Tag Archive for: urban vitality

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1195 | 629 | Urban vitality and public familiarity in the new vertical neighborhoods of Santiago de Chile | Felipe Link, Andrés Señoret & Christian Matus

The concept of urban vitality indicates that certain attributes of the built environment (density, land use mix, accessibility, porosity, among others) influence the daily use of the neighborhood and the social interactions between inhabitants (Gehl, 1987; Jacobs, 2011), encouraging what some authors call public familiarity, weak social bonds of recognition that contribute to the sense of neighborhood community (Blokland, & Nast, 2014; Felder, 2020). _x000D_
On the other hand, in recent decades, Santiago de Chile has experienced an important process of verticalization, promoted by the financialization of the real estate sector (De Mattos, 2008) and by neoliberal urban policies (López-Morales et al., 2012), which has radically transformed the built environment of its central areas (Vicuña Del Río, 2020), negatively affecting the public space of the neighborhoods (Pumarino, 2014). _x000D_
This paper asks how such transformations of the built environment affect the sociability patterns of the inhabitants of vertical urban areas, based on the analysis of three neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile through secondary data of the built environment and primary data collected through surveys and focus groups._x000D_
The results show that, although verticalization inhibits social interaction at the building level and hinders the formation of strong ties at the neighborhood level, in some cases, the daily use of public space and local commerce, as well as neighborhood organization, favor the emergence of ties of public familiarity, transforming the traditional idea of neighborhood community._x000D_
Based on these results, we seek to discuss the social impacts of verticalization processes in relation to daily practices in the formation of communities, investigating how an urban development process that prioritizes urban land profit ends up hindering the urban vitality of the city and the formation of communities on a neighborhood level._x000D_

Felipe Link, Andrés Señoret & Christian Matus
Instituto de Estudios Urbanos y Territoriales, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

 
ID Abstract: 629

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1195 | Exploring urban Vitality: links between built environment and street and neighbourhood life | Irene Gómez-Varo (1); Oriol Marquet (2)

The concept of urban vitality, as coined by Jane Jacobs in her seminal work “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” (1961), suggests that the physical form of cities can have a significant impact on the vibrancy and liveliness of neighbourhoods. Jacobs argued that diverse, mixed-use, and pedestrian-friendly urban environments promote social interaction and a sense of community, while monolithic and car-centric designs can lead to social isolation and decline.
In recent years, urban vitality ideas are undergoing a revival. Under this framework, urban policies are promoting proximity dynamics by investing in accessibility, pedestrian-oriented developments, and diversity. At the same time, there has been a growing interest in academia in understanding these theoretical conditions for urban vitality with an applied perspective, by characterizing built environment and exploring their relationship with daily life urban outcomes.
This session aims to bring together researchers who are working under the framework of urban vitality in contemporary cities. We welcome research from a range of disciplines (urban studies and planning, geography, sociology, anthropology, architecture, and other science fields) that explore how the design and planning of cities can support or hinder neighbourhood life, and how policy and practice can facilitate the creation of vibrant communities. We are particularly interested in studies that offer insights for practitioners and policymakers seeking to enhance the vitality of their cities, including but not limited to case studies, comparative analyses, and conceptual or theoretical frameworks. We look forward fostering a lively discussion to exchange ideas on the role of urban form in creating vibrant cities.
 

Irene Gómez-Varo (1); Oriol Marquet (2)
(1) Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, (2) Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)

 
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