystemic

urbanism. A knowledge-based economy is one that, in terms relative to other

economies, has a significant proportion of its productive and social structure aimed at

producing and using knowledge. Knowledge-intensive activities (or "@ activities") can

play a fundamental role in our cities in order to move towards a more sustainable city

model based on knowledge and information. It is recommended that a fraction of non-

residential buildings should be allocated for activities or @ facilities in order to

encourage research, innovation and creativity20. This allocation may vary depending on

the potential of the urban fabric and whether there are attraction poles in the vicinity.

However, it should cover at least 10% of the total activities.

[150] - The substantive change in modes of production goes hand in hand with new

technologies, which allow personalised objects to be produced. New workshops for

production or city labs working as centres for innovation, creativity and local production

will be boosted within the framework of the new knowledge economy, as laid out in this

document.

[151] - Ground floors are the preferred location for non-residential uses. Commercial corridors

and street-facing façades on the ground floor should be encouraged as poles attraction,

removing gaps or spaces that might create urban "deserts" or "voids". A continuous

provision of activities on a ground floor level should attract the public to the public

space, while indirectly exercising certain control over it, improving levels of safety.

Ecosystemic urbanism aims to implement the longest length of façade possible on

ground level, in order to place the greatest number and the greatest diversity of legal

persons. Blocks are the morphological solution that manage to achieve this ahead of

other shapes. The aim is also to put suitable activities in place underground, and on

higher floors, if they are compatible with residences.

[152] - When the built fabric has been put in place, mainly through towers with a lack of

façade for enough legal persons, then activities should be allowed on higher floors,

when compatible with residences, in order to reach a level of 20% of constructed floor

space being used for activities.

[153] - When the public space is changed so that there is an increase in people travelling on

foot, then the inclusion of instruments that encourage an increase in urban diversity is

amplified in synergy. Providing space for non-residential uses on the ground floor means

20

UNESCO defines cultural industries as sectors in which production is based on individual or collective creativity, in which the raw material is a creation protected by copyright, and in which output is stored on a tangible or electronic format, or refers to commercial or free services that are produced, saved or shared in a series, generally with mass circulation. The activities included under this type of new industry can be divided into three fundamental concepts: creative economic activities, the industry related to ICT, and sectors related to knowledge management. Creative activities include those related to popular culture.

23

that streets act as a connector for activities, as well as a space for living and

coexistence, encouraging social and commercial links, facilitating pedestrian traffic and

avoiding urban deserts and unsafe areas. The spatial and functional continuity of the

commercial corridor means the level of interaction between them can be established

through the density of activities on a ground level, and the proportion of space allocated

to pedestrian areas and/or communal spaces. Creating trajectories that are attractive

for pedestrians, by means of offering commercial premises on a ground level, and that

are also safe, by means of suitable road distribution, will establish habitable, safe and

dynamic routes.

[154] - The implementation of superblocks in a number of cities has resulted, in every

instance, in an increase in the number and diversity of legal persons. The increase in

urban quality and the quality of public space is key for increasing urban complexity.

[155] - The coexistence between residences, offices and shops will mitigate the contrasts

between night and day and between working days and bank holidays, which should

encourage the public space to be kept busy for a full 24 hours. In order to achieve better

work-residence proximity, economic activity should be integrated into residential

neighbourhoods, and spaces should accommodate activities of all different formats and

types (offices, small family businesses, etc.).

[156] - Commercial premises can be understood as an extension of the street, because they

allow permeability between consumers and/or spectators, encouraging multiple

trajectories through public and semi-public areas, especially in streets with both

commercial façades and without any vehicular roads.

[157] - Streets that are dedicated primarily to vehicular mobility normally have wide roads

and narrow pavements for pedestrians, and are usually very simplified, with hardly any

activities. An increase in the widths of pavements, and shorter distances for pedestrians

to travel, usually leads to an increase in the number of legal persons on the road, in

addition to reducing the barrier effect of roads.

[158] - In the suburbs, the existence (or the planned existence) of urban attractors should be

taken advantage of in order to increase the number and diversity of legal persons in the

area. In order to integrate the set of variables that would allow an urbanised suburb to

become a city, the fabrics around the attractors should be transformed, building urban

ecosystems of 16-20 ha, or in other words, superblocks, with the same proportions that

define ecosystemic urbanism.

[159] 7th PRINCIPLE

[160] HYPERCONNECTIVITY: Information flows in the digital era.

[161] The technological advances brought about by the digital era are changing how cities

work.

[162] Information, like energy, runs through everything, and today, with new technologies,

information affects every aspect of daily life and has an impact on urban life in

particular. The economy, employment, vehicles, accommodation, leisure and

entertainment, decision making, etc. are becoming digitised, changing the behaviour of

all the stakeholders involved.

24

[163] The connectivity between numerous information units, simultaneously and in real time,

is creating previously unseen dynamics. How citizens behave in each of their roles (as a

business owner, employee, driver, etc.) is conditioned by information that, to a large

extent, determines their decision-making processes. This in turn conditions the

decision-making process of others; for example a traffic jam might be avoided when the

internet informs drivers and directs them via another route.

[164] In this hyperconnected, immediate situation, real life and the virtual world can become

blurred. The capacity to predict future events increases alongside individual desires, but

this does not mean it increases on a collective level. For example, online flat rental

makes it possible to ensure accommodation in advance. On an urban level, however,

putting an excessive number of flats for rent on the market, for shorter and more

profitable periods of time, can lead to the expulsion of steady tenants with indefinite

rental contracts, which is indeed now the case.

[165] New technologies are predicted to have a big impact on how cities run. A large number

of unregulated individual initiatives together can cause serious dysfunctions in the

urban ecosystem. The use of new technologies must be adapted to the system of

proportions and interdependent balances proposed in this document. In any case,

new technologies should be used on a collective level to achieve the balance and

proportions of ecosystemic urbanism.

[166] New urban planning must implement the communication infrastructures that feed and

channel the information flows in this new era. It should be taken into account,

however, that incorporating new technologies is not free of risks. If the industrial era

had collateral effects such as air pollution, noise, extensive occupation of urban space,

etc., then the digital era is accompanied by electromagnetic pollution, among other

issues. Putting the precautionary principle into practice requires prudence, as well as

reducing the impact of electromagnetic waves on human health. We cannot allow this

pollution to be considered merely as a collateral effect. On the other hand, ecosystemic

urbanism must have the communication infrastructures in place to allow

hyperconnectivity, as well as 'firewalls' to ensure the freedom of people who will see

their jobs threatened by the extensive application of artificial intelligence across every

aspect of urban life, as is already happening.

[167] From the very beginning, urban planning has incorporated instruments that combine

individual initiatives and private property with the public good and the development of

shared services. In due course, instruments were incorporated that even turned private

land into public property, through expropriation. Today, cities face challenges of

another nature, forcing us to understand them as dynamic ecosystems that have to be

dealt with through a systematic and holistic approach. The problems facing cities are

such that now, more than ever, it is important to promote an urban model that

manages to combine the human factor simultaneously with urban systems that better

adjust to the laws of nature. Private initiatives lie at the root of progress, creativity and

innovation. However, just as land ownership is regulated for the common good, the set

25

of initiatives that arise as a result of new technologies must be regulated to fit the

urban model, and its system of proportions. This approach is the only way to ensure we

move towards a more sustainable city model, which should be a knowledge city model:

one does not have a future without the other, and neither does humanity itself.



[169] - Fibre optic networks, hubs and infrastructures will be put in place, providing a vehicle

for the information flows of the new era.

[170] - Mechanisms and instruments of a technical, legal, economic/financial, organisational

and educational nature will be put in place to regulate the initiatives that arise from

new information and communication technologies and artificial intelligence, which may

affect the system of proportions defined in ecosystemic urbanism21.

[171] - In order to put the necessary firewalls in place to protect personal freedom, which

might be threatened by abusive use of the internet and artificial intelligence, a suitable

protocol and infrastructure need to be established.


[173] GREEN SPACE vs. ASPHALT: Increasing green space and urban biodiversity22

[174] Biodiversity is the richness of life in a given area, generated through a process of

genetic evolution, coevolutionary relationships, environmental changes and external

disturbances. Maintaining biodiversity relies on maintaining suitable habitats and

productive processes that create complexity. There also needs to be a moderate level

of disturbance, not so intense as to impede the regenerative processes of ecosystems,

but enough to cause selective pressure.

[175] The urban environment implies an artificialisation, with a large proportion of land

covered in impermeable materials, and significant changes to the topography, air,

ground and water quality, climate and the water cycle. This artificialisation results in

habitats being lost, natural processes being seriously damaged, and an increase in

disturbances. This does not prevent certain organisms (apart from humans) from

coexisting; some survive in the urban environment and even thrive within it. It is

therefore possible to talk about urban biodiversity, although the richness of species in a

city will depend to a large extent on its specific conditions.

[176] The impact of cities extends far beyond the land they occupy, as they are heterotrophic

systems. In other words, cities are incapable of feeding solely on their primary

production, and, at least in their current forms, cannot sustain themselves with the

21

The use of internet apartment rental platforms, for example, has resulted in citizens being forced to leave certain urban areas when they cannot access rent at affordable prices. This forced expulsion shows a serious deterioration in social cohesion. 22

Terrades, J. and Rueda, S. “El Libro Verde de medio urbano en el ámbito de la biodiversidad”. Chapter of the book titled: Libro Verde de Sostenibilidad Urbana y Local en la Era de la Información. (2012) Ed. Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

26

rainwater they receive, nor with the energy resources and materials within city limits.

For this reason, the urban way of life has an impact not only on biodiversity within the

urban environment, but across a much larger area.

[177] This is about making cities greener and reducing the level of impermeable surfaces, but

not through the perverse mechanism of spreading over ever-larger areas. This would,

of course, improve the statistics on green area per inhabitant and, therefore, improve

the ratio, but would come at the price of using more land, increasing mobility needs

and raising energy consumption levels. The challenge is to have greener cities by

recovering green space within compact cities, integrating spaces within our urban

environments and infrastructures that are more accessible to plants and animals,

especially along transport routes. This green network will turn into an interconnected

mosaic of green areas made up of parks, gardens, interstitial spaces, the inside of city

blocks, green roofs and traffic-free streets. The structure will create a green network

between the different city matrices via a network of connected pedestrian routes.

[178] Sealed and impermeable surfaces, put in place as a result of urbanisation, should be

compensated for by earmarking areas for permeable surfaces. This encourages low-

impact urban structures by providing land that can support plant life, regulating the

water cycle, and making our surroundings more comfortable.

[179] Green space and permeable surfaces should be planned not only on ground level but

also at height, earmarking spaces for green roofs and living green walls. The benefits

will translate to better thermal and acoustic insulation for buildings, and will reduce the

heat produced by human activity (the urban heat island effect). In turn, this will allow

us to adapt better to climate change, mitigating its effects by preventing CO2 from being

released, and increasing the fauna linked to this vegetation.

[180] Roadside trees are one of the main types of plant life found in cities, and they are a

structural element of biodiversity within the urban ecosystem. That is why the density

and diversity of roadside trees needs to be properly determined, to improve the

structural heterogeneity of green space and to ensure connectivity between green

areas. Urban green corridors will be planned, according to a criteria of surface

permeability, acoustic comfort and tree diversity.

[181] From an aesthetic point of view, urban interventions should create a natural landscape

that meets the characteristics of: compatibility with the environment, increased

attractiveness and stronger visual references. Taking into account environmental

conditions (such as water, temperature, light) alongside attractive, functional and

aesthetic factors, the following criteria are suggested for choosing plant species:

planting species native to the area, or that are highly adaptable to climate and soil

conditions, introducing species that are resistant to diseases and that are not invasive,

and choosing a variety of species to create a range of colours in the streets during the

four seasons of the year.

27

[182] The aim is also to set up a green network that connects the green space on the

periphery of the urban area with inner-city green areas, via urban green corridors. So-

called "blue spaces" (beaches, rivers, lakes, etc.) are also part of the green network.

Fragmentation of green areas is not only the result of land divisions caused by

communication and transport routes; it also occurs as a result of urban sprawl, or

through supply facilities for cities that divide forests, shrubland or fields. In addition,

other forms of fragmentation may occur, from within or from the periphery, as a result

of very different types of settlements or human activities either within or on the

bordering natural areas. This can create disturbances that increasingly radiate

outwards, disrupting the continuity of the habitats of many species. Therefore, it is easy

to see how disperse types of urban growth can have a more significant impact on

biodiversity across an entire region, more so than urban growth that results in more

compact ways of building cities.

[183] The concept of an ecological structure for this green network involves, in the context of

the compartmentalisation and functional specialisation of the urban fabric, deciding

which ecological functions should continue to be generated and encouraged

throughout the urban area, in smaller spaces but fulfilling other purposes, in addition to

reinforcing and placing a higher value on environmental conservation. Optimising the

functions of the green network means taking urban design into account, in the sense

that the structures behind urban ecological processes must be planned, designed and

maintained to optimise their environmental function, just like we do for the networks

and facilities developed for other purposes in the city/neighbourhood/superblock.

[184] Traditional trends in environmental protection have focused on protecting certain areas

of special interest, or on protecting a species that is notably rare, appealing or

indigenous. We now know that this goal does not go far enough. Specific areas or

species cannot be protected without knowing more about them and protecting the

processes that allow them to exist. This means we need to analyse the functional

aspects of ecosystems that are often ignored in environmental protection policies. The

significant changes that urban centres and their communication and transport routes

impose on their surroundings often interfere with key processes for maintaining a

substantial level of biodiversity. When analysing the urban phenomenon and planning a

strategy for the future it is important to consider the perspective of the surrounding

ecology, as well as the biology of conservation.

[185] Environmental problems are almost always worse at the borders between urban areas

and rural or natural environments. Special care must be taken with these border areas,

to avoid the unnecessary destruction of biodiversity within them, to facilitate the

integration between different environments and the permeability of the urban system,

and to allow citizens to come in contact with nature while have a minimal impact on

the environment.

[186] The affinity for nature felt by the inhabitants of urban areas is the result of a deep-

seated need that the biologist E.O. Wilson calls "biophilia". This basic need should be

28

acknowledged, and we must find a way to satisfy this need for large numbers of the

population without damaging natural spaces, especially natural areas close to large

cities, or areas that are exceptional valuable on a global scale. This requires a suitable

technical approach, based on the principles of biological conservation, which must also

be drawn from other areas to develop strategies for urban planning, mobility, and so

on.

[187] We must establish a minimum level of green space per inhabitant through a network of

green areas that are easily accessible on a daily basis. Getting citizens closer to an

interconnected network of local green areas should come hand-in-hand with covering

their recreational needs, while guaranteeing accessibility for citizens with reduced

mobility. Earmarking certain areas responds to a scalable logic that varies depending on

the surface area of the green space and the time for which it is used.



[189] - The biophysical matrix will be considered as a structural element in urban planning,

which will aim to improve functionality and ecological indicators for support and

production systems in the urban and metropolitan area.

[190] - In cities and metropolises, there are often relatively natural or semi-natural spaces

that form extensions into the urban fabric; this area may also include some urban

forest. In addition, neighbouring areas to cities may include mountains, rural area or

river deltas. It is important to consider structures and open spaces as a whole, in

order to develop an integration strategy between the city and non-urban areas,

turning the entire area into a metropolitan ecological matrix.

[191] - An increase in biological complexity (that is, higher biodiversity) in the simplified

ecosystems at the urban periphery should be a general goal. Uses of marginal urban

peripheral areas, when located at the city limits, will be replaced with green areas

that connect to natural spaces, putting an end to current fragmentation and creating

a continuous interstitial green "fabric" that improves ecological connectivity and

manages to restore the biophysical matrix while maximising its ecosystemic factors.

[192] - Maintaining farmland is essential in order to preserve the green matrix at the urban

periphery. Sustaining farmland preserves a high level of biodiversity in a viable way,

which would not be achieved by encouraging farmland to be abandoned to gain natural

spaces. In order to preserve agricultural areas of special interest in the urban periphery,

rules should be established to regulate the use and protection of this space. Creating

agricultural parks should be encouraged as strategic components of economic activity.

The impact caused by the food industry means we need to move food production areas

closer to the point of consumption.

[193] - When the city borders with a natural area that requires protection, a circle of green

areas and urban parks, adapted to human pressure, will be put in place. This will protect

fragile natural systems, while also allowing the biophysical network to infiltrate urban

fabrics. In any case, measures will be taken so that natural or semi-natural

29

environments can be enjoyed by the population while being properly protected. Urban

borders will be considered as frontier spaces for organisation and opportunity.

[194] - Each urban system should aim to define and protect its own system of "natural"

spaces. If possible, this should include a green belt, or green and blue peripheral

network, that is large enough and continuous enough to link to agricultural and natural

areas. In connection with the green urban periphery, enough urban corridors should be

built so that biodiversity can reach the city centre (or centres, if it is a metropolis). In

order to do this, each urban fabric, marginal area and extension into the urban network

needs to be analysed, in order to find out which have a lower resistance to building

green and blue corridors. Urban green space will increase in the fabrics between

corridors, using part of the public space freed up by implementing superblocks. Putting a

complete network of superblocks in place would allow an urban green network to be

established across the entire city, taking advantage of 70% of public road space having

been freed up, as well as the inside of the superblocks, the spaces between them, urban

voids, replacements for industrial areas and obsolete buildings, and so on. This could be

complimented with green walls and roofs (facilities with suitable roofs are the main

candidates for green roofs).

[195] - A hierarchical system of green spaces will be established, on the different levels within

the city, to ensure that citizens are simultaneously close to spaces with different

functionalities: from local green spaces to large areas integrated within the natural or

agricultural surroundings. All residents should have access to a green space of over

1,000 m2 within less than 300 metres, and should have access a green space larger than

3.5 ha within a distance of at least 750 metres, while within 4 km they should have

access to a green space of 10 ha. Bringing the population closer to a number of green

spaces at the same time (depending on environmental and social values, and criteria for

proximity) makes it possible to build a green network that connects the green peri-

urban space with urban green spaces via ecological corridors.

[196] - All urban fabrics should reach a green space ratio of 9 m2/inhabitant.23

[197] - By recovering green space in the heart of compact cities (those with less green space),

the area of land capable of sustaining plant life in the urban area will increase, the city

will be covered with green again, and the level of impermeable surfaces will be reduced.

By implementing superblocks, a Soil Biotic Index rating of 15% could viably be obtained

over a compact urban fabric with a total occupied area of 70%. In the rest of urban

fabrics, the Soil Biotic Index should approach 30%.

[198] - Any abandoned lot will be classified as a green area, meaning that this land can only

be urbanised through a swap with a plot previously classified as urbanised or

developable land.

[199] - In urban fabrics, urban allotments will be encouraged, which are very well received by

both the older and educated population, while also encouraging significant lifestyle

changes.

23

The green area per inhabitant is defined as the area of parks and gardens and other public spaces with vegetation cover (> 50% of the surface) of the urban environment in relation to population.

30


[201] SELF-SUFFICIENCY vs. DEPENDENCY: Moving towards energy sufficiency

[202] Cities are responsible for most of the energy consumed on the planet. As a

consequence, they are also responsible for the entropic deterioration of the earth. For

example, around 75% of current greenhouse gas emissions are a result of fossil fuel

resources, and these emissions are expected to rise by 60% over the next 25 years.

Cities are therefore one of the most prominent causes of global warming.

[203] In addition, the air pollution emitted by fossil fuels has an impact on cities, damaging

built heritage such as buildings, street furniture and monuments. Air pollution also

reduces biodiversity and weakens plant life, reduces the life expectancy of city

inhabitants and makes them ill, and is responsible for the premature death of several

million citizens every year in urban ecosystems across the planet.

[204] Cities run well and that is how the population sees it, as if energy resources were

limitless. City inhabitants take it as a given that increased utility use can be maintained

without causing too many problems, except for having enough infrastructures in place

to supply them.

[205] Energy is not included in city planning. It is not included in construction plans beyond

recent legislation passed in certain countries, mostly in developed countries, and

neither is energy included in the design of vehicles and mobility plans, etc. The energy

system in the new digital era must address not only the components of the current

energy system –generation, distribution and consumption– but it must also address

energy use and the impact this has on support systems. This aim to address the

resulting entropy forms the basis of the fourth metabolic regime. This is the only

regime that can reduce current uncertainties and help us to better plan for the future.

[206] Although the technology available to collect and store energy will undoubtedly

improve, our efforts at present should be focused, above all, on reducing demand for

energy. For the first quarter of this century, and across the globe, it has been calculated

that a reduction in energy consumption of 5 Mtoe is required, using advanced energy

saving and efficiency technology. This amounts to more than twice the energy already

contributed by renewable energies, which is 2 Mtoe (the growing trend for primary

energy consumption is estimated to be around 9-10 Mtoe).

[207] Energy from fossil fuels is clearly the dominant type, and it seems that this will continue

to be the case for some time to come. The reality of this situation, linked to forecasts of

fossil fuels running out, means that we cannot rule out the possibility of an energy crisis

occurring in the relatively near future. Such a scenario would create many uncertainties

in terms of maintaining the organisation of urban systems.

[208] Vulnerability would also increase, due to the centralisation of energy systems. The two

main reasons for this are: on the one hand, using energy sources with limited reserves

31

and that may enter into crisis, and, on the other hand, failures in the system that may

leave some areas without an energy supply for several days. Forecasts that energy

crises may occur, together with a centralised energy system that depends mainly on

energy sources with an expiration date, mean we need to establish strategies that allow

us to plan for these events. We must make significant changes to the current energy

system, allowing us to keep urban organisations with the lowest possible level of

dependence.

[209] It seems like a reasonable suggestion to decentralise the current energy system,

redirecting it to a medium-scale distribution system with its own means of energy

generation and distribution, connected to the national grid. This set-up provides

greater security to the electricity system as, if any breakdowns or failures in the general

network were to occur, then the system would work in a decentralised manner, with

several 'anchor' points.

[210] In new urban developments, the suggestion is to generate and distribute energy on a

medium scale. It would be possible to incorporate energy generation and distribution

systems (including civil works) for heating/air conditioning and electricity without any

problems. The scale of the facilities would result in higher efficiency that would not be

possible to achieve either with individual facilities or with new thermal power stations.

The returns produced by medium-scale systems (close to 70%) surpass those of even

the best combined cycle plants.

[211] Energy should be planned as a means that promotes a more sustainable regional and

city model, a model that is based on a new vision of urban planning, a new model for

mobility, a new level of building habitability and a new metabolic regime. Energy, just

like water, materials or land space, is a resource that is not neutral when working

towards sustainability. From the outset, planners need to analyse the feasibility of using

local renewable sources, depending on applicable physical and climatic conditions in

the area: solar thermal energy, photovoltaic energy, residual biomass, geothermal

energy, wind power, and so on.

[212] The regional model that produces the best results in terms of energy performance is

the one that promotes a more countryside-like countryside, and a more city-like city.

This gives rise to a multiple nuclei city network that is connected with suitable public

transport (fixed infrastructure transport creates nodes) for the population and their

activities.

[213] In urban systems, the suggested urban model adjusts to that of a compact and complex

city. In a compact city, the multi-family building is the predominant type of building.

Single-family homes (the type of building most typical in dispersed cities) can consume

double or more the amount of energy of multi-family buildings. Being exposed on all

four sides, watering gardens, having a larger surface area, etc. are all factors that

explain a higher energy consumption.

32

[214] The search for greater energy self-sufficiency is based on generating renewable energy

and adopting energy saving and energy efficiency measures across key consumer

sectors: household, utilities and facilities, mobility and energy related to mass flows

(water management and waste management).

[215] In middle latitudes, energy self-sufficiency for buildings could be achieved with current

technology, if these buildings had a maximum of five floors including the ground floor,

and 70% of the roof was covered with solar panels. This situation would occur when

incorporating advanced technologies for energy saving and energy efficiency in

buildings, when applying a basal energy expenditure –in other words, when the energy

is used to obtain the basic services and comfort levels required to live in a dignified

way, without creating waste. This energy is estimated at 47 kWh/m2/year for a city at

the same latitude as Barcelona. In order to reduce the energy used in buildings, it is

necessary to take the passive systems incorporated into the building into account,

while applying certain bioclimatic principles: the direction the building faces, the

building's design, insulation on windows and walls, solar protection on roofs and

façades, ventilation and infiltrations, among others.

[216] In the model for a compact and complex city, the proximity of urban uses and functions

allows public transport to have the critical mass required to maintain itself and offer a

regular, comfortable and local service, allowing for an increase in journeys by foot and

by bicycle. The number of potential contacts per unit of energy and time consumed is

much higher in compact cities than in disperse cities. Polluting emissions per contact

are also much lower, by a similar amount.

[217] An urban system with a certain mix of uses allows different legal persons (including

economic activities, institutions, facilities and associations) to interact more closely in

terms of both proximity and time. A compact and complex city offers these

circumstances with the best potential for energy efficiency. On the contrary,

encouraging disperse settlements, which are conditioned by their uncomplicated

nature, means that any activity in the area is linked to much longer average travel time

and the use of private vehicles.

[218] The reduction of energy consumption related to mobility will also be achieved by

reducing the number of vehicles on the roads and/or changing automotive technology.

Reducing the number of vehicles on the road will only come about through a change of

mobility model. When a new mobility model is combined with a change in automotive

technology, energy consumption could be up to four times less.

[219] Public space in a grid of superblocks (the minimum urban ecosystem, as explained in

next sections, that integrates and maximises the principles and objectives of

ecosystemic urbanism) can become self-sufficient with renewable energy.



33

[221] - The main goal behind creating more efficient and liveable cities is to create a

decentralised, efficient, clean, renewable and safe energy system, when faced with a

situation that tends to increase energy consumption from finite energy resources, and

that has a considerable environmental impact. The solution to these challenges must

meet three basic objectives: savings, energy efficiency and locally generated energy

from renewable sources.

[222] -Energy generation and storage will be decentralised in order to reduce the vulnerability

of the system and to improve energy efficiency. During the first stage, the aim is to

achieve a local energy production of approximately 50% of total consumption of all

urban energy consumption in terms of basal energy expenditure. In order to achieve

this, local energy resources are required: wind, solar power, geothermal energy, tides,

biomass, etc. This needs to be combined with an energy saving and energy efficiency

strategy that offers the highest level of energy self-sufficiency, using renewable energy

in buildings, mobility, public spaces and mass flows (water and waste).

[223] - Making the change from fossil fuels to electric power will be encouraged, and these

fuels will only be used in specific processes. Turning to electrical power offers control, is

more efficient and does not produce pollutants.

[224] - New buildings and rehabilitated buildings will have an energy certification that

requires the use of local energy resources, the best possible building placement, climate

control based on passive systems, and facilities that are highly energy efficient.

[225] - We will move towards maximum energy self-sufficiency in building construction by

increasing photovoltaic energy use, making the most of its relative low demand and the

potential for solar power. At middle latitudes, covering 70% of roofs with photovoltaic

solar panels in buildings that have five floors in total, including the ground floor, will

allow energy self-sufficiency to be reached in terms of basal energy expenditure (using

high-efficiency heat pumps, LED lights, etc. to help achieve this goal).

[226] - In order to achieve maximum energy efficiency for the energy harvested, a smart grid

will be put in place using IT resources. The grid will be decentralised in areas with a

critical mass of inhabitants and legal persons that, in practice, consume all the energy

generated 'in situ', with barely any need to store energy. The superblocks, which are

areas between 16-20 ha with a population of around 5000 people, around 400 legal

persons, and a sufficient number of parked vehicles (which offer potential energy

storage), are the ideal places to implement decentralised smart grids.

[227] - In order to drastically reduce energy consumption from mobility, superblocks will be

put in place throughout the urban area, and the necessary tools will be implemented to

allow for travel options to transfer to more sustainable mobility systems. With networks

integrated in superblocks, urban functionality can be maintained with a reduction of

30% of vehicles on the roads. If, as it seems will be the case, there is a change in

automotive technology, then the implementation of superblocks alongside a mass

implementation of electric vehicles will mean atmospheric emissions could be a quarter

of current levels.

[228] - The appropriate tools will be established to achieve maximum energy self-sufficiency

using renewable energies in the public space. Once more, implementing superblocks will

allow energy consumption to be reduced by removing most traffic lights, and less

34

energy will be required to illuminate pedestrian spaces (70% in a standard superblock)

in comparison with motorised spaces.

[229] - The energy balance of the water cycle is significantly improved when it is included in

planning stages, with one plan for height, one for ground level and another for

underground systems. For example, domestic water consumption can be reduced by up

to 40% by substituting drinking water from the water network with untreated rainwater

and aquifer water to flush toilets. In order to do this, new developments and far-

reaching renovation projects must create separate water networks.

[230] -The energy balance in water management in places that have scarce water resources,

in many cases due to the deterioration and abandonment of bodies of water, can be

very important when choosing to desalinate sea water for use in the water supply24. It

would be preferable to restore and renovate abandoned bodies of water.


[232] WATER SELF-SUFFICIENCY WITH NEW AND RENEWABLE RESOURCES: Conservation in

the water cycle

[233] Water management is linked to managing watersheds, and this management can only

guarantee a supply of high-quality water and preserve (or restores, where applicable)

forests along the riverbank and aquatic ecosystems with the use of ecological criteria.

Therefore, cities, within the framework of ecological urban planning, should take centre

stage in the integral management of watersheds, applying a new water culture that

takes into account land planning, climate cycles, supply (catchment, transport, storage,

purification, distribution and consumption), sanitation (purification, reuse and disposal)

and measures to avoid the impact of droughts.

[234] Urban water management focuses on three key areas: quality, reliability and efficiency.

[235] In turn, the quality of water used in urban utilities must pay attention to four

fundamental aspects: biological safety, chemical safety, mineral levels and organoleptic

characteristics.

[236] The first step to obtain a certain level of quality in the water supply is to protect water

masses against damage to water quality. This contributes to reducing the water

purification treatment required to produce drinking water. In addition, the following is

necessary:

[237] 1. Whenever possible, surface-level resources for urban use should be separate from

resources destined for other uses, effectively protecting catchment areas. When this is

not possible and the water supply has to go to several recipients, the source must be

protected and the catchment area must meet the requirements for sources used for

urban water consumption.

24

Desalinating 60 hm3 requires the energy equivalent of enough to power a city of 250,000 inhabitants.

35

[238] 2. Underground resources must be recovered wherever possible for use in the urban

water supply, applying new treatment techniques where necessary to achieve

maximum water quality.

[239] 3. An energy policy should be established to protect aquifer recharge zones, where they

are used for the water supply either completely or partially, avoiding any activities that

may affect the quality of this supply.

[240] 4. Regional processes must be strictly monitored, along with any actions that might

cause widespread pollution that could affect the water resources for cities.

[241] 5. As a general rule, urban water should not be distributed when it has an electrical

conductivity higher than 1,000 μS/cm, or when its organoleptic characteristics may

discourage the network water being used for drinking.

[242] Making sure that the water supply is interrupted or restricted for domestic use is

fundamentally important for individual and social welfare, and for the economy. When

talking about a guaranteed water supply, considered as the probability that the water

supply can be continued uninterrupted during a dry year that has a certain probability

of occurring, droughts are not considered catastrophic events, but statistically probable

events taken into account in the sizing of the source and the planned use of the

available resource.

[243] This plan must ensure, in practice, that when a drought occurs near the given

probability, then there are sufficient reserves to guarantee the water supply. In sources

that provide users with different levels of guarantees, the conditions will occur

gradually, as water allowances fall.

[244] To ensure household supplies in any hydrological conditions, the following guidelines

should be taken into account:

[245] 1. Any resources that can be saved in cities, as a result of saving, efficiency or

substitution measures, should continue to be assigned to their previous urban uses

rather than new ones, in order to avoid increasing the stress on the system. In wet or

medium-wet periods, water resources should be stored in natural areas, or added, if

possible, to water reserves regulated specifically for urban purposes. This measure

would be a step towards ensuring a guaranteed water supply.

[246] 2. Managing a guaranteed water supply over the medium- and long-term must be

based on a continuous and highly accurate monitoring of demand. There must also be a

constant application of management and improvement measures with an adaptive and

incremental approach.

[247] 3. Drought management should be increasingly integrated into basin management

planning, abandoning an approach to droughts that sees them as an exceptional or

emergency situation. This approach should clearly define which measures are

considered as extraordinary and which measures are, by their nature, structural factors

that are independent of droughts.

[248] 4. City-countryside cooperation in order to ensure a guaranteed urban water supply

must clearly revolve around public intervention, with stable reference points rather

than last-minute reactions at times when water is scarce. It would seem that public

36

centres for the exchange of rights are the best mechanism to fulfil this function, within

a framework that clearly defines a guaranteed water supply, water supply priorities,

and the authority that will arbitrate if necessary.

[249] On more general terms, making resources for urban use independent from the rest in

order to protect their quality can also be beneficial towards guaranteeing the water

supply.

[250] An efficient water cycle is basically subject to two major aspects: the first is the

optimisation of domestic, commercial and public water, while the second is the

replacement of some of the demand for non-drinking water in the urban area, by using

marginal waters: rainwater, grey water, groundwater and other potential sources

linked to the urban environment.

[251] In order to implement a generalised sustainable use of water during urban expansion

and urban renewal in a fair way, significant changes must be made to regional and

urban planning as well as in the design and the execution of building projects.

[252] Certain resources whose use is fundamental to achieving sustainability can, by their

very nature, be exploited in an optimal way through decentralisation (this is the case

for groundwater, rainwater and grey water). In addition, it is easy to demonstrate that

the optimum level of environmental efficiency when providing certain environmental

services in a sustainable way can be reached on a local, or even individual, scale, while

making use of the vertical scope of the urbanised space.

[253] The search for sustainability means broadening the options of possible resources to be

used, and going beyond the usual perspective of using general network drinking water

for all uses and for all applications. Optimised water management should be sought on

the basis of a new water culture, making it possible, in addition –and using suitable

management criteria and technology– to purify wastewater and therefore prevent

pollution where it is eventually deposited, and to regenerate and recycle marginal

urban water. This reduces the pressure on natural resources, reduces energy use and

reduces pollution in the bodies where the treated water is deposited.

[254] A self-sufficient urban supply using nearby, renewable resources is fundamental for

managing the water cycle, both to provide a general balance, and to reduce resource

use and the impact of pollution.



[256] - In urban expansion processes, the option of occupying floodplains and the aquifer

recharge zone will be ruled out, protecting the source and its catchment area.

[257] - Local water will be included in urban planning, taking into consideration the airspace,

soil and subsoil, in order to reach maximum self-sufficiency levels, reducing the need for

water from further away sources, which are so costly in environmental terms.

37

[258] - The drinking water network is the basic urban water supply that has to be available

to all citizens. A standard basic usage rate must be established for all citizens, with

very high fees for consumption above the basic allowance. During periods of low

rainfall or low reserves, each zone must only be distributed the amount

corresponding to the basic individual allowance. In urban systems, the consumption

of drinking water per inhabitant per day should be less than 70 litres in intensive multi-

family buildings, 65 litres of which should be used for domestic consumption in a basal

energy expenditure system.

[259] - The drinking water supply normally generates the highest energy costs in the entire

water cycle, and the one that puts the most pressure on natural aquatic ecosystems. In

theory, drinking water should not be used for outdoor uses; also, a certain percentage

of indoor uses (toilet flushing) should be replaced by other resources. Differentiating

between drinking water and marginal waters would mean separate networks would

need to be put in place in new developments and in urban fabrics going through a

significant regeneration.

[260] - New urban planning projects and urban regeneration projects must incorporate the

infrastructure required to manage urban marginal waters that can be reused: domestic

grey water, rainwater collected on the roofs of buildings, and rainwater from public

spaces like the streets inside the superblocks (streets that have restricted use for

vehicles). The minimum level of non-drinking water sufficiency should be 40%, while

non-drinking water consumption should be at levels of less than 20 litres for multi-

family buildings. Every new residential area must be capable of being self-sufficient in terms

of all kinds of consumption, above basic individual allowances, by using alternative resources:

rainwater, local groundwater, grey water, recycled water, and so on.

[261] - Collecting rainwater is a technique with a long history in many cities around the world.

In recent years, rainwater use has been arousing considerable interest once more, even

in countries without water shortages, mainly because of its high quality. The use of

rainwater as drinking water requires the use of properly managed rain tanks. The costs

of rainwater are significantly reduced when tanks are installed during the construction

phase of buildings. New urban developments that are planned at three levels in line

with ecosystemic urbanism take into account the use of roof tanks and a connection,

where appropriate, to the water table. In addition to being filled by rainwater

infiltration (hence the importance of increasing soil permeability in urban areas that do

not have street traffic), urban aquifers are also recharged by losses from pipelines in

supply networks. If a local aquifer will be used, it is important to make sure properly

sanitation networks are properly sealed. Making use of underground water bodies in a

sustainable way is the best way to guarantee that they are protected and, where

appropriate, regenerated.

[262] - Urban development must pay special attention to maintaining soil permeability

and soil infiltration rates, as required by regulations. Likewise, single-use water

needs to be separated from road networks, which cause high levels of pollution, by

diverting it to storm drains and subsequently sending it to WWTPs, avoiding the

aquifers becoming infiltrated. In urban systems, at least 15% of the urban surface

should be permeable.

38

[263] - Recycled water is the product of treating grey water on each block or superblock,

under the control of a responsible entity. Putting this into practice requires the

installation of separate (grey/black water) evacuation networks in homes, which does

not involve technical difficulties or significant costs. Once set up in a professional

installation, grey water will receive the appropriate treatment, as well as subsequent

chlorination, and can be returned to users for use in toilets or irrigation. This means that

any health risk disappears, and the result is a very low cost resource that is highly

available.

[264] - It will be mandatory to purify water with secondary treatments, at least for domestic

black water, rainwater collected from streets with motorised traffic, and water from

road cleaning.

[265] - Most cities have grown around rivers, and an important part of their social and

economic life has revolved around them. However, in recent times, many cities have

turned their backs on rivers, and some have even got rid of them entirely, removing

them from the city and marginalising them in urban developments, or even burying

them. These situations, in most cases, cannot be allowed to continue. Urban river

spaces must be restored and appreciated anew as the unique social backdrop that they

are, paying attention to their potential for citizen, recreational, cultural and

environmental use. In regeneration processes, we cannot forget the importance of

recovering the social opportunities offered by water, which form an essential part of our

cultural heritage and collective memory.


[267] REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE vs. WASTE: Moving towards self-sufficiency in terms of

materials

[268] Day by day, cities are increasing the amount of materials and energy they require to

maintain or increase their organisation. This consumption of resources translates, in

turn, to a proportional increase in waste. With this, the process towards

unsustainability increases, as the consumption of materials and energy and the

resulting pollution are indicative of the human pressure on the earth's support systems.

Waste generation is one of the most synthetic indicators used to measure the degree of

sustainability in our cities and metropolises.

[269] For some time now, there has been an evident need to reassess the entire use cycle of

materials: their origin, intrinsic characteristics, life cycle, etc., going far beyond mere

urban waste management. Making decisions on using or consuming resources and/or

goods, giving meaning to the fourth metabolic regime, should be based on in-depth

knowledge of the resources and their corresponding entropic 'baggage', as well as the

one that will be projected further through use and abandonment of these resources.

[270] In the same way that energy and water flows should focus further on decentralisation

and proximity, the same principles should be applied to the materials cycle. For

example, in order to close the organic matter cycle, food needs to come, for the most

39

part, from local produce without chemical components. Collecting organic waste

separately, when duly fermented and free of inappropriate properties, must be carried

out to complete the cycle as they return to the earth25. Closing the material cycle

should follow the unique characteristics of each material, along a path similar to the

one followed for the organic matter cycle.

[271] The fast growth of our cities and metropolises, with very little city-planning, has led to a

disperse residential area, as mentioned above. This area has maintenance needs and

requirements for urban services that results in a substantial increase in the

consumption of materials and a higher cost for services. These services include waste

collection, in which more kilometres need to be travelled in order to collect the same

amount of waste, with higher costs in terms of time, money and fuel.

[272] The processes of urbanisation and urban regeneration must incorporate the

infrastructures required to efficiently manage urban waste from households,

businesses and construction works. The impact of materials used in construction

processes should be reduced through the preferential use of renewable, recycled, and

recyclable materials that are locally-sourced. It would be best if construction works in

new cities were linked to demolition materials from the city itself.

[273] In order to incorporate waste management as a fundamental aspect of the circular

economy in the production and regeneration of cities, waste generation must be

stabilised and reduced in terms of weight, volume, diversity and danger, removing the

link between waste generation and economic growth. The aim is to prevent waste from

being generated, by developing low-pollution technologies and processes that produce

less waste, as well as by manufacturing environmentally friendly, reusable and

recoverable products.

[274] Prevention policies must have an impact on the practical decisions made along

different stages of the life cycle: product design, manufacturing, delivery to the

consumer, use, and waste management. Removing the association between waste

generation and economic growth will require better initiatives to prevent waste, more

efficient use of resources, and a shift towards more sustainable consumption patterns.

[275] Reused waste must be incorporated in the production cycle as products and consumer

goods, which will consequently save resources and have fewer environmental and

socio-economic impacts, which is fundamental for developing the circular economy.

25

Organic matter is the moist part of waste. When well-sorted and treated, it can become a useful material. If any part of this moist waste is not properly recovered either completely or partially, it becomes one of the main problems in waste management. It contaminates the remaining waste and compromises its recyclability. When it reaches landfills, this waste is partially converted into leachate, which is highly polluting in biological terms. It is also partially emitted into the atmosphere in the form of methane (CH4) which, as a greenhouse gas, is 21 times more polluting by weight than CO2. If organic matter reaches an incinerator, this is a precursor to dioxins and furans beginning to form.

40

[276] Recovered waste must be incorporated in the production cycle as raw materials,

encouraging a real market for recycling under the criteria of self-sufficiency and

proximity. Further strategies for innovation must be developed, alongside strategies to

implement new tools to boost the recycling market, especially in terms of recycling

construction waste.

[277] The truth is that while in some cases market forces have promoted recycling, in general

terms economic trends err towards waste disposal. This means incentives are required:

establishing technical standards, increasing the availability of market information, etc.,

to encourage recycling and recovery, while removing current technical, organisational

and economic obstacles in the way of a market for recycled products. Likewise, it is

worth noting the important role that green public procurement can have to boost the

market for recycled products (in the European Union this already accounts for more

than 15% of GDP).

[278] Separate collection at source should continue to be promoted as a strategy to obtain

high-quality materials that can be sold on the recycling market. Selective waste

collection, although not the only factor, is an essential starting point for obtaining

waste and resources.

[279] In summary, preventing waste generation and encouraging recycling and waste

recovery would increase the efficient use of resources, while reducing the

environmental impact associated with using materials. This contributes to having base

resources, a fundamental aspect for sustained and sustainable economic growth. On

top of waste prevention and reusing and recycling waste, there needs to be an analysis

of the life cycle of materials in order to build a circular economy that closes materials

cycle and achieves full self-sufficiency.

[280] Cleaning polluted areas should also encourage strategies for control and remediation.



[282] - New urban developments should be built with a higher percentage of materials taken

from the demolition of pre-existing obsolete buildings. Cities will implement

mechanisms and infrastructure for the storage and transformation of waste products

into usable products from construction sites. The remaining materials will be recycled or

re-used to lay a future foundation for a circular economy for these types of flows.

[283] - The management of waste flows will be channelled through municipal urban waste

management plans, or similar. In any case, with or without a waste management plan,

it should be established that:

[284] - New buildings will have infrastructure in place in shared spaces and housing to make it

easier to separate urban waste categories. The recovery and recycling of materials will

be made easier by separating these waste flows. This shared infrastructure will be

41

accessible from public spaces for to remove the waste categories. A selective urban

waste collection system will be implemented in existing urban fabrics to guarantee that

recycling of each waste category is over 65%.

[285] - New urban developments will attempt to recover all organic waste material. To do

this, land will be earmarked and the necessary infrastructure will be made available for

individual and/or shared organic material compost. This organic material will then be

used in parks, gardens and peri-urban agriculture. If organic material planning is to

occur on a municipal scale, organic waste flows may be additionally treated in larger

aerobic or anaerobic plants to obtain biogas. Closure of the organic material cycle,

which in many cities makes up more than 50% of ordinary domestic waste, is essential

for driving new lifestyles conducive to protecting the environment.

[286] - In order to reuse and repair objects which would otherwise be abandoned or

discarded, a recycling facility will be established in every superblock, or every few

superblocks (depending on the population), which will also include an educational space

focused on changing lifestyles. Special urban waste categories, including furniture, DIY,

pharmacy and chemist products, will also be collected at these facilities.

[287] - Urban planning will determine the necessary waste treatment facilities to reduce,

reuse and recycle urban and construction waste. Urban planning will earmark the land

needed in order to place the technical infrastructure and services required to achieve

the objectives established by the ecosystemic urbanism indicators system26.

[288] - Waste treatment and disposal plants (landfills, incinerators etc.) causing unacceptable

impacts due to greenhouse gas emissions, toxic contamination, leachates, etc. will be

redesigned and transformed to drastically reduce current levels.


[290] ADAPTING TO AND MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

[291] The global climate has changed as a result of natural variations. However, worldwide

meteorological data sets (climates) show that human activity is responsible for

increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. During the industrial era, natural levels

of greenhouse gases increased through carbon dioxide emissions27 from fossil fuel

combustion, methane and additional nitric oxide produced by farming and livestock

activities as well as changes in land use and landfill waste. These gases have also

increased due to various unnatural long duration industrial gases and

hydrofluorocarbons (HCFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). If the

concentration of these greenhouse gases continues increasing at the rate of the last

century, the intensification of the greenhouse effect will lead to, as is already the case,

26

Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed. BCNecología. ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf 27

In the pre-industrial era, the concentration of CO2 was 280 ppm, while in 2016 the concentration of CO2 reached 403 ppm.


42

a global increase in air temperature (global warming). In turn, this will significantly and

dangerously28 disturb natural climate rhythms.

[292] Today, cities and towns make up the majority of the world population. They are

responsible, directly or indirectly, for the majority of greenhouse gases (no less than

70%) produced on the planet. These emissions are mainly generated by the production

of goods and services used by consumers, mainly with medium or high salaries; and by

maintaining urban functions and systems (transport, mass flows and energy, etc.).

[293] The fight to mitigate climate change will be lost or won in cities. The key to slowing

down and, if possible, reducing global warming is to focus on the way we produce cities

and lifestyles, while managing metabolic flows. Ultimately, we must organise our cities

in a way that allows us to face the future with better planning, while reducing

uncertainty. In any case, even if they contain greenhouse gas emissions, cities must

adapt to the anticipated impacts of these emissions.

[294] Energy runs through all of this, without energy nothing works. This is implied in each

and every one of the construction, functioning and deconstruction phases of the city.

Spatial planning, urbanism, mobility, building, mass flows (water, materials, waste) and

lifestyles are all part of the creation of energy saving and wastage scenarios. Increasing

energy savings and energy efficiency, while reducing demand, will have an effect on all

urban realities in one way or another.

[295] Furthermore, it is also necessary to increase the efficiency of energy supply

technologies and final usage technologies, reconciling generation with consumption,

adapting energy sources to end use, avoiding useless transformations that create

losses, and reducing the length of the technology chain associated with energy sources.

[296] The majority of objectives for mitigating climate change have already been stated in

principles 9, 10 and 11, which relate to the urban metabolism.

[297] The majority of infrastructures and buildings in cities were designed for previous

climate conditions. These conditions have changed and will change much more in the

decades to come throughout the world —they will lead to floods, extreme drought and

heat waves. Adapting infrastructures and buildings to the above is crucial to reduce

vulnerability.

[298] Flooding risks are a problem to be faced mainly from a spatial planning and local

government point of view, in terms of where certain activities can be placed in the

region. In order to reduce torrential rain run-off, it is necessary to develop measures to

reduce the speed at which water travels from a basin to the sea. The current trend is

the opposite. In fact, run-off rates are changing considerably due to ground becoming

impermeable through general urbanisation, while a lot of natural drainage elements

28

In certain areas of the planet, the increase in temperature caused by climate change can reach 55ºC. When combined with humidity, this makes human life impossible as heat cannot be exchanged between a person and their surroundings.

43

are changed or suppressed by the same urbanisation. Adapting infrastructures and

buildings to the above is crucial to reduce vulnerability and to increase the comfort of

the people living in the area.

[299] For some time, in many areas of the planet, there have been prolonged periods of

extreme drought that have compromised the organisation of urban systems,

demanding more water than provided by precipitation and aquifers. Climate change

will make this situation worse. A lack of rainfall for longer periods will lead to many

more water supply systems being compromised.

[300] Another associated phenomenon which we should not lose sight of is longer rainfall

cycles. Although these cannot be taken as a forecasting criteria, there is notable

symmetrical recurrence in rainfall records in many countries. Measures should be put in

place to increase the guaranteed water supply, taking into account new circumstances

with prolonged periods of drought.

[301] The summer of 2003 was exceptionally hot. In the first days of August, temperature

records were broken (38.1ºC in Great Britain, 40.2ºC in Germany, 41.5ºC in Switzerland

and 47.5ºC in Portugal). In Spain (and Europe) the record of 50ºC reached that year in

Seville has yet to be broken since. The consequence of these extreme temperatures on

health has been a significant increase in deaths. With climate change, it is estimated

that these heat waves will become more marked and recurrent.



[303] Measures for mitigating climate change have been analysed in the different sections

and principles of this document. In order to make the requirements of this paper easier

to understand, and in the interest of avoiding repetition, please go directly to the

sections on mitigation, particularly principles 9, 10 and 11. The requirements related to

adapting to climate change are stated there.

[304] Measures for reducing torrential run-off waters

[305] - For each basin, the water retention areas (forest areas, riverside vegetation etc.) will

be recalculated and regenerated, with the aim of reducing sudden accumulated water

flows.

[306] - In urban planning processes, land surfaces need to be kept permeable, to ensure that

the same rainwater infiltration to the subsoil occurs after urbanisation as before in its

natural state. This objective is achieved through low impact urbanisation techniques,

which compensate for impermeable areas through buildings and infrastructure with

areas of forced infiltration to maintain the overall balance of the water cycle.

[307] - Maintaining infiltration is fundamentally important to preserve the balance between

underground resources, especially in coastal areas that are vulnerable to intrusions

from sea water. The option to use local subterranean resources as an alternative water

source is an additional reason to ensure infiltration is maintained.

44

[308] - Collecting rainwater in cisterns and storm tanks. Collecting rainwater contributes to

reducing torrential rain flow in cities, while avoiding damage in their lower areas.

[309] Measures to avoid or reduce damage from flooding.

[310] - Risk maps will be published and a warning system will be established in order to allow

access to data and risk levels.

[311] - Measures will be taken to avoid water entering in buildings located in risk areas.

[312] - In risk areas, preventative measures will be taken to reduce the time and cost of

rehabilitating buildings when exceptional flooding occurs and water enters. Similarly,

awareness campaigns will be set up to inform people of the need to adapt to climate

change.

[313] - For sea water rises, mainly due to storms, we propose updating defence systems and

accommodating them to new circumstances, with larger waves that cause a higher

impact.

[314] Directives and measures for alleviating periods of extreme drought (as stated in principle 10).

[315] - Drought management should be integrated into basin management planning,

abandoning an approach to droughts that sees them as an exceptional or emergency

situation. This approach should clearly define which measures are considered as

circumstantial and which measures are, by their nature, structural factors that are

independent of droughts.

[316] - City-countryside cooperation in order to ensure a guaranteed urban water supply must

clearly revolve around public intervention, with stable reference points rather than last-

minute reactions at times when water is scarce. In order to achieve this, public centres

for the exchange of water rights will be created.

[317] Measures for alleviating the effects of heat waves.

[318] - During the previous principles, a set of targeted measures have been analysed, among

others, to reduce the impact of heat waves, which have become worse in cities due to

the urban heat island effect. The creation of a green, permeable carpet, the reduction of

specific low heat materials and water use are some solutions to better adapt to heat

waves caused by climate change. In order to achieve this, areas of roofing and a

substantial amount of non-built-up areas will be designated for green spaces. Walls and

vertical green structures will be added to this network, both at ground level and at the

different floors of the building.

[319] - Interior heat will be reduced in buildings through the installation of high efficiency

equipment and low consumption pumps in order to increase energy efficiency. In new

developments, it is essential that all buildings have cross ventilation.

[320] - Solar radiation penetration will be reduced by closing façades.

[321] - Façade and roof heat absorption will be reduced though the use of reflective paint and

where appropriate, insulation.

45


[323] SOCIAL COHESION vs. SOCIAL EXCLUSION29: Moving towards social cohesion between

a mix of income brackets, cultures and ages

[324] Taking into account the processes of urban segregation and social exclusion that affect a large number of the planet's population, the population that lives in marginal neighbourhoods in urban areas shows that 776,700,000 people lived in such areas in the year 2000, while by 2010 the figure reached 827,600,000 people and will reach 889,000,000 people in 2020.

[325] Urban social exclusion processes are particularly severe and visible in cities, and show

how inequality in terms of access to basic services, housing, education, health, and

employment opportunities has repercussions in socioeconomic, environmental and

political terms.

[326] The concept of social exclusion encompasses poverty, but goes even further. Social

exclusion refers to the impossibility or intense difficulty that citizens may face when

trying to access measures for personal development, social and community integration,

or pre-established social protection systems.

[327] The focus in social exclusion studies has gone beyond an analysis of the population's

income and its redistribution, and now also looks at participation in society, lack of

social integration and the rights of the inhabitants. There is widespread theoretical

consensus on the need to use a definition of social exclusion that incorporates the

dynamic, multidimensional and heterogeneous nature of the term.

[328] Cities have historically been a space for social relations, in which the variety, density

and proximity of people, activities and urban structures have allowed us to work

together to build the human experience, access to communication and knowledge, and

innovation. Cities have been a space in which social relations have built an order and

social organisation, which is often unequal and conflictive. The urban habitat is a

defining factor in the integration or exclusion processes for people and social groups. In

addition, cities have been and continue to be the scene of interculturality, of the

multiracial, of otherness, which can be understood and expressed in two diametrically

opposed ways: as an area for the harmonious coexistence of legacies from every person

that make up a people's history, or as a bastion of exclusion, segregation and racism.

Cities are the most complex cultural product created by society through collective

construction, and in historical city centres they represent centuries of existence and

therefore an additional symbolism. The progress and evolution of a society is not only a

result of its material or institutional welfare, but also a result of the opportunities that

society offers its members to develop their creative abilities on equal terms and to

29

Subirats, J.; Quintana, I.; Vidal, M.; and Rueda, S. “El Libro Verde de medio urbano en el ámbito de la sostenibilidad social: hábitat urbano e inclusión social”. Chapter of the book titled: Libro Verde de Sostenibilidad Urbana y Local en la Era de la Información. (2012) Ed. Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

46

enjoy symbolic worlds, or so that human diversity can express itself in all its different

cultural manifestations30.

[329] Increasingly, urban and social aspects are mixed, inasmuch as the distinctions between

spaces for production and consumption, and places for coexistence, reproduction and

care, tend to merge and blur their borders. Proximity has shown itself as a factor that

helps integrate concrete solutions for issues that require comprehensive approaches.

Local backdrops show themselves as key spaces for individual and collective well-being

in a scenario of a more complex and diverse agenda of actions.

[330] Cities have a particularly special responsibility in the transition towards a new, more

socially sustainable model of urban development that addresses the challenges

inherent to the change of era.

[331] Development that is disassociated from a human and cultural context is growth without a soul31. The aim is to create an urban context that reduces social exclusion and encourages coexistence between groups of people with different incomes and of different ethnic groups, cultures and ages.

[332] For an urban space to be socially integrating, first of all there needs to be a sufficient

number of inhabitants to give it life. An adequate compactness level is one of the key

requirements to ensure this is the case. In disperse urban fabrics there are private

spaces that cover fundamental recreational needs, which are usually carried out in

collective spaces in neighbourhoods in compact cities. This is a necessary condition for

compact fabrics to have a good social life, although it is not sufficient. An adequate

population density, combined with a good mix of urban functions (housing, facilities,

work, third places, leisure spaces and so on), will encourage frequent visits and make

the area more attractive, resulting in an increase in spontaneous interactions.

[333] Encouraging diversity and the range of activities provided by the compact and

complex city model is fundamental for coexistence. Compactness results in a

closeness that encourages contact between groups of people, while diversity gives an

idea of who occupies a space and of the probability of establishing exchanges and

relationships between the components that carry information within a city.

[334] Earmarking a good percentage of the built surface (above 20%) to economic activity

contributes to creating a good number of jobs close to the home. Reducing travel

times gives citizens more free time.

[335] Situating third places on the ground floor encourages people onto the street, and

encourages a good distribution of local activities. This means that everyone, including

people with reduced mobility, have their basic needs at their disposal. Economic

activities act as semi-public meeting spaces: bars and restaurants, supermarkets, etc.,

which multiplies the number of relationship networks created.

30

Amartya Sen. Capital humano y capacidad humana. (2004) Foro de Economía Política, Teoría Económica FEP. 31

Nuestra Diversidad Creativa. UNESCO, 1997.

47

[336] The public space holds a greater degree of complexity than the private space, as it is

the location for a number of very different activities. As specified in the 4th PRINCIPLE,

the aim is to free up as much public space as possible so that citizens can exercise all

their rights: rights that are considered essential for life in the city, such as travelling

around or buying basic goods; and those that are optional, such as those related to

recreational activities in general.

[337] The proposal for public space focuses on three aspects: first, providing enough public

space and designing a street layout that prioritises pedestrians; second, allocating the

majority of the space freed-up from mobility so that residents can exercise all the uses

and rights that make them citizens; third, increasing the degree of habitability of that

space, as established in the 5th PRINCIPLE.

[338] Cities with an urban fabric that can be used by inhabitants at any time of the day or

night, without fear, are usually cities with a certain social mix.

[339] Safety is another aspect that defines the quality of a public space. Faced with a more

formal understanding of the concept of citizen safety, which is only guaranteed by

security bodies, ecosystemic urbanism also links it with a continuous occupation of

urban space and its status as an area for interaction. In moderately dense spaces with

activity, especially in the local area, these areas are continuously occupied. Interaction

between people in the area means there is a level of safety that is not present in

empty spaces. It also provides a valuable management of public space by the

community that inhabits it.

[340] Safety in public spaces refers to the physical and psychological safety of its inhabitants

in a broad sense. This means the feeling of safety also depends on calming traffic

(reducing the number of traffic accidents to zero, and decreasing the impact on public

health caused by noise and pollution) as well as guaranteeing access to housing and

services that offer basic needs to citizens. However, the concept of urban safety in the

21st century also refers to the exclusion and stigmatisation of victims of social

exclusion. In this case, the proposal is for public space to be controlled by some of the

active citizens, who feel like protagonists of a space that they have made their own.

[341] Facilities can provide the necessary services to complement a habitable urban area. In

this area, the aim is to ensure that the entire population, regardless of

sociodemographic characteristics, has access to optimal and local services for basic

healthcare, education, culture, sports, and so on.

[342] Taking action on housing is a strategic point, and intervention is required to ensure

the social cohesion of a given area. Providing enough affordable housing for the

income of all social groups in the city is an essential factor to avoid social exclusion.

The proposal is to allocate between 30% and 50% of new houses to subsidised

housing, and to do this by balancing different property types (owned or rented). A

diverse citizenship is a guarantee that avoids a tendency towards ghettos being

created, in which homogeneous groups of inhabitants live together. To guarantee a

48

mixed society in terms of income, ages, ethnic groups, etc., local government needs to

ensure a high percentage of houses for rent (in Austria this is 50%).

[343] In addition to providing sufficient affordable housing, there must be a balance of real

estate to obtain an adequate mix between different types of housing. As indicated by

certain policies carried out in Europe over the last few decades (developmentalism),

an abundance of affordable housing is not enough to avoid social exclusion.

Moreover, when not properly managed, subsidised housing can be an instrument that

encourages exclusion instead of working against it, and there are numerous examples

of this in cities around the world. Therefore, a mixture of different types of housing

would be indispensable: free and public housing, large and small, for ownership or

rental, and preferably in the same building, or otherwise in the same block. Measures

such as these aim to counteract the trend to concentrate available subsidised housing

in certain neighbourhoods. Ensuring that different population groups have their

housing needs covered, in the same space, is a starting point for establishing positive

interactions between them, if appropriate measures are taken.

[344] Over time, older districts in cities have created a highly consolidated fabric with an

urban function that is very satisfactory, and more effective than that of newly built

neighbourhoods. Renovating housing allows for new occupants to integrate in places

with consolidated city dynamics, instead of waiting for these dynamics to be created in

new neighbourhoods. On the other hand, considering historic city centres as part of

their broader cultural context is fundamental, as both their tangible and intangible

heritage must be taken into account during renovation. It is essential to develop a close

relationship between the container and the contents that guarantees a social presence

as a bearer of traditions, rituals and living habits that represent the very essence of

what is different. Cultural diversity is provided by the society that is the main producer

of culture; without citizens there is no city.32

[345] Rehabilitation policies must pay special attention to avoiding gentrification, and must

recover the areas being rehabilitated not as a set of isolated buildings, but rather as a

habitat that includes citizens and all their needs. The aim of these operations should

not be exclusively to increase the average income, but rather to mix a different

population in the same urban fabric.

[346] The proposal is to allocate the ground floors of housing buildings to shops and spaces

for community use, in order to create relationships between the inhabitants:

allotments or community gardens, bicycle parking and in general indoor areas that act

as a continuity of the street.

[347] In order to limit social exclusion, it is essential to offer access to the city via means of

transport other than the car. Emphasis is placed on democratisation of mobility, by

increasing the efficiency of the cheapest modes of transport available to all age

groups: public transport, cycling and walking. The aim is to increase the mobility

options for the entire population, regardless of their age or income level. Everyone

32

Rodriguez, P. (2010). Doctoral thesis.

49

must have access to the city and its services, through means of transport other than

private vehicles. Encouraging mobility by walking while restricting the public space

occupied by cars has a very positive impact on journeys made by foot. Walking is the

best mobility option for encouraging human interactions, the one that gives the most

life to the street, and the one that all citizens can do.

[348] The fact that a city's green and blue network includes different habitats for plants and

animals provides different nuances to the way people come in contact with nature:

urban parks, wet habitats, farmland, forests, etc. In each habitat there are scenarios

for citizens to interact with each other, which encourages interactions between

people with different interests: children, adults, young people, etc.

[349] Spaces should be set aside for agriculture (urban gardens) for families living in the

area, and they should be managed jointly, giving further added value to the public

space. The socially structuring role of community gardens is well known. The creation

of green spaces inside city blocks, and the management of these areas in a communal

way, is an alternative to condominiums and provides more public space for citizens.

[350] In relation to metabolic flows, the central idea is to guarantee a supply of sufficient

resources for the entire population, at a price that does not exclude anyone on the

grounds of their income, provided that consumption levels are responsible. This

concept includes basic needs, but excludes excessive consumption, which means that

resource management will penalise overconsumption. The aim is to promote a

consumption of resources that goes beyond individual interests, including collective

interests and our responsibility to provide for the future. To do this, a basal energy

and water regime should be established, one that allows everyone to access these

resources at minimal prices. The minimum energy and water resources necessary for a

decent quality of life, without wasting resources, should be defined.

[351] When working to achieve a 'decent standard of living', it is important to take into

account the cultural knowledge and enjoyment of individuals and society, in addition

to metabolic flows, as well as how the government pays them attention, thereby

guaranteeing the development of intangible heritage and encouraging a sense of

identity and appropriation. Moving towards a more conscious lifestyle leads to a

reduction in material needs which, obviously, reduces the consumption of expendable

goods. The international community has to work on building inclusive and culturally

diverse societies if it wants to eradicate poverty...33

[352] Waste management can also promote the relationship between inhabitants of a

neighbourhood/superblock. One proposal is communal management of composting

for organic waste, with communal compost bins. The compost obtained should

preferably be used in community gardens or allotments, and can also be used in urban

green spaces, which should help citizens to value their social usefulness.

33 Human Development Report 2004. UNDP.

50

[353] It would be good to have a facility (environmental centre) in which waste disposal

activities could be carried out, such as waste prevention, second-hand exchange

markets, or a furniture or appliance repair workshop. This type of activities are an

example of how facilities can be used as meeting places, in this case related to waste,

responsible consumption and changing lifestyles.

[354] Technology by itself is a tool that does not necessarily increase social inclusion. In fact,

the use of new technologies can be a new mechanism for exclusion between those

who can access them, and those who cannot (the so-called digital divide).

[355] Taking advantage of social media as a space for virtual interaction between citizens,

organisations and the authorities; citizens should be provided access to information,

the exchange of knowledge and, the processes of debate and decision-making –these

are all means to democratise the city, encouraging collective decision-making

processes in which new technology has a central role.

[356] Offering internet access areas in specific facilities or certain public spaces, such as at

public transport stops, can help to universalise access to the internet and ICT. From

here onwards moves can be made to the next step: encouraging means to participate

in public affairs online through ICT, which would be a democratic step forward

(without any exclusion) in the knowledge society.



[358] - Fulfilling the requirements established in the principles of this Charter forms the basis

for achieving the basic principles of social cohesion.

[359] - Condominiums or gated communities will be restricted. These spaces, which are

usually inhabited by upper or upper-middle class people, correspond to an urbanisation

model that privatises public residential spaces, causing social segregation. The public

space loses all its meaning as a public asset that can be accessed by anyone, as it is

appropriated by a minority.

[360] - In new developments, and in urban recycling actions, care should be taken to ensure

adequate population mixes based on age, income and origin/ethnicity. If necessary, the

authorities will acquire some properties in order to rent them out and obtain the "right"

level of social diversity.

[361] - Gentrification will be avoided through different actions: the benefits of better urban

quality that come hand in hand with implementing superblocks should extend

throughout the city; providing rental housing in publicly-owned buildings; ensuring the

diversity of legal persons by establishing plans for use and avoiding the colonisation of

excessively repeated activities; and, where appropriate, regulating land and rent prices

to avoid the local population having to leave, and achieving a level of social diversity

that allows for a balanced and socially cohesive city.

[362] - Primary healthcare services will be set up in areas of 16-20 ha, forming social

superblocks.

51


[364] UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO HOUSING IN MORE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS34

[365] Construction arises from the need to establish adequate environmental and social

conditions to house human activities in a given space and, therefore, to provide

habitability. Establishing and maintaining these conditions over time requires the use

of a number of different types of resources and a wide range of activities, which

connects habitability, as a human and social need, with sustainability.

[366] On the other hand, housing –which represents more than 80% of construction– is a

fundamental right not only because it satisfies a basic need, but also because it is a

key factor in social organisation as a basic component of the urban environment and,

therefore, a basic component of society's spatial structure. This spatial structuring

again has consequences on the use of resources in that society, as well as

consequences on numerous aspects related to social cohesion. That is why the

problems that currently relate to a lack of sustainability in buildings are not related

only to specific issues in that area, but also to larger-scale aspects.

[367] The reasons behind the conflicts in current construction, in terms of sustainability,

come largely from:

[368] a) The loss of the area's value as a productive infrastructure compared to its value as

land — as a physical support for activities and, in particular, as a support for

construction.

[369] b) The spatial segregation of activities thanks to a mobility system pre-eminently

based on private vehicles.

[370] c) Traditional systems for obtaining habitability being substituted with materials and

systems dependent on the use of ever-greater amounts of resources.

[371] Although the three reasons are a result of the conspicuous use of energy from our

industrial system, they are, up to a point, independent from each other, although they

encourage each other, and different actions are required to face each one.

[372] The utility of the building, its social function and, therefore, the justification for the

resources it uses, means achieving habitability. It does not make sense to consider a

"sustainable building" if the right to have socially acceptable accommodation is not

guaranteed and if it cannot be extended to all, under decent conditions. In parallel,

and in order to comply with the 13th PRINCIPLE, it is a good idea to diversify housing

programmes and provide a significant amount of subsidised housing to encourage a

balanced real estate stock by mixing housing according to type (privately owned,

protected) and tenure type. It is also necessary to locate subsidised housing in places

34

Cuchí, Albert; and Rueda, S. “El Libro Verde de sostenibilidad urbana y local en el ámbito de la edificación”. Chapter of the book titled: Libro Verde de Sostenibilidad Urbana y Local en la Era de la Información. (2012) Ed. Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

52

with good access to facilities, green spaces and transport networks.

[373] The main capital for sustainable building is existing buildings. This is due to the savings

in resources using and renovating said buildings represents in comparison to

replacements with new builds, and due to the fact that integrating traditional

buildings involves land use strategies that are more compatible with the existing

biophysical matrix and potential for sustainability. At the same time, traditional

construction involves examples of alternative ways of living, which are often more

efficient than current housing conventions in terms of adapting to the housing needs

of new urban collectives. Reinterpreting existing buildings by reusing them and

renovating them with criteria that values efficient resource use is a mandatory

objective in any strategy that aims to produce more sustainable buildings. In this

sense, it is essential to encourage public housing, not through new builds, but rather

by reusing unoccupied or secondary housing, encouraging the rehabilitation and reuse

of built heritage.

[374] The use of the region or area in an ecosystemic model involves recovering its capacity

to contribute resources in a renewable way, by taking advantage of the area's

geographical, geological and bioclimatic characteristics. Traditional resource

management systems had interpreted, to a large extent, an area's potential to

organise a biophysical matrix from which a large number of resources can be

obtained, and they did so in a sustainable manner. Buildings, due to their direct

relationship with their surroundings, must be positioned in a way that acknowledges,

reinterprets and makes the most of their existing biophysical matrix as the source of

all the resources they need: water, energy and materials. Respect for the biophysical

matrix in an area should involve establishing limits to construction within a context of

sustainability. This is both to avoid the destruction of the matrix or one of its most

important elements, and to understand that buildings should feed off the matrix, and

that the ability to obtain resources from this area defines the level of construction it

can support. When the demand for habitability resources rises beyond the level that

the biophysical matrix can provide, this must be justified and, in any case, must be

complemented by specific actions to compensate for the impacts caused by obtaining

those resources.

[375] In a context of sustainability, the psychological, cultural and social need we have to

connect with the natural environment has a renewed productive aspect, as the

biosphere is revealed as an invaluable tool in the production of urban services: air

quality, thermal comfort levels in urban spaces and buildings, the landscape, food

production, etc. However, it is also necessary to transform urban fabrics into

connection points between the dispersion of rural areas that have become islands in

the metropolitan sea. The urban environment must have a strategy for relations with

the rural environment, in which buildings must play a key role as a physical support for

the components included in this document (façades and green roofs, interior patios,

etc.), which must be designed according to their needs.

[376] Public space is one of the distinctive features of the urban environment. As one of

53

their basic functions, sustainable buildings must help to create a high-quality public

space in which the exchanges can take place that show urban life as a benchmark for

quality of life through the potential for improvement it offers to people. Improving the

habitability of the public space increases the value of the homes and premises in

problem neighbourhoods, although actions that lead to gentrification should be

avoided.

[377] The dispersion of activities around the region –favoured by the dominant mobility

model– is one of the reasons for the decrease in habitability for those who have

restricted options to access this mobility. The necessary regrouping of these activities

will not occur without a reconsideration that, on the one hand, changes the

composition of the programmes that host these activities to reorganise them as more

complex units and, on the other hand, drafts building models that integrate these new

groupings in a functionally acceptable way.

[378] Adjusting available housing to the different housing needs in urban life is one of the

necessary conditions to allow everyone access to housing, and to adjust the amount of

resources needed to provide habitability. Having a suitable range of types of housing,

with the corresponding opportunity to change and access said housing, is a mandatory

objective for sustainable building.

[379] The information society is the model of society for the future, or at least the model of

society worth betting on. In all likelihood, it is the only way to access a sustainable

society without an unacceptable reduction in the population's quality of life. In a

sustainable building model, one of the basic aims should be adapting housing to

creation needs, and providing access to the information society to everyone.



[381] Guaranteeing access to all essential services:

[382] - The habitability of housing will extend beyond the strict scope of the housing's physical

conditions, and should cover: (1) basic infrastructure (drinking water and sanitation,

electricity, waste management and collection, telecommunications); and (2) primary or

local services that are used on a daily basis and are in walking distance, such as

healthcare centres, schools, supermarkets, green space, public space and public

transport. The habitability of housing should be considered within a broader scale, the

urban space, in order to achieve a socially cohesive city that is conceived with

sustainability criteria. Urban actions should include a requirement to include access to

minimum services in order to make sure the building is habitable.

[383] Guaranteeing access to housing:

[384] - The diversification and mixture of housing programmes will be encouraged so that no

citizen is excluded due to the rent being too high. In new developments, between 30%

54

and 50% of new units will be allocated to subsidised housing (affordable housing). In

existing urban fabrics, public housing estates must either be created or extended,

offering mainly housing to rent.

[385] - A portfolio of public housing with diverse residents, catering to a range of needs and

family structures, will be encouraged: a variety of sizes, flexible types, communal multi-

purpose spaces, etc.

[386] - A balanced distribution of subsidised housing, rather than housing concentrated in

certain areas, will be guaranteed. Subsidised housing should be located in areas that

have good access to facilities, green areas and transport networks.

[387] - Measures to monitor and control rent prices will be established, in order to avoid

abusively high rents.

[388] - Housing will be provided for groups with special needs (elderly people, people who

require temporary accommodation, disabled people, etc.), and should preferably be

mixed with other types of housing.

[389] Promoting more sustainable buildings:

[390] - The construction of habitable and energy-efficient housing and buildings will be

encouraged. These buildings will be designed with a functional conception of space in

mind, which responds to the functions of new ways of living, and that is accessible,

sustainable, healthy, durable and adaptable over time, while trying to maximise the

value of using housing according to the changing needs of society (life cycles).

[391] - This will be planned on three scales/levels (subsoil, ground and at height), to

accommodate all the elements involved in ecosystemic urbanism: green roofs, networks

and service infrastructures, collection and storage of renewable energies, water

collection, communal spaces, waste collection areas, bicycle parking, and more; these

plans must be in line with a framework, indicating the land required for each function.

[392] - This will ensure that homes are as efficient as possible in terms of use of resources (the

consumption of energy, materials and water). It will encourage maximum self-

sufficiency through the use of renewable energy, minimising the use of external energy,

taking advantage of rainwater, grey water, underground water and any other possible

water sources in the urban environment, with proper management of wastewater and

making use of construction materials that are local, recycled and/or have a low

environmental impact (low levels of energy used in their life cycle), wherever possible.

[393] - Urban actions should be adapted, through urban planning, to local bioclimatic

conditions through passive cooling techniques (building orientation, taking advantage

of solar radiation and shade, natural ventilation, thermal insulation, interior

distribution). A framework regulation on energy efficiency and habitability in buildings

will be drafted.

[394] - Intelligent systems that improve metabolic efficiency will be established, thereby

reducing the consumption of resources and materials.

[395] - A dynamic and adaptive system of urban regulations will be encouraged, that is both

resilient and adaptable to change, whether related to technological advances

(materials, infrastructure), or related to the issues resulting from climate change or the

dynamics of ecological processes.

55


[397] BALANCED RESOURCES AND DISTRIBUTION OF FACILITIES

[398] Facilities are understood as the series of resources that the community considers

essential for its social structure to function, especially those facilities that require a

public nature. The aim is to ensure that the entire population, regardless of

sociodemographic characteristics, has access to optimal facilities. Therefore this

proposal focuses on providing the necessary public urban facilities to meet the needs

(education, health, sports, culture, and so on) of the inhabitants in the area in

question, while contributing simultaneously to a general improvement in city

resources.

[399] In addition to providing resources, they also need to be properly distributed. The

distribution of urban facilities in an area must be carried out in such a way that

anyone can access them on foot within a radius of 5 to 10 minutes' walk. This is a

requirement to guarantee access for all social groups. A balanced distribution in the

area encourages a number of different urban facilities to be placed in a local area,

which increases how often they are used.

[400] Urban facilities should be understood as meeting places, as nodes of social

complexity, which is derived from the fact that a very diverse range of people use

them. If the facilities also meet the demands of several population groups, this

characteristic is enhanced still further.

[401] As a consequence of this power to attract the population, these facilities, and by

extension the public space that surrounds them, are key pieces in traffic flows around

the city. The quality of use of a given facility also relates to how privileged a position it

has within the urban fabric, and the quality of the public space where it is located. This

means that an appropriate placement of the existing spaces around public facilities

will increase their value as a meeting place.

[402] It is important to understand urban facilities for their socially restoring properties in

terms of the vulnerability of certain groups. Urban facilities offer mechanisms for

social integration based on satisfying the needs of social groups in different levels of

social exclusion.

[403] In addition to satisfying a given social need, certain urban facilities have a structuring

role in how cities are configured. They provide an added value to the public space that

is able to create aspects of identity, and they therefore encourage the feeling of

identifying with a specific place and form the backbone of the space that is perceived

by the community.



56

[405] - The provision of urban facilities must cover citizens' needs for basic services, meeting

criteria relating to both function and scale. The resident population should have access,

at a distance they can cover on foot (a maximum of 600 metres, depending on the type

of facility) to a series of public services considered essential for the community:

education, healthcare, social welfare, culture and sport needs.

[406] - In new developments, the need for basic urban facilities and services should address

any deficits in the pre-existing city, as well as the needs generated by new residents.

[407] - The provision of basic urban facilities will respond to the type of urban fabric (city

centre, intermediate, residential35), as well as to the population scale and demographic

structure. For an average superblock (average urban fabric structure36, ageing

population), this provision translates to a minimum of 1.8 m2 in floor space per

inhabitant; reaching up to 3.3 m2 in floor space per inhabitant for urban fabrics with a

predominantly young population. This provision of resources must also include the

system of resources that are at the service of the city/metropolis (the system of basic

services such as, for example, local government, legal or justice systems, and security

and civil protection services).

[408] d) The interrelation and interdependence of the principles of ecosystemic urbanism

[409] As stated above, a city is built on a system of proportions. The principles presented in

this document are intimately interrelated, creating a system of dynamic balances

between them. The principles and intentional objectives stated in this document will

only be fully reached when there is an equilibrium. As in any complex system,

interrelation generates a number of feedback processes that indicate the

interdependence of the principles between each other. When a principle shows

weakness, this weakness drags the principles it is most closely related to into an

imbalance. The interdependence between principles forms the basis of this Charter's

systemic approach.

[410] Indicators for determining ecosystemic equilibrium levels37

[411] The urban model and the principles and objectives proposed make up the intentional

framework. Ascertaining the level of compliance with each principle is achieved

through the creation of a system of indicators quantifying and objectifying the stated

intentions (see Annex 4). For evaluation purposes, the results obtained are compared

with the maximum, minimum or forked38 reference values determining if the system is

35

Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed. BCNecología. ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf (page 663). 36

Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed. BCNecología. ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf (page 636). 37

The indicators for quantifying ecosystemic urbanism indicators, as well as the calculation methodology of indicators included here can be found in: Ecosystemic Urbanism Certification. Rueda, S.; Cormenzana, B.; Vidal, M., et al (2012). Ed. BCNecología: ECOSYSTEMIC_URBANISM_CERTIFICATION.pdf 38

The evaluation system resembles a blood analysis where the results obtained are compared with the maximum, minimum or forked reference values to determine if the individual is in equilibrium (sick), or not.





57

in equilibrium or not and if we are moving closer or further away from an adequate

system of proportion. The reference values proposed form the system of ecological

planning restrictions39.

[412] Whether referring to performance proposals for new urban developments or

consolidated fabrics, the values obtained for the indicator system variables (restrictors)

indicate the level of ecosystemic balance in the analysed area along with the level of

required adaptation to the principles and the intentional urban model.

[413] The number of variables in the restrictor system will be slightly different if the analysis

is carried out for existing fabrics or new developments. There is more information for

existing fabrics for some aspects of the urban reality. Furthermore, the analysis may be

carried out on different scales which encompass the entire city or areas with fewer

hectors. In fact, the reference values established for the indicators have a surface area

of 16-20 ha in the reference area, as this is the minimum urban ecosystem able to

integrate the set of proposed principles.

[414] Urban planning usually has a regulatory document governing the standards and

conditions that guide the transformation of the area to be urbanised. These standards

and conditions come from different, to-scale regulatory frameworks with eminently

social and economic variables. In order to face the new challenges, it is necessary to

change the focus and base standards without forgetting orthodox urban variables, to

meet sustainability criteria in the information age.

[415] In the same way that the planners design a master plan where a specific green area is

guaranteed per capita and other conditioning factors, ecosystemic urbanism sets forty

four planning standards for the system of proportions to be considered as “fit for

purpose”.

39

The system of restrictions explained here has a similar meaning in that it contains the definition of an ecosystem.

58

[416]

59

[417] The minimum urban ecosystem integrating the principles of

ecosystemic urbanism

[418] In terms of the scale of ecosystems, this is a question of being aware of what the

minimum urban ecosystem is capable of achieving the desired values for the set of

indicators (restrictors) ensuring urban equilibrium and the principles established in the

urban ecosystem. This minimum ecosystem will become the basic urban planning unit

and we will call it the superblock40.

[419] A superblock is the minimum urban ecosystem of approximately 16-20 ha41 bordered

by a periphery integrating a set of overground transport networks. This expansion of

transport networks creates a mosaic of superblocks reaching the entire urban system,

whether this is a new urban development or an existing city. Within the superblocks a

loop system will create car access to all the façades. However, cars will not be able to

cross the superblock and those entering will be mostly removed by the same way they

have entered. The maximum speed allowed for vehicles is 10km/h. This speed means

the space can be mitigated and shared with citizens’ usage and rights, including

vulnerable people. Pedestrians and cyclists can cross the superblock and travel in both

directions, but cyclists must give right of way to citizens at all times. The streets within

the superblocks will become squares developing all citizen uses and rights:

entertainment, exchange, culture and democratic expression.

[420] The development of superblocks will be carried out adapting all the areas to the main

road network. This road network will include and integrate passing mechanical vehicle

networks: overground car and public transport and, where appropriate, bicycles. A

network of superblocks will extend over the entire city with a tendency to orthogonality

(the most efficient urban system), freeing up most public space today dedicated to

mobility and reducing the minimum number of vehicles42. Through this, functionality

and urban organisation are ensured. Freeing up this space will also allow a green urban

network to be established, including urban gardens, articulated through concentration

of superblocks creating a complete urban network with connections to peri-urban and

rural areas.

[421] In new urban developments, repeating minimum urban ecosystems guarantees that the

principles and objectives will be achieved. They will become the functional urban base

model of ecosystemic urbanism. In the case of urban regeneration, superblocks with

indicator values which are different to the desired values shall be intentionally modified

40

The superblock: the minimum urban ecosystem integrating the principles of ecosystemic urbanism.

(Annex 5). 41

With these dimensions, the time required to get around a superblock is similar to that of a 100 m long block on foot. 42

In a city like Barcelona, freeing up 70% of public space can be carried out with a 13% reduction in the number of vehicles. With this reduced percentage of vehicles, the traffic levels will be similar to now. In other words, the speed of the vehicles on the roads around superblocks will be similar to the speed of vehicles on the current road network. This would allow 500 superblocks to be implemented extending the network throughout the entire city.


60

so they are closer to the desired values through urban planning and/or sector planning:

mobility, biodiversity, economics, housing, environment, etc.

[422] When superblocks are created in existing fabrics, the project is actually related to urban

recycling, and the size of the superblocks is flexible, accommodating the main road

network to guarantee system functionality. When new urban developments are

implemented, the size of 16-20 ha (between 400 and 500 m long) is adequate because

it includes all methods of transport. In addition, this becomes the minimum urban

intersection where new urbanism principles integrate and become reality.

[423] A superblock can be created in an ecosystem starting and catalysing the transformation

of fabrics requiring regeneration. It acts like a small city incorporating the group (the

majority) of urban principles and restrictors, that is, implanting the urban model on a

small scale. It may be the framework for regenerating fabrics with an outpouring of

isolated towers within a dense but soulless urban fabric43. It may be the start of the

regeneration of low density fabrics, modifying the rules of the game that created them,

increasing density and generating new smaller central areas. The same cell gives a

similar response when the intervention area is that of an urban project with several

tens of hectares or when the scale of the area, district, city or even metropolis is

widened.

[424] Ecosystemic urbanism consists of three levels (layouts)44

[425] Currently urban planning has a single layout where urban uses reserved by law are

fundamentally established. The current urban layout does not meet, because it cannot,

the set of variables which must be regulated for facing the challenges of today and the

future. A roof layout and subsoil layout must be added to the surface layout,

maintaining the same legal structure with adequate reserves in each layout. The

variables related to sustainability in the information age can be included with ease.

[426] The design of the three urban layouts may incorporate, formally, the set of variables

involved in facing the challenges indicated.

[427] Organisation, management and governance instruments

[428] The role of cities working with international organisations is irrelevant when compared

with that of countries or even regions. If the battle for sustainability is to be won or lost

in cities, it seems logical to modify the status of the urban systems and their relevance

43

The deficits of these fabrics: diversity of legal persons, biodiversity, etc. may be reduced by substituting uses at height and increasing the green surface through layers or other measures. In other words, using z coordinates to get closer to the reference values. 44

See Annex 6 .


61

in decision making at all levels, including on a global scale. Urban “power” must be

necessary and enough for facing sustainability challenges in the information age.

[429] In order to advance towards implementing a newer urbanism, a battery of organisation

and management instruments must be implemented.

[430] Firstly, it is essential that the “State”45 acts in some cities without urban planning or

adequate organisation for implementing this.

[431] Secondly, planners know that in order to reach defined planning objectives, it is

necessary to have adequate organisation. For most cities all over the world it is very

probable that the organisation and resources for enacting the principles and objectives

of new urbanism will be insufficient.

[432] Thirdly, urban sustainability policies should be promoted through new forms of local

governance, facilitating a holistic and integral approximation to urban processes,

managing the multi-level dimension of these policies articulated through citizen

participation processes.

[433] Urban governing is related to our collective capacity to respond to common problems,

creating more complex forms of self-organisation and networks among organisations

which replace and/or accompany traditional urban government, new decision spaces

and implementation of urban policies. These networks are integrated by different

political, social, cultural and economic agencies46 operating in different urban decision

making spheres.

[434] These governing processes are not based on traditional sovereign and territorial

exclusivity principles, but are defined as a widespread exercise and power sharing in

more horizontal dynamics. In this context, the most significant change explaining the

processes of local government is found in new roles and relationships established

between actors. Changes in the relationship between government and citizens which

may influence local politics; changes in the role of public decision makers; changes in

public organisations themselves and new organisational forms (strategic alliances,

partnerships, participation experiences), which coexist with traditional management

systems.

[435] In relation to urban sustainability, local governance must be a process promoting

effective local policies aimed at guaranteeing a prosperous urban economy,

environmental sustainability and social inclusion. Appropriate governance would

consist of the capacity to get things done in spite of their complexity and the many

areas of conflict that the great social change is generating.

45

The term “State” involves public institutions, including city councils. 46

The development of close cultural policies, created together with citizens, is the only viable route for facing the greater challenges in preserving cultural legacy in the current scenario.

62

[436] The human dimension of ecosystemic urbanism

[437] Ecosystemic urbanism has a human scale scope, and it puts the human beings at the

centre of its internal logic; it always pursues a better quality of life and citizen

empowerment, both individually and collectively.

[438] The fifteen principles and objectives establish the central position of citizens without

placing importance on their individual or social condition. This has become the focus of

ecosystemic urbanism.

[439] Firstly, the concept promotes access and enjoyment of the city and its basic services,

including housing. It also promotes individual autonomy without using methods of

mechanical transport. If this is necessary due to the distance, people should resort to

public transport methods or bicycles. We are also seeking coexistence between

different parties in terms of income, culture, ethnicity and age etc. The majority of the

principles are involved in this.

[440] The increased use of public spaces means that citizens’ rights and empowerment are

expanded. Empowerment is expanded through the development of ecosystemic

urbanism instruments: governance, education, training, etc.

[441] This level of autonomy and empowerment is threatened with external control of

information flows exercised by companies and institutional bodies of different scales.

Ecosystemic urbanism will change different dysfunctions and impacts which may be

diluted by the influx of spurious interests influencing lifestyles which are contrary to the

ecosystemic equilibriums presented here.

[442] The “firewalls” for neutralising these influxes come from political control and evolved

democracy, in part included in the governance instruments for ecosystemic urbanism,

regulating information flows to guarantee personal autonomy, free will and avoiding

lifestyles contributing to current uncertainties. What is at stake here is crucial and

strategic for the planet; the species inhabiting it and new technologies, particularly

artificial intelligence, must serve a new respectful urban way of life that respects its

components and the systems that support us.

[443] Regulatory Instruments

[444] Many problems within cities are related to the absence of regulations and the

organisation to ensure regulations are complied with. The only possibility for

developing a new type of urbanism is to create organisational conditions that make it

possible to define a new body of law and compliance with this, among other things.

[445] Achieving the principles and objectives of a balanced, eco-integrating and more

sustainable city requires a radical transformation of the current regulations. In every

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case, the body of regulations must be modified and adjusted to the proposals included

in this Charter.

[446] In addition, current urbanism is focused on the definition and land reserves for every

urban use. It designs a two dimensional layout which, with approval, shall become law.

In order to incorporate all the variables arising from the whole set of defining principles

of ecosystemic urbanism, it is necessary to modify the regulatory frameworks to include

the three layout design in law, one for height, another on the surface and another in

the subsoil, incorporating the necessary reserves for achieving ecosystemic urbanism

objectives and principles. In each location, the territorial scale for enactment of the

regulations may be different: state, regional, municipal, and so on. In any case, it is

recommended that legal regulations defining the different parts of the new urbanism

form a single competency.

[447] Economic-financial instruments

[448] In the majority of countries, populations are eminently urban. Furthermore, 80% of the

world GDP is also generated through cities. However, budgets are formed by states and

the amounts dedicated to cities are not equivalent to these percentages. In Spain, the

state budget given to cities barely reaches 15% when the urban population is almost

80%. In other countries like Denmark, the state budget given to cities is higher than

60%.

[449] It seems reasonable that, in the interest of facing current challenges and in the

knowledge that the battle for sustainability will be won or lost in cities, the budget

percentages given to urban systems should be changed. The increase must be

equivalent to the combination between the population percentage in cities and the

GDP generated in them.

[450] Taxation is, without a doubt, one of the most effective instruments for achieving some

of the objectives proposed.

[451] It is known that economic awareness as a regulatory mechanism is significantly superior

to environmental awareness. For example, if we attempt to recover used packaging,

even the best and most fitting publicity campaign will never achieve the same results as

paying one euro per package as part of a deposit, refund and return scheme. Nobody

will throw a euro in the rubbish. However, packages containing messages from even the

best awareness campaigns will be thrown away due to laziness, convenience or apathy.

In this case, economic awareness neutralises unsustainable behaviour.

[452] It is both very effective and educational, to apply finalist tax measures. In other words,

charging and allocating what is raised to establish and/or maintain the service. For

example, when water sanitation charges are added to bills using an “if you pollute, you

pay” principle, this will be effective if the money collected is entirely used for purifying

water and restoring riverbeds and bodies of water.

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[453] Educational and training instruments

[454] In order to face the challenges of the new paradigm it will be convenient to deploy

educational instruments leading to a change in citizen lifestyles and the behaviour of

companies and legal persons in general. With the current instruments, the process

towards non-sustainability cannot be stopped.

[455] Additionally, the new urbanism will need academic training programmes to be applied

and spread all over the world.

[456] Conclusive summary

[457] The fact that quality of life is deteriorating in numerous cities all over the world and

urban systems are having an impact on our planet’s ecosystems means that we must

change how we currently create cities and the bases underpinning change processes. A

new theoretical and instrumental framework must be established for designing new

urban developments and above all, the regeneration of existing ones. Urban ecology is

a discipline which has a necessary theoretical framework for facing the urban reality

holistically and systemically and it is the only discipline which can harmonise urban

transformation processes with the laws of nature.

[458] This Charter considers cities to be ecosystems, the most complex ecosystem created by

humans. When we face this complexity and equally try to reduce the level of urban

deterioration and the level of impact on support systems, we must define an

intentional urban model with an impact on the essential features of the urban dynamic

which also confronts the sustainability challenges in the information age, which are

essential for reducing uncertainties and increasing our capacity for foresight. The only

urban model which fulfils all the requirements is morphologically compact, complex in

terms of anthropic and biologic organisation, metabolically efficient and socially

cohesive. For the implementation of urban models, a new urban instrument is required:

ecosystem urbanism. This takes all the variables of the wider context into account

within the urban planning process. It proposes producing cities and is against

generating suburbs. It establishes a set of principles defining the rules of engagement

and the system of restrictions making up the intentional urban model which are a

practical guide for production processes within new cities and regeneration of existing

ones.

[459] Morphologically, we are looking for urban uses and functions which use as little land as

possible. We are supporting regeneration and recycling of existing fabrics and only

using new land when absolutely necessary. This compactness must foster the critical

mass of the population and legal persons to sufficiently create a city, so there is public

space and a mix of uses. The proximity and critical mass allow access on foot to basic

services and equipment, in addition to making public transport viable. Density must

endeavour to create a city, but must not exceed specified thresholds in order to create

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an equilibrium city with sufficient spaces for decompression, elevated biodiversity

values, public spaces with sufficient insulation spaces and a specified level of energy

self-sufficiency, etc.

[460] Urban functionality is defined by the current mobility model based on motorised

modes. This model is the largest energy consumer, conditions the use of public spaces

(more than 80% of public roads are used for mobility) and creates the worst urban

dysfunctions (contamination, noise, etc.) with impacts on health and the environment.

Reducing these current dysfunctions and freeing up space predominantly used for

public mobility means changing the mobility model to one based on alternative

methods of transport, other than cars. The planning instrument to change this mobility

model, while guaranteeing system functioning, is the superblock. Superblocks will

favour, in this order, movement on foot, public transport and bicycles. Mobility will no

longer be a service and will progress towards electric vehicles; the use of electric bikes

will be favoured over electric cars.

[461] Freeing up space will be achieved by implanting superblocks throughout the entire city,

which allows to reduce current dysfunctions and control variables providing habitability

within public spaces. Improvement of air quality, sound reduction, safety, temperature

comfort, accessibility etc. will create conditions conducive to a significant increase in

the number and diversity of legal persons. Freeing up public space enhances citizen

uses and rights to be exercised in the public space. The right to movement, which is

currently a dominant and almost unique right, will additionally give way to the right to

exchange, leisure, culture and political expression. The opportunity to exercise all these

rights in a public space, a “shared house”, makes us citizens. Today, the mobility model

restricts these rights and our main goal is to promote walking as a method of transport.

Enhancing these uses and rights will turn streets into squares. By implanting

superblocks, 70% of public spaces are freed up giving us more of an active role to

become citizens, citizens who mainly will travel on foot.

[462] The city is supported by its organisations, which are also known as legal persons. In

urban systems, entities which are not organisations are irrelevant. Each legal person

has, at least, one intention justifying it and allowing it to relate to other legal persons.

These entities treasure useful information, that is, knowledge. The abundance and

diversity of legal persons determine the complexity of the network of relationships. This

network is the competitive base between regions and the one that determines,

following the Margalef principle, the relative position of each urban system in the

national and international order of cities and metropolises.

[463] The current strategy for competition between urban systems based on the

consumption of resources is a huge threat to the future of humanity. The only hopeful

strategy is based on increasing the number (n) and diversity (H) of legal persons in

general and especially of knowledge-dense legal persons, while drastically reducing

consumption of natural resources (E). This strategy uses nature to enhance viability of

living beings and ecosystems, to increase organised complexity and at the same time

reduce the necessary energy for maintaining this complexity. The E/nH ratio that

reduces over the time axis indicates the path to follow, and suggests a strategic shift

towards competition based on information and knowledge, sustained by services and a

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less material economy. This is the equation that deals with sustainability challenges in

the information age.

[464] Using a strategy based on information and knowledge, urban planning must enhance

growth of n and H, promoting new central areas, densification and mixture of suburb

uses, activities taking place at a height when there are neighbourhoods made up of

tower buildings, corridor streets full of related activities, etc. The increase of n and H

increases the number of jobs, employment self-restraint and self-sufficiency, ensuring

the existence of basic services for residents.

[465] Knowledge-dense legal persons hoard the majority of useful information, acting as the

base for the city knowledge or the “smart city” model. The number and diversity of

knowledge-dense legal persons increases as the strategy for increasing information

flows and hyperconnectivity grows. This is also done through implementing actions on

the necessary sector plans for achieving the principles of ecosystemic urbanism.

[466] We will consider the biophysical matrix as one of the structural elements for urban

planning, creating a connected ecological matrix that increases biodiversity and

strengthens and re-evaluates peri-urban agriculture and its productivity. The extensive

and continuous network of green and blue metropolitan spaces will penetrate the

urban system, creating green corridors using the extensions of these areas that have

least resistance to the penetration of biodiversity. The green network will be completed

by planting vegetation in part of the space freed up by superblocks and in these

opportunity spaces: interior block patios, obsolete industry, abandoned spaces, green

roofs and walls, etc. Planning on the biophysical matrix must help to close material and

water cycles.

[467] Urban ecosystems are open systems in terms of materials, energy and information.

They are heterotrophic systems which need resource entry flows and waste exit flows

to maintain their organisation. Ecosystemic urbanism seeks to achieve the best

efficiency possible for each of the metabolic vectors and the best self-sufficiency with

local and renewable resources. It is equally seeking to reduce the minimum amount of

impacts on the environment and people. This attempt is combined with the mitigation

of and adaptation to climate change, with the aim of foreseeing problems associated

with this phenomenon. Again, superblocks play a fundamental role both for mitigation

of and adaptation to climate change, as well as to achieve metabolic efficiency targets

and closing biogenic cycles.

[468] In urban ecosystems, people are the main component. Numerous factors, among them

urbanism, have been responsible for the level of social exclusion and inequality that the

majority of cities throughout the world display today. The level of marginalisation and

absolute poverty which almost a thousand millions of citizens in the world’s cities have

to endure is not remotely acceptable. Quality of life and coexistence suffer, even for

those who have most, and people often become isolated and scared “to death". The

“adequate” mix of people of a different social condition and backgrounds living in

proximity, possibly in the same building, has been proven as the best solution for

coexistence and individual and collective growth. Urban formulas for mixing incomes,

ages, ethnicities, etc. are essential for social cohesion. In this section, it is essential that

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the State acts where the market does not. Everyone has the right to decent housing

and close facilities conducive to urban habitability. Providing primary care services has

an adequate territorial framework within superblocks.

[469] The principles of ecosystemic urbanism are articulated integrally and systemically; in

order to achieve these principles, superblocks and the definition of three planes with

corresponding land reserves are two of the fundamental technical instruments.

[470] The theoretical and technical framework needs regulatory, economic-financial,

organisational, governance, educational and training instruments.

[471] The legal framework for each urban reality is different. A lot of current legislation

means that the proposals included in this document cannot be included. The challenges

we are facing do not leave any margin for hesitation and it is necessary to adapt the

regulatory framework to the objectives and principles expressed.

[472] The economic effort of government to implement the Charter's proposals is

considerable for some of the principles, for example the acquisition of housing stock in

order to achieve social mixes not provided by the market. The budgets that the State

raises and then provides to municipalities are, in the majority of cases, very small, even

though cities generate 80% of the GDP. It seems reasonable current budget scenario

must be changed, particularly in the knowledge that the future depends on how we

organise our cities from here on.

[473] For concrete fulfilment of the initiatives necessary for reaching the stated objectives,

purpose-driven tax policies have always proven to be very effective.

[474] The position of cities for making decisions on an international scale is insignificant.

While the relative position of urban systems does not correspond to their size and

importance, it is going to be difficult to reach the goals to reduce current uncertainties

and alleviate the current level of urban and social deterioration. In the same way, it is

going to be impossible to enact significant change without active participation from

citizens and institutions on all scales.

[475] It is fundamental that citizens take ownership of their own existence to change current

lifestyles. New lifestyles confront the challenges of sustainability in the information age.

The new age must define a new paradigm, away from the principles assumed during

the industrial era, which have caused the scenario of current instability. Educational

and training efforts must be huge, as much as the change we urgently need.

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