Jane Jacobs’s criteria for urban vitality: a geospatial analysis of morphological conditions in Quito, Ecuador
Publication date
2023ISSN
2071-1050
Abstract
Urban vitality, understood as a key factor in the achievement of cities’ sustainability, shows a strong relationship with urban morphology. The city theorist Jane Jacobs suggested morphological aspects to promote vital cities in the 1960s, which remain valid in the present. However, few studies in the Andean region quantitatively exemplify this. This paper aims to test the measurement of urban vitality in a neighborhood of Quito, Ecuador, called La Mariscal, integrating Jacobs’ approach. In particular, three urban vitality indexes are evaluated with the application of GIS software using cadastral data obtained from the Metropolitan District of Quito and field data collection. Results show that context-based previous knowledge and scale of analysis are essential factors in the configuration of dimensions, indicators, and spatial representation of any urban vitality index. In the study area, land use mixture, contact opportunity, and accessibility dimensions are fundamental. Regarding indicators, the incorporation of informal small-scale commerce, the quality of sidewalks, and well-conditioned street furniture is recommended. Finally, a hybrid representation (raster and vectorial) is suggested to precisely measure urban vitality at a block scale. Altogether, by providing a comparative approach, we intend to provide a useful framework for researchers and planners to study urban vitality in Andean cities.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
72 - Architecture
Keywords
Índex de vitalitat urbana
Paràmetres de morfologia urbana
Enfocament comparatiu
Regió andina
Eines GIS
Índice de vitalidad urbana
Parámetros de morfología urbana
Enfoque comparativo
Región andina
Herramientas SIG
Urban vitality index
Urban morphology parameters
Comparative approach
Andean region
GIS tools
Pages
19
Publisher
MDPI
Collection
15;11
Is part of
Sustainability
Citation
Vidal Domper, Nuria; Hoyos-Bucheli, Gonzalo; Benages-Albert, Marta [et al.]. Jane Jacobs’s criteria for urban vitality: a geospatial analysis of morphological conditions in Quito, Ecuador. Sustainability, 2023, 15(11), 8597. Disponible en: <https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8597>. Fecha de acceso: 22 sep. 2023. DOI: 10.3390/su15118597
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Arquitectura [35]
Rights
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/