Flows, drivers, services and functions and urban typologies: An integrated approach for the analysis of urban eco-systems

The unplanned and non-environmentally integrated growth of cities in the last decades implies problems and challenges related to environmental impacts, life quality, social cohesion and economic capacities and competences. Considering this situation, an integrated management regarding the aforesaid aspects is demanded in urban areas. This requirement has already arisen from the European Commission within the Thematic Strategy on Urban Environment. Furthermore, in May 2007, the European Member States stated so in the Leipzig Charta. INCYDA EMAU is a project partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Environment which aims to provide an integrated methodology for the assessment of urban system patterns and capacity of response and action with two objectives, a) avoiding the alteration of the ecological, social and economical conditions of the city, and also b) improving them, throughout a process of building new economic and social habits, by means of an urban ecosystem approach. The project encompasses four phases: 1) Characterization and comprehension of urban ecosystems 2) Assessment and diagnosis 3) Identification of critical nodes and 4) Definition of strategic actions. The methodology is being tested as a pilot case from the very early stages of the project. This paper focuses on the characterization phase.