Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality: five cases in Valdivia, Southern Chile
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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality: five cases in Valdivia, Southern Chile Antonio Zumelzu1 · Melissa Barrientos‑Trinanes2 Received: 4 September 2018 / Accepted: 25 June 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract The transformation of Chilean cities has followed a similar morphological pattern of change as observed in European and North American cities. From individuals to communities, social interactions have been decreasing following the individualistic single-family housing model. Evaluating these changes provides a unique opportunity to study the impact of urban form, especially in intermediate cities in southern Chile in which there is very little evidence of these processes. Assessing neighborhood vitality, as it is triggered by components of urban form, can help contribute recommendations for more sustainable future planning and the improvement of current environments. This study investigates the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality in five neighborhoods in the city of Valdivia, Chile. Quantitative and qualitative methods are used to explore the morphological elements that influence human activity, to determine how various spatial elements impact vitality levels. Results show that certain neighborhoods have a greater degree of morphological adaptability to generate a diversity of uses. Further, four conditions are associated to increased human interaction in neighborhoods, including land use mix, block size, plot sizes and adaptability. Finally, our results are used to propose recommendations to guide the urban design of neighborhoods towards a more sustainable path. Keywords Chile · Latin America · Neighborhoods · Neighborhood vitality · Urban form
1 Introduction Lack of urban planning in emerging Latin American countries is a problem increasingly being placed at the center of twenty-first century development agendas (UN-Habitat 2016). In Latin America, the urban space has evolved from a compact form to one that is fragmented and expanded, undergoing important changes in the last decades (Borsdorf and Hidalgo 2010). In particular, urban life is being directly affected by rapid growth, the * Antonio Zumelzu [email protected] 1
Instituto de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad Austral de Chile, Av. Elena Haverbeck s/n – Edificio Ernst Kasper – Campus Isla Teja, Valdivia, Chile
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The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, 22 Gordon St, Bloomsbury, London WC1H0QB, UK
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A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes
diffusion of peripheries and the proliferation of new residential structures. Recent evidence shows that these changes are forcing inhabitants to redefine their social relationships, personal identity, and connection to the built environment (Grigonis 2013; Guevara 2015; López-Morales 2015; Robinson and Roy 2015). Moreover, research indicates that intermediate Latin American cities are following a pattern of change similar to that observed in European and North American contexts, mainly in aspects considered the
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