Integrated economic-hydrologic analysis of policy responses

Water is a vital resource, but also a critical limiting factor for economic and social development in many parts of the world. The recent rapid growth in human population and water use for social and economic development is increasing the pressure on water resources and the environment, as well as leading to growing conflicts among competing water use sectors (agriculture, urban, tourism, industry) and regions (Gleick et al., 2009; World Bank, 2006). In Spain, as in many other arid and semi-arid regions affected by drought and wide climate variability, irrigated agriculture is responsible for most consumptive water use and plays an important role in sustaining rural livelihoods (Varela-Ortega, 2007). Historically, the evolution of irrigation has been based on publicly-funded irrigation development plans that promoted economic growth and improved the socio-economic conditions of rural farmers in agrarian Spain, but increased environmental damage and led to excessive and inefficient exploitation of water resources (Garrido and Llamas, 2010; Varela-Ortega et al., 2010). Currently, water policies in Spain focus on rehabilitating and improving the efficiency of irrigation systems, and are moving from technocratic towards integrated water management strategies driven by the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Rebalancing urban mobility: a tale of four cities

The key of mobility in urban planning is not in dispute. Integrated strategies that take into account the interrelations among land use, transport supply and demand and the different transportation modes are more necessary than ever. In Europe, regulatory tools such as local mobility plans or traffic plans have been enforced for a long time, evolving into so-called sustainable urban transport plans (SUTP) ? that is, plans thatmerge urban planning,mobility governance, social awareness and environmental safeguards to develop a vision based on sustainability and equity. Indeed, SUTP are aimed at solving typical problems in current land use, such as urban sprawl, which make clear the need for a paradigm shift from transport (or mobility) planning to land use (or city) planning, thereby producing urban mobility plans that are fully aligned with integrated urban development plans. This paper describes how SUTP are articulated across Europe according to four case studies: Peterborough (UK), Chambe¿ry (France), Ferrara (Italy) and Pinto (Spain), to highlight variations and commonalities, both among the four national legal frameworks and the actual planning processes at the local level. Objectives, measures and indicators used in the monitoring and evaluation phases have been analysed and the results assessed. The main conclusion of the paper is that, as seen in these real-life examples, the lack of integration between spatial planning and transport strategies results in the unsustainability of urban areas and, therefore, in a significant loss of competitiveness.

Modelo para la gestión de la ordenación territorial en el Ecuador en el marco de su Constitución

Ecuador, país sudamericano, aprobó en el año 2008 una Constitución en la que subyace un modelo de desarrollo humano multidimensional y alternativo al vigente. Sus dimensiones sociales, económicas, políticas, culturales y ambientales se encuentran en los textos correspondientes a los “Derechos”, “Régimen de Desarrollo” y “Régimen del Buen Vivir”; en tanto que las dimensiones territoriales se hallan expuestas en la “Organización Territorial del Estado”, conformada por regiones, provincias, cantones y parroquias rurales, con sus respectivos gobiernos autónomos descentralizados, a los que la misma Constitución les atribuye, entre otras, las competencias exclusivas de “planificar el desarrollo” y “formular los correspondientes planes de ordenamiento territorial”, y al Estado central la “planificación nacional”. No obstante, el marco legal dictado posteriormente -que otorga al Estado central la competencia de ordenación territorial, mediante la “Estrategia Territorial Nacional”-, no logra regular con eficacia, efectividad y eficiencia este ejercicio competencial, incluyendo en esta condición a los lineamientos técnicos dictados por el organismo nacional de planificación; volviendo urgente la vigencia de una ley que lo asuma, pero que demanda previamente el diseño de un modelo de gestión de estas competencias, propósito al cual procura contribuir el presente trabajo. Su estructura es la siguiente: Capítulo 1: “La problemática, objetivos y antecedentes”, en cuya formulación se destaca el estudio del marco jurídico y técnico vigente en relación a la ordenación territorial, partiendo de una breve visión sobre los empeños previos en Ecuador por adoptarla, y que se complementa con una evaluación preliminar de la experiencia vivida por los gobiernos autónomos descentralizados al formular y gestionar sus primeros planes de desarrollo y de ordenación territorial, en acatamiento del mandato constitucional. Luego se avanza en la definición del objetivo general del trabajo y de un conjunto coherente de objetivos específicos. Concluye este capítulo con el análisis del estado de la cuestión: los antecedentes sobre la ordenación territorial en América Latina, en el marco de sus predecesoras históricas. Capítulo 2: “Diseño del modelo de gestión”, que se inicia con el planteamiento de la metodología a seguir, condicionada especialmente por los propios textos constitucionales que vinculan en la relación de “correspondencia” a la ordenación territorial con la planificación del desarrollo y en consecuencia con el ejercicio de las competencias sectoriales asignadas por ella misma a los diferentes niveles de gobierno. Efectivamente, tal relación supone básicamente que la planificación del desarrollo adquiera el carácter de global, total, vale decir integral, en el sentido de que igualmente contemple sus dimensiones territoriales y que la planificación de éstas se integre a la de las dimensiones sociales, económicas, políticas, culturales y ambientales, de manera tal que en cada uno de los niveles la planificación del desarrollo sea un proceso único y un todo. Por estas condiciones, el diseño en cuestión demanda el tratamiento previo de los aspectos contemplados por la metodología en relación con la conceptualización y ordenamiento de la planificación y gestión del modelo de desarrollo humano previsto por la Constitución para los distintos niveles territoriales, seguido del análisis y evaluación del reparto competencial. En este marco se diseña el modelo de gestión en siete componentes específicos que definen los objetivos estratégicos generales a los cuales apuntará la ordenación territorial, estructuran con sus figuras –los planes–, un sistema integrado de alcance nacional, entienden al propio territorio bajo una visión sistémica y proponen un esquema metodológico general para la redacción de tales instrumentos. Luego se aborda en calidad de tema clave, la articulación con la planificación del desarrollo, el establecimiento de las dimensiones territoriales sectoriales y globales de ordenación en cada nivel territorial, que posibilita a su vez la formulación de los contenidos de las determinaciones de los planes y la definición de un conjunto de lineamientos para su gestión. Capítulo 3. “Verificación”, que se ha concretado en la puesta a consideración de un selecto grupo de expertos nacionales en ordenación territorial, el modelo propuesto siguiendo los procedimientos recomendados para este tipo de consultas. Capítulo 4. “Conclusiones Generales”, esto es, un conjunto coherente de proposiciones que condensan los resultados alcanzados en los diferentes capítulos precedentes y que demuestran la validez del modelo propuesto. ABSTRACT Ecuador approved a constitution, by 2008, where a multidimensional human development model, different to the one in force, underlies. Its social, economic, political, cultural and environmental dimensions are at the entries for "Rights", "Development Scheme" and "Rules of Good Living"; while the territorial dimensions are given by the "Territorial Organization of the State" section, consisting of regions, provinces, cantons and rural parishes, with their respective autonomous governments, to which the Constitution conferred, inter alia, the exclusive powers of "development planning" and "land use plan formulation," while the central state has the "national planning" competence. However, the subsequent issued legal framework - which gives the central state competences over land planning, using the "National Spatial Strategy" - fails to effectively regulate this exercise of jurisdiction, including in this condition the technical guidelines dictated by the national planning agency; thus becoming urgent to put in force a law that assume it, which demands the previous design of a management model of these competences, which is the aim that seeks to contribute the present work. Its structure is as follows: Chapter 1: "The problem, objectives and background" that includes the study of the legal and technical framework in force in relation to land planning, starts with a brief overview of previous efforts to adopt it in Ecuador. The chapter is complemented with a preliminary assessment of the experience of the autonomous governments to formulate and manage their early development plans and land planning, in compliance with the constitutional mandate. Subsequently the overall objective of the work and a coherent set of objectives are defined. This chapter concludes with an analysis of the state of art: the history of land use planning in Latin America in the context of their historical predecessors. Chapter 2, "Design of a management model", which begins with the methodological approach to follow, conditioned by the constitutional texts linking the relationship of "correspondence" land planning with development planning and with the exercise of the sectorial competences assigned by itself to different levels of government. Indeed, such a relationship basically means that development planning should acquire a global, comprehensive, complete, total, character in the sense that it also provides for their territorial dimensions and that their planning is integrated to social, economic, political, cultural and environmental factors, so that in each of the levels, development planning is a unique process and a whole. For these conditions, the design in question demands pretreatment of the aspects covered by the methodology in relation to the conceptualization and management of the planning and management of human development model envisaged by the Constitution to the various territorial levels, followed by analysis and evaluation of the distribution of powers. In this framework a management model is designed into seven specific components that define the overall strategic objectives which aim to land planning, structure plans, and an integrated nationwide system, that understand the territory under a systemic vision and propose a general methodological framework to draft these instruments. Then a key issue is addressed, the coordination with development planning, the establishment of sectorial and regional and global dimensions of management at each territorial level, which in turn allows the formulation of the contents of the plans determinations and defining a set of management guidelines. Chapter 3, "Verification", It has traduced into asking for the revision of the proposed model by a select group of national experts in spatial planning by following recommended procedures for such queries. Chapter 4, "General Conclusions", a coherent set of propositions that summarize the results obtained in the different preceding chapters, which demonstrates the validity of the proposed model.

Dinámicas de ocupación urbana del Anillo Verde metropolitano, desde sus orígenes en el Plan General del Área Metropolitana de Madrid de 1963 hasta el Plan General de Ordenación Urbana de 1997

El Anillo Verde metropolitano, definido por el Plan General de Ordenación Urbana del Área Metropolitana de Madrid en 1963 siguiendo los modelos planteados por la cultura urbanística internacional, como armadura de la estructura urbana del AMM, espacio protagonista dentro del sistema de espacios libres, lugar de uso público destinado al recreo y contacto con la naturaleza de la población madrileña, se convierte en realidad en una reserva de suelo que va entrando en juego motivado por las alianzas entre el poder institucional y la clase social dominante actuando al margen del planeamiento, poniendo en evidencia la escasez de recursos legales y culturales disponibles para la salvaguarda de los intereses comunes y, donde los condicionantes geográficos y naturales del territorio madrileño han influido decisivamente en la especialización funcional y espacial del Área Metropolitana de Madrid. Así pues considerando esta idea como HIPÓTESIS, el objetivo de la TESIS sería demostrarla, para lo cual se hace necesario primero, acotar espacial y temporalmente el objeto de estudio, es decir, del Anillo Verde metropolitano1, segundo, contextualizar histórica y disciplinarmente los presupuestos teóricos que conformaban la idea del Anillo Verde, tercero, reconocer, localizar y documentar las piezas que han ido materializando la ocupación urbana del Anillo Verde, clasificándolas según parámetros temporales, funcionales, urbanísticos y, formales, lo que permite analizar la geografía, uso, instrumentación y forma de su transformación a escala general metropolitana y, cuarto, profundizar a modo de comprobación a escala municipal y urbana en dos escenarios representativos del conjunto metropolitano: el municipio de Pozuelo de Alarcón y el distrito de Hortaleza-Barajas. El contenido del documento se divide en tres bloques, el bloque I, se centra en las bases teóricas, el bloque II sitúa el hilo argumental de la tesis a escala metropolitana y el bloque III comprueba el fenómeno a escala municipal y urbana. De esta forma, se comienza por la comprensión del significado del concepto del Anillo Verde, que va más allá de la dimensión instrumental asignada de límite y contención urbana frente al crecimiento de la ciudad industrial de principios del siglo XX, basada en la descentralización de la ciudad tradicional, para adquirir un significado más complejo, como gran espacio de reserva y salvaguarda de valores naturales y culturales que se expresaban en su territorio y que permitirían alcanzar el equilibrio entre la ciudad y sus habitantes, es decir, entre el hombre y el espacio que habita. Se hace un recorrido por las principales corrientes urbanísticas que se van nutriendo de distintas disciplinas (economía, sociología, geografía, biología, ecología) para plantear teorías que permitieran materializar un nuevo orden urbano según principios de equidad social, económica y ambiental, en una secuencia donde Europa y Estados Unidos realizaban un constante intercambio -el movimiento de la Ciudad Jardín o el Regionalismo, que dieron paso a propuestas como el Greater London o el Gran Berlín, donde la figura del Anillo Verde tenía un papel protagonista, y del que también participaría nuestro país y la ciudad de Madrid, con modelos regionales como el Plan Besteiro y urbanos como el Plan Bidagor, antecedentes directos del Plan General de Ordenación Urbana del Área Metropolitana de Madrid de 1963 que pone en marcha la ordenación del crecimiento metropolitano de Madrid. El hilo argumental de la tesis se organiza en una doble aproximación: un acercamiento a escala metropolitana a partir del reconocimiento del modelo de ciudad definido en los distintos planes generales que acompañaron el desarrollo metropolitano (municipio de Madrid y de los siete términos municipales que rodeaban a este y que tenían suelo destinado a Anillo Verde), haciendo referencia además a las relaciones con el planeamiento regional, concretando en una escala de aproximación municipal que avanza hasta la interpretación urbana detallada. El primer acercamiento tiene lugar en el bloque II y se organiza en tres capítulos. El capítulo 4 se dedica al punto obligado de partida de la geografía local, describiendo las características biofísicas de los terrenos que formaban parte del Anillo Verde, que han marcado históricamente la forma de aprovechamiento del territorio, desde las extensiones de bosques mediterráneos al norte y al oeste continuación del Monte del Pardo, a los distintos tipos de cultivo que se adaptaban al sustrato geológico y la forma del terreno (de las suaves ondulaciones de sedimentos arcósicos al norte a las extensas plataformas arenosas y yesíferas del sur), además de las zonas de huertos aprovechando las depresiones y los cursos de agua (arroyo del Monte Carmelo, arroyo de Valdebebas, arroyo del Quinto, arroyo del Santo, arroyo Butarque, arroyo Meaques y arroyo Pozuelo). Una vez reconocida la realidad física, el capítulo 5, avanza en la descripción de los distintos modelos de ciudad propuestos desde el planeamiento urbanístico, en sus distintas escalas, la regional y la municipal, como respuesta a la coyuntura social, económica y política que ha caracterizado el proceso de ocupación del Anillo Verde al compás de la construcción del AMM. Se han reunido las propuestas de planeamiento municipal de los distintos municipios que disponían de terreno calificado como Anillo Verde: Madrid, Coslada, Getafe, Leganés, Alcorcón, Boadilla del Monte y Pozuelo de Alarcón. Además se han incorporado las distintas propuestas de ordenación territorial que han servido de referencia al planeamiento municipal, en todas sus versiones, desde las sectoriales, de mayor éxito y apoyo institucional, a los distintos intentos de ordenación integral, de mayor complejidad pero de menor calado, precisamente por la dificultad de consenso entre la ordenación física y el desarrollo económico, entre los intereses privados y el beneficio público. El primer horizonte, comienza con la formulación del Plan General de Ordenación Urbana del Área Metropolitana de Madrid de 1963, su desarrollo y la puesta en marcha de los primeros planes municipales en la década de los años setenta, donde se comprueba la necesidad de un marco regional que “ordene” el territorio de forma integral y sirva de referencia a las actuaciones sectoriales que habían marcado el primer desarrollo metropolitano. El segundo, se sitúa dos décadas más tarde con la aprobación del Plan General de Ordenación Urbana de Madrid de 1985 y el conjunto de planes municipales de los términos limítrofes, que siguen su filosofía de austeridad en cuanto a crecimiento territorial. El tercero se inicia en 1997 con la siguiente generación de planes de corte neoliberal que imponen un modelo territorial basado en las grandes operaciones metropolitanas de centralidad, infraestructuras y equipamiento, que consumen de forma indiscriminada la totalidad del territorio madrileño. Será en el último capítulo del segundo bloque (capítulo 6) donde se represente gráficamente a escala metropolitana y se analicen las 229 piezas que han ido colmatando el espacio destinado a Anillo Verde, según los parámetros de estudio, en base a las cuales se plantean las primeras conclusiones generales de la tesis, poniendo de manifiesto que las alianzas entre los agentes soberanos en la construcción de la ciudad y su entorno han trasgredido sucesivamente las determinaciones del Planeamiento en su definición de modelo de ciudad y territorio, acusando la carencia de recursos instrumentales y jurídicos que alentaron el proceso de su desmantelamiento, y revelando la influencia de los condicionantes geográficos y naturales en la especialización funcional y segregación social en el conjunto del Área Metropolitana de Madrid. Se remata el discurso metropolitano con una batería de conclusiones que interpretan el fenómeno de ocupación del anillo de verdor metropolitano confirmando las hipótesis iniciales, reconociendo los valores medioambientales y culturales trasgredidos, sus diversos actores, las numerosas operaciones urbanísticas desarrolladas con distintos usos y envergadura, así como los instrumentos de planeamiento utilizados, en base a las cuales se materializa la construcción del AMM según un modelo extendido (spread), dibujando una mancha de aceite (o grase-spots según Geddes) que precisamente había querido evitarse desde el planeamiento urbanístico con la definición de un Anillo Verde, espacio inmune a la edificación, que se aleja de su papel estructurante (equilibrador entre la ciudad y sus habitantes) para convertirse en armadura de la estructura comunicativa, que una vez consolidada se convierte en la mejor aliada de la máquina inmobiliaria. El último paso, se desarrolla en el bloque III que se divide en los capítulo 7,8 y 9 y supone la comprobación de lo descrito en el conjunto de escala metropolitana, en dos aspectos fundamentales, la falta de consideración por los valores culturales y medioambientales que han modelado el territorio, imprimiéndole un carácter singular y específico y, la estructura del dominio del suelo, donde se reconoce de forma precisa el grupo social y los agentes encargados en cada momento de comercializar los suelos del anillo, que bajo el paraguas de la urgencia social y el engañoso beneficio popular, obtienen importantes beneficios económicos. Con esa intención, se da un salto hacia la escala municipal y urbana, seleccionando dos escenarios de estudio, el municipio de Pozuelo de Alarcón, que representa la materialización del crecimiento suburbano de la élite madrileña ocupando las zonas de mayor valor ecológico del anillo, y el distrito de Hortaleza-Barajas que ofrece su territorio a las grandes operaciones metropolitanas, apoyándose en el eje de actividad marcado por la conexión Madrid-Barcelona y el sistema aeroportuario de escala global, ambos situados al norte de la línea de borde entre la Sierra y la Mancha, ocupando por tanto los lugares más valiosos de la geografía madrileña (estructura funcional anticipada por Bidagor en 1946 en su modelo de ciudad adaptada al territorio madrileño) Una vez descrito este proceso trasgresor de límites, de normas, de conductas, y desde una perspectiva del fenómeno suficientemente documentada, en el capítulo 10, se realiza una reflexión sobre la incidencia real de la propuesta urbanística del Anillo Verde en la construcción del AMM, de la misma forma que se sugieren nuevos roles al planeamiento en un formato intencionado de largo recorrido en oposición a lo inmediato y circunstancial, que permita hacer una nueva lectura de los presupuestos teóricos que conformaban la idea del Anillo Verde, espacio articulador (medioambiental, social y cultural) del territorio madrileño. ABSTRACT The Metropolitan Greenbelt was defined by the 1963 Master Plan for the Madrid Metropolitan Area (MMA), following established international models of urban development, as the structural framework of the MMA, the principal open space within its network of open spaces and a public area of recreation and contact with nature for the residents of Madrid. In reality, however, it ha become a reserve of land in which various alliances between the institutional authorities and the dominant social class have been operating on the margin of the original plan, exposing a scarcity of legal and cultural resources for the safeguarding of common interests, and in which the geographical and natural characteristics of the territory itself have come to play an influential role in the functional specialization and spatial segregation of the MMA. With that idea as its HYPOTHESIS, the aim of this THESIS is to demonstrate its reality. The first step in this is to delineate, temporally and spatially, the object of study; i.e. the Metropolitan Greenbelt2. The second is to contextualize historically and disciplinarily those theoretical ideas which conform to the greenbelt concept. The third is to acknowledge, locate and document the elements which have characterized the urban occupation of the Greenbelt and classify these according to the parameters of time, function, urban development and form, which in turn would enable the geography, use, instrumentation and form of its transformation to be analysed on a general metropolitan scale. The fourth step, as a method of verification, is an in-depth analysis of two representative settings within the metropolitan network: the municipality of Pozuelo de Alarcón and the Hortaleza-Barajas district. The content of the document is divided into three parts. Part I focuses on the study’s theoretical foundations, Part II establishes a line of argument at the metropolitan level and Part III examines the phenomenon from a municipal and urban perspective. The thesis, then, begins with a study of the greenbelt concept itself and its meaning, which is far more complex than the accepted instrumental dimension of limiting and containing urbanization in response to the growth of the industrial city of the early 20th century, and which is based on a decentralization of the traditional city. This wider purpose is the setting aside of a large reserved space to safeguard the natural and cultural values of the region and thereby achieve a balance between the city and its residents; that is to say, between man and the space he inhabits. The principal currents of thought in urban planning will then be examined. These have drawn upon a variety of disciplines (economics, sociology, geography, biology, ecology) to develop theories for establishing a new urban order according to the principles of social, economic and environmental equity, and have involved a constant interchange between Europe and the United States. Thus, the City Garden and Regionalist movements would clear the way for proposals such as Greater London and Great Berlin, Chicago and Washington, in which the greenbelt would play a fundamental role. The participation of our own country and the city of Madrid is also discussed, through regional models such as the Besteiro Plan and urban ones like the Bidagor Plan, direct forerunners of 1963’s General Organizational Plan for the Madrid Metropolitan Area, which would set into motion the organization of Madrid’s metropolitan growth. The line of argument followed in this thesis is two-fold: first, an examination of metropolitan development in keeping with the city model as defined in the various General Plans for the development of both the municipality of Madrid and the seven surrounding municipalities which have land designated for its Greenbelt; and second, an examination of this growth in relation to Regional Planning measures, is detailed on a smaller scale (municipal and district), where the conditioning factors affecting the land property structure and the network of biophysical units may be analysed in depth. The first of these is dealt with in Part II and organized into three chapters (4, 5 and 6). Chapter 4 is dedicated to the obligatory starting point of the geographical setting itself. The biophysical characteristics of the territories set aside for the Greenbelt, and which historically have played a role in the area’s exploitation, are described here. These range from expanses of Mediterranean woodland to the north and west of Monte del Pardo to the various types of farmland that have been adapted to the geological substratum and the contours of the terrain (gentle undulations of arkosic sediment in the north, and wide sandy and gypsiferous tableland in the south), as well as orchards planted in low valleys and along watercourses (the creeks of Monte Carmelo, Valdebebas, Quinto, Santo, Butarque, Meaques and Pozuelo). Once this physical reality ha been detailed, in Chapter 5 will examine the various city models proposed by urban planners, both regionally and municipally, in response to the confluence of social, economic and political interests that have characterized the process of occupation in the Greenbelt area during the construction of the MMA. Municipal planning proposals will be collected and examined for the various municipalities which have land designated for the Greenbelt: Madrid, Coslada, Getafe, Leganés, Alcorcón, Boadilla del Monte and Pozuelo de Alarcón. Furthermore, the various territorial organization proposals which have served as references for municipal planning will also be addressed here, in all of their versions –from the sectorial, which have met with more success and institutional approval, to the many attempts at integration, which have been more complex but less influential, precisely for the difficulty of reconciling physical organization with economic development, and private interest with public benefit. The first period in this process was the development of the General Plan of 1963, followed by the first municipal development plans of the 1970s, in which the need for a regional framework that “organized” the territory in an integral fashion was defined. This would serve as a reference for the sectorial actions that marked the metropolitan area’s initial development. The second came two decades later with the approval of the General Plan of 1985, and the network of municipal plans for the surrounding communities, which followed the same philosophy of austerity with regard to territorial growth. The third would begin to take form in 1997, as a new generation of neo-liberal development plans imposed a territorial model based on centralized large-scale metropolitan operations of infrastructure and equipment, which would indiscriminately consume the totality of Madrid’s land. At the end of the Part II, in Chapter 6, the metropolitan area will be represented graphically and the 229 pieces that have been gradually encroaching upon land designated for the Greenbelt will be analysed. This analysis will be carried out according to the parameters defined for the study, and the first general conclusions of the thesis will be based on its findings. It will show how alliances between the various governing authorities in the construction of the city and its environment have successively violated established plans with regard to the definitions of city and territory, how shortages of instrumental and judicial resources have accentuated the dismantling process, and how natural and geographical factors have influenced functional specialization and social segregation in the Madrid Metropolitan Area. The final step, detailed in Part III, will address two fundamental aspects of what has just been described: the lack of consideration for the cultural and environmental values which have shaped this territory and imprinted upon it a specific and unique character; and the structure of land domination, with a precise identification of the social group and agents responsible at each stage of the Greenbelt’s commercialization, who, under an umbrella of social urgency and deceptive public benefit, have used it to obtain substantial financial rewards. For this purpose, a closer look is taken at two specific areas: the municipality of Pozuelo de Alarcón, representative of the suburban growth of an elite population which has occupied the Greenbelt areas of the greatest ecological value; and the Hortaleza-Barajas district, which has offered its territory to large metropolitan business interests, based on activities centred on the connection between Madrid and Barcelona and the system of international air travel. Both of these settings are located to the north of the line which divides the Sierra from La Mancha, and thus occupy the most valuable land in the Madrid region (a functional structure anticipated by Bidagor in 1946, with his city model adapted to the territory of Madrid). Finally, an attempt will be made to interpret the phenomenon of metropolitan Greenbelt occupation, confirming initial hypotheses, specifying the environmental and cultural values that have been violated, and identifying the various players involved, as well as numerous urbanization operations of varying sizes and interests, and the instruments of planning they have used. It will be seen from this that the construction of the MMA has in fact followed a “spread” model, a “grease spot” (as Geddes calls it) which, from the outset of the planning process and according to the definition of a greenbelt as a construction-free zone, was precisely to be avoided. This structural role (to provide a balance between a city and its residents) has thus been abandoned and the Greenbelt converted instead into a communicative framework which, once consolidated, has become the greatest ally of the real estate machine. After this process of violating limits, norms and established behaviour has been described and solidly documented, a reflection will be made on the real influence of the Greenbelt proposal in the construction of the MMA. At the same time, new roles will be suggested for future planning, roles which are deliberate and long term, in opposition to the immediate and circumstantial. This will enable a new interpretation of the theoretical principles behind the greenbelt concept, a space designed to connect the territory of Madrid environmentally, socially and culturally.

La arquitectura religiosa en Santiago de Chile 1850-1950: razones de las reminiscencias góticas

Históricamente la estrategia de localización de la infraestructura religiosa católica en Chile ha estado condicionada por intenciones destinadas a la captación y tutela de feligreses, proceso desarrollado a través de intervenciones que han generado externalidades difíciles de anticipar y posibles de visualizar en un marco temporal mayor. En este contexto la producción e instalación de los templos católicos en distintos lugares de la ciudad condicionaron los territorios y marcaron presencia en su afán por colonizar y mantener el dominio, mecanismo propio de la institución religiosa que se adaptó al medio y a las circunstancias político social para cumplir su misión y mantener el poder. En esta investigación se buscó identificar desde las edificaciones destinadas al culto, la relación escalar entre localización, modo de instalación y morfología que incluye la forma y técnica de construcción, reconociendo la manera cómo modifican los entornos, el efecto que provocan y las expectativas que abren a nuevas intervenciones. El escenario escogido para realizar el estudio correspondió a un período de la historia de la ciudad de Santiago de Chile no documentado en que las circunstancias políticas, económicas, sociales y culturales contribuyeron a que el modo de disposición de las edificaciones de culto condicionaron el desarrollo urbano y orientaron el crecimiento de la ciudad. El período en que se desarrolló el estudio correspondió a la época de mayor riqueza material y cultural de la historia del país y estuvo modelada por las intenciones y planes de desarrollo tendientes a consolidar lo que se ha denominado el modelo Republicano. Escenario en que el espacio público cobró interés y se transformó en el motor de los cambios e indicador de la escala de la ciudad, estableciendo las condiciones para que las distintas corrientes europeas se manifestaran en el hacer arquitectónico cambiando la imagen original de la ciudad colonial. Este proceso que ocurrió sobre la estructura existente, densificó la manzana a través de la subdivisión predial, que complementado con los avances tecnológicos permitieron mayores alturas de edificación, situación que dio origen a nuevas concepciones espaciales, posibles de desarrollar con los recursos materiales, intelectuales y técnicos disponibles. El estudio se centró en la centuria 1850-1950 analizando la forma como la infraestructura religiosa Católica se localizó en el tejido urbano adoptando distintas tipologías edilicias, en una época caracterizada por el eclecticismo arquitectónico. Específicamente se estudiaron las edificaciones que utilizaron reminiscencias góticas, identificando los casos más significativos, estableciendo el contexto en que se originaron e indagando en la significación que tuvieron por la función que cumplieron, considerando emplazamiento y conexión con el entorno construido, conformación, dimensiones, destino y patrocinios. El área de estudio se fundamentó por la concentración de construcciones con la tendencia historicista, producciones que en el corto y mediano plazo orientaron las transformaciones de la ciudad y por la presencia que conservan hasta estos días. Se observó la incidencia de la acción de la Iglesia Católica en las políticas de Estado, orientando las decisiones de planificación y ocupación del territorio, condicionando la localización de los templos a fin de conseguir las mayores coberturas de la población y el mayor rendimiento de las inversiones. En el contexto latinoamericano la construcción de iglesias, templos y catedrales con reminiscencias góticas fue una constante que caracterizó al último cuarto del siglo XIX y las tres primeras décadas del siglo XX. El estudio permitió conocer en términos cuantitativos y cualitativos la producción, destacando la morfología y materialidad caracterizada por la adopción de estrategias contemporáneas estructuralmente exigentes. Se observó la utilización de la arquitectura como un medio de acercamiento a la población, capaz de transformar a los edificios en símbolos barriales, que facilitaron la generación de identidad, al convertirse en los referentes materiales que se destacan, que se recuerdan y que asumen la representatividad de barrios, permaneciendo en el tiempo y convirtiéndose en íconos asociados a la cultura local. En síntesis, la instalación de las infraestructuras religiosas en la ciudad de Santiago fue consecuencia de un modo de producción, que entregó lugares de encuentro y símbolos para la ciudad, a través de la localización de los edificios que buscaron ocupar áreas visibles, relevantes y convocantes, lo que consiguieron mediante la instalación geográfica, central y equidistante de conglomerados residenciales consolidados o en vías de desarrollo, como también a través de edificaciones monumentales y siempre destacadas respecto de su entorno, lo que marcó exclusividad y dominio. La elección de tipos arquitectónicos fue coyuntural a los tiempos e inspirada en intelectuales y profesionales mayoritariamente foráneos que aportaron conocimientos y experiencia para auspiciar edificaciones que fueron reconocidas como señeras y precursoras de la época. La intensidad en el uso de los recursos que demandaron las exigentes estructuras obligó a la iglesia católica a establecer estrategias de financiación destinadas a suplir la falta de recursos provenientes del Estado. Para lo cual convocaron a distintos actores los que participaron desde sus fronteras y en función de sus intereses cubriendo desde el altruismo hasta la rentabilización de su patrimonio. La organización iglesia católica se comporta de la misma manera que cualquier otra organización: busca expandirse, concentrar, controlar y administrar. Busca codificar todo su entorno (Raffestin, 2011), busca trascender y materialmente lo logra desde sus construcciones. ABSTRACT Historically the location strategies of the catholic religious infrastructure in Chile has been conditioned by intentions aimed at attracting and guardianship of parishioners, process developed through interventions that have generated externalities difficult to anticipate and possible to visualize in a in a major temporary frame. In this context, the production and installation of the catholic churches in different places in the city determined the territories and marked presence in their quest to colonize and maintain domain, mechanism of the religious institution that was adapted to the environment and in the political and social circumstances to fulfill its mission and maintain power. This research sought to identify from the buildings intended for worship in a multi-scale relationship between location, the placement mode, morphology and shape and construction technique and the effect caused by them, the way how they alter the environments and the expectations that are open to new interventions. The chosen scenario for the study corresponded to a not documented period in the history of the city of Santiago de Chile in which political, economic, social and cultural circumstances contributed to the form of disposition of the buildings of worship that determined the urban development and guided the growth of the city. The study period was the epoch of largest material and cultural wealth of Chile history and it was modeled by the intentions and development plans tending to consolidate what has been named the Republican ideal. Scenario in which public space gained interest and became the engine of change and indicator of the scale of the city, establishing the conditions for the various European trends manifested themselves in transforming the original image of the colonial city. This process that took place on the existing structure, produced a higher density of the original blocks through the predial compartimentation, which supplemented with technological advances enabled greater building heights, a situation that gave rise to new spatial conceptions, possible of developing with the material resources, intellectuals and technicians available at the moment. The study focused on the century 1850-1950 by analyzing how the Catholic religious infrastructure was located in the urban fabric by adopting different typologies locality, in an epoch characterised by architectural eclecticism. Specifica lly, it is studied the buildings that used gothic reminiscences, identifying the most significant cases, establishing the context in which they originated and inquiring about the significance that they had for the role it played, considering location and connection to the built environment, shaping, dimensions, destination, and sponsorships. The study area was established by the concentration of buildings with this historicist trend, productions that in the short and medium term guided the transformation of the city and the presence that keeps up to these days. It was noted the incidence of the of the Catholic Church actions in guiding State policies, planning decisions and occupation of the territory, as well as conditioning the location of the temples in order to achieve greater coverage of the population and the greatest return on investment. In the context of Latin America the construction of churches, temples and cathedrals with reminiscences gothic was a constant that characterized the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first three decades of the twentieth century. The study allowed to know in quantitative and qualitative terms the production of the period, highlighting the morphology and materiality characterized by contemporary and structurally challenging strategies. It was noted the use of architecture as a means of approaching to the population, able to transform buildings into neighborhood symbols, which facilitated the production of identity, to become the reference materials that stand out, that will be remembered and that assume the representativeness of neighborhoods, remaining in the time and becoming icons associated with the local culture. In synthesis, the installation of religious infrastructure in the city of Santiago was result of a mode of production, that provided meeting places and symbols for the city, through the location of buildings that sought to occupy visible, relevant and summoning areas, what they obtained by means of the geographical, central and equidistant installation of consolidated residential conglomerates cluster or about to development, as also through always outstanding and monumental buildings with respect to its surroundings, which marked uniqueness and domain. The choice of architectural types was related to the time and inspired by intellectuals and professionals mostly outsiders who contributed with expertise and experience to sponsor buildings were recognized as outstanding and precursor of the time. The intensity of use of the resources that requested the demanding structures forced to the Catholic church to establish funding strategies designed to compensate for the lack of funds from the State. For which convened to different actors who participated from their borders and depending on their interests covering from the altruism up to the rentabilización of its patrimony. The Catholic Church organization behaves the same way as any other organization: seeks to expand, focus, control and manage. Looking for coding the entire environment (Raffestin, 2011), seeks to transcend and succeeds materially from its building.

Development of mathematical models to elaborate strategies, select alternatives and development of plans for adaptation of communities to climate change in different geographical areas including costs to implement it.

There is evidence that the climate changes and that now, the change is influenced and accelerated by the CO2 augmentation in atmosphere due to combustion by humans. Such ?Climate change? is on the policy agenda at the global level, with the aim of understanding and reducing its causes and to mitigate its consequences. In most countries and international organisms UNO (e.g. Rio de Janeiro 1992), OECD, EC, etc . . . the efforts and debates have been directed to know the possible causes, to predict the future evolution of some variable conditioners, and trying to make studies to fight against the effects or to delay the negative evolution of such. The Protocol of Kyoto 1997 set international efforts about CO2 emissions, but it was partial and not followed e.g. by USA and China . . . , and in Durban 2011 the ineffectiveness of humanity on such global real challenges was set as evident. Among all that, the elaboration of a global model was not boarded that can help to choose the best alternative between the feasible ones, to elaborate the strategies and to evaluate the costs, and the authors propose to enter in that frame for study. As in all natural, technological and social changes, the best-prepared countries will have the best bear and the more rapid recover. In all the geographic areas the alternative will not be the same one, but the model must help us to make the appropriated decision. It is essential to know those areas that are more sensitive to the negative effects of climate change, the parameters to take into account for its evaluation, and comprehensive plans to deal with it. The objective of this paper is to elaborate a mathematical model support of decisions, which will allow to develop and to evaluate alternatives of adaptation to the climatic change of different communities in Europe and Latin-America, mainly in especially vulnerable areas to the climatic change, considering in them all the intervening factors. The models will consider criteria of physical type (meteorological, edaphic, water resources), of use of the ground (agriculturist, forest, mining, industrial, urban, tourist, cattle dealer), economic (income, costs, benefits, infrastructures), social (population), politician (implementation, legislation), educative (Educational programs, diffusion) and environmental, at the present moment and the future. The intention is to obtain tools for aiding to get a realistic position for these challenges, which are an important part of the future problems of humanity in next decades.

Development of mathematical models to elaborate strategies, to select alternatives and the development of plans for the adaptation of communities to climate change in different geographical areas including costs to implement it

Climate change is on the policy agenda at the global level, with the aim of understanding and reducing its causes and to mitigate its consequences. In most of the countries and international organisms UNO, OECD, EC, etc … the efforts and debates have been directed to know the possible causes, to predict the future evolution of some variable conditioners, and trying to make studies to fight against the effects or to delay the negative evolution of such. Nevertheless, the elaboration of a global model was not boarded that can help to choose the best alternative between the feasible ones, to elaborate the strategies and to evaluate the costs. As in all natural, technological and social changes, the best-prepared countries will have the best bear and the more rapid recover. In all the geographic areas the alternative will not be the same one, but the model should help us to make the appropriated decision. It is essential to know those areas that are more sensitive to the negative effects of climate change, the parameters to take into account for its evaluation, and comprehensive plans to deal with it. The objective of this paper is to elaborate a mathematical model support of decisions, that will allow to develop and to evaluate alternatives of adaptation to the climatic change of different communities in Europe and Latin-America, mainly, in vulnerable areas to the climatic change, considering in them all the intervening factors. The models will take into consideration criteria of physical type (meteorological, edaphic, water resources), of use of the ground (agriculturist, forest, mining, industrial, urban, tourist, cattle dealer), economic (income, costs, benefits, infrastructures), social (population), politician (implementation, legislation), educative (Educational programs, diffusion), sanitary and environmental, at the present moment and the future.

Emission inventories and modeling activities for the development of air quality plans in Madrid (Spain)

1. Introduction 2. Air Quality Modeling system 3. Emission Inventories 4. Applications and Results 5. Conclusions

Emission inventories and modeling requirements for the development of air quality plans. Application to Madrid (Spain)

Modeling is an essential tool for the development of atmospheric emission abatement measures and air quality plans. Most often these plans are related to urban environments with high emission density and population exposure. However, air quality modeling in urban areas is a rather challenging task. As environmental standards become more stringent (e.g. European Directive 2008/50/EC), more reliable and sophisticated modeling tools are needed to simulate measures and plans that may effectively tackle air quality exceedances, common in large urban areas across Europe, particularly for NO2. This also implies that emission inventories must satisfy a number of conditions such as consistency across the spatial scales involved in the analysis, consistency with the emission inventories used for regulatory purposes and versatility to match the requirements of different air quality and emission projection models. This study reports the modeling activities carried out in Madrid (Spain) highlighting the atmospheric emission inventory development and preparation as an illustrative example of the combination of models and data needed to develop a consistent air quality plan at urban level. These included a series of source apportionment studies to define contributions from the international, national, regional and local sources in order to understand to what extent local authorities can enforce meaningful abatement measures. Moreover, source apportionment studies were conducted in order to define contributions from different sectors and to understand the maximum feasible air quality improvement that can be achieved by reducing emissions from those sectors, thus targeting emission reduction policies to the most relevant activities. Finally, an emission scenario reflecting the effect of such policies was developed and the associated air quality was modeled.

Participatory modeling for sustainable development in water and agrarian systems: potential and limits of stakeholder involvement

Public participation is increasingly advocated as a necessary feature of natural resources management. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is such an example, as it prescribes participatory processes as necessary features in basin management plans (EC 2000). The rationale behind this mandate is that involving interest groups ideally yields higher-quality decisions, which are arguably more likely to meet public acceptance (Pahl-Wostl, 2006). Furthermore, failing to involve stakeholders in policy-making might hamper the implementation of management initiatives, as controversial decisions can lead pressure lobbies to generate public opposition (Giordano et al. 2005, Mouratiadou and Moran 2007).

Supporting decision making under uncertainty: Development of a participatory integrated model for water management in the middle Guadiana river basin.

Following the Integrated Water Resources Management approach, the European Water Framework Directive demands Member States to develop water management plans at the catchment level. Those plans have to integrate the different interests and must be developed with stakeholder participation. To face these requirements, managers need tools to assess the impacts of possible management alternatives on natural and socio-economic systems. These tools should ideally be able to address the complexity and uncertainties of the water system, while serving as a platform for stakeholder participation. The objective of our research was to develop a participatory integrated assessment model, based on the combination of a crop model, an economic model and a participatory Bayesian network, with an application in the middle Guadiana sub-basin, in Spain. The methodology is intended to capture the complexity of water management problems, incorporating the relevant sectors, as well as the relevant scales involved in water management decision making. The integrated model has allowed us testing different management, market and climate change scenarios and assessing the impacts of such scenarios on the natural system (crops), on the socio-economic system (farms) and on the environment (water resources). Finally, this integrated assessment modelling process has allowed stakeholder participation, complying with the main requirements of current European water laws.

Development and assessment of traffic-related emission abatement measures for the Madrid city (Spain) through the WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ modelling system

The achievement of the limit values established in the European legislation pose an important handicap for large urban areas with intense road traffic, such as Madrid (Spain). Despite permanent measures included in air quality plans it is important to assess additional measures that may be temporally applied under unfavourable conditions. This paper reports on the simulation of different traffic restriction strategies in Madrid for high-pollution episodes.

Analysis of Contributions to NO2 Ambient Air Quality Levels in Madrid City (Spain) through Modeling. Implications for the Development of Policies and Air Quality Monitoring

As environmental standards become more stringent (e.g. European Directive 2008/50/EC), more reliable and sophisticated modeling tools are needed to simulate measures and plans that may effectively tackle air quality exceedances, common in large cities across Europe, particularly for NO2. Modeling air quality in urban areas is rather complex since observed concentration values are a consequence of the interaction of multiple sources and processes that involve a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Besides a consistent and robust multi-scale modeling system, comprehensive and flexible emission inventories are needed. This paper discusses the application of the WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ system to the Madrid city (Spain) to assess the contribution of the main emitting sectors in the region. A detailed emission inventory was compiled for this purpose. This inventory relies on bottom-up methods for the most important sources. It is coupled with the regional traffic model and it makes use of an extensive database of industrial, commercial and residential combustion plants. Less relevant sources are downscaled from national or regional inventories. This paper reports the methodology and main results of the source apportionment study performed to understand the origin of pollution (main sectors and geographical areas) and define clear targets for the abatement strategy. Finally the structure of the air quality monitoring is analyzed and discussed to identify options to improve the monitoring strategy not only in the Madrid city but the whole metropolitan area.

Understanding sprint velocity fluctuations for improved project plans with Scrum: a case study

Starting from the documentation of high sprint velocity fluctuations in a Scrum project, this paper presents a thorough approach to identify the sources of issues arising in the context of Scrum implementation. Given that Scrum provides guidance on identifying process issues but not their root causes, various approaches are explored. This is of great relevance because Scrum defines project schedules relying heavily on sprint velocity and because it is the most widely used agile methodology. The findings provide a new approach to evaluate such fluctuations and establish a more realistic project assessment than what is currently defined by Scrum. In this respect, this paper contributes to improve the understanding of the software development process using this agile framework.