Resumen de El conocimiento generador del proyecto urbano sostenible
The growth of the world's urban population and the environmental imbalance that many cities present model implies has an impact on the quality of life of urban inhabitants as well as on the environmental deterioration of the planet.
To invert this situation we must change the way we draw up urban and territorial plans by basing on a holistic approach, which integrates new insights about the design process right from its beginning.
These new insights will emerge from an interdisciplinary platform, which is focussed on the incorporation of urban sustainability constraints. The present piece of work concentrates on the identification of these new insights, which emerge interrelatedly from the three fields of sustainability: the environmental, the economic and the social field.
The initial interpretation of urban dynamics and its problems pave the way for the required changes.
On the basis of a theoretical frame, this piece of work investigates a new urban model, which is based on a development in harmony with environment and concentrates its perspective on the scale of the eco neighbourhood as a specific application of the aforementioned urban model.
The idea of a theoretic model of en eco neighbourhood works well as a basis for the methodological study of three examples of eco neighbourhoods in northern Europe: Vauban in Freiburg (Germany), Västra Hamnen in Malmö (Sweden) and Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm (Sweden). These examples, which show complementary qualities, provide experiences and wise moves, which build a listing of the sought-after insights. These insights simultaneously come from various disciplines and their research is divided in twelve groups or dimensions, which include the complex variables and interrelations of urban processes.
The analysis of the experiences from the point of view of their social, environmental, technological and economic dynamics provides examples of the synergies developed in these processes, which simultaneously imply all variables. The dialogic relation with their respective contexts adds to the understanding of the processes of generation of these undertakings, on whose basis we may set out a way of carrying out similar actions in different circumstances and latitudes in future.
Behind each undertaking we find a local project as a strategy of the territory and the society to build up itself from its own historic, physical and social conditions. Local dimension as a way of identity, which permits interaction with global dimension.
By means of participation of all social agents, these urban projects manage to integrate the different sustainability constraints from their own specificity. Design turns into a tool of integration and synthesis, which is capable to listen to all voices and incorporate insights, which increase the quality of life of people in all its facets: the social, cultural, environmental and economic.
The result are societies, which develop healthier, more efficient and attractive cities; while the cities develop more competitive, responsible and integrated societies.
Keywords: insights, sustainability, city, society, local project.
