Toolbox

The urban development structure identifies the key features of the Strategic and Spatial Development Plan. This first steps consists in identifying strategic areas, such as transformation, consolidation, conservation and expansion, which define the how the city areas should change in order to guide the future development of the city. The second, consists in identifying the urban perimeter, which establishes the boundary of the city and distinguishes between urban and rural area.

The technical team should start reviewing the outputs from previous activities. The current structure of the city was developed in Field Research (Activity 13) with the T16 Participatory Incremental Mapping tool and the Analysis (Activity 14) and concludes in the Diagnostic (Activity 16). This includes the areas where the urban area of the city has consolidated and/or expanded, the connectivity scheme, the main nodes and landmarks, etc. This information plus the results regarding the challenges, demographic and density projections and city vision should be the base for the formulation of the urban development structure for the future city. 

The first step is to define strategic areas of the city (T28 Urban Development Structure Guide): 

• Consolidation: in areas where the infrastructure capacity and the land occupation are balanced and/or there are no predictable or justifiable major changes in the current urban fabric and urban form. Some sectors from the consolidation areas have the potential to be densified.
• Transformation: in areas where there is a mismatch between the infrastructure capacity and land occupation and/or where substantial changes in the current urban fabric and urban form are predicted. These can be both in urban areas or in areas outside the urban perimeter.
• Conservation: in areas with cultural or environmental value that need to be protected from interventions and urban sprawl.  These can include archaeological areas, environmental preservation (protected areas), land protection, water recharge, biodiversity conservation, etc.
• Extension: Land within the existing city or built-up area limits destined for urban expansion. This is land that has not been urbanised or subdivided into plots yet, and is located outside the existing or former urban perimeter. This strategic area does not always apply. It is possible that a city does not need any extension area. Instead, an increase in population density and building density is proposed through consolidation and transformation areas. The definition of Expansion areas should consider the T19 Demographic and Density Projections.

This activity is carried out by the technical team but can also be developed as a workshop in collaboration with the advisory committee. Otherwise, the results must be revised and validated by them.