La ideació del territori de Barcelona a través de la seva representació

El objetivo de este artículo es describir cuáles han sido las herramientas hasta ahora determinantes en el planeamiento del Área Metropolitana para luego comprender el estado actual de la técnica de cara a vislumbrar las futuras transformaciones. A diferencia de otros trabajos que exponen la historia de Barcelona (Solà-Morales, 2008 y Espuche y Guàrdia, 1986), o bien tratan de extraer conclusiones acerca del llamado “Modelo Barcelona” (Montaner, Álvarez y Muxí 2012), este artículo se apoya en la hipótesis de que las herramientas de representación condicionan la mirada y, por lo tanto, el proyecto objeto de éstas tal y como afirma Corner (1999). A través del análisis y la comparación de diversas representaciones gráficas, se centra la mirada sobre unos pocos momentos en la historia del territorio metropolitano de Barcelona en los cuales el planeamiento urbano ha sido influenciado profundamente por las herramientas de diseño empleadas, desde la topografía al Big data.This paper aims to describe what tools have been decisive so far in the urban planning of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area with the ultimate goal of understanding the current state of the art and anticipate future transformations. Unlike other papers describing the history of Barcelona (Solà-Morales, 2008 and Espuche and Watchkeeping, 1986) or drawing conclusions about the so-called "Barcelona model" (Montaner, Alvarez and Muxí, 2012), this article is based on the hypothesis that representation tools condition the way we see the world and so the resulting project, as Corner states (1999). By means of analysis and comparison of various cartographies, this paper reviews some moments in the history of Barcelona Metropolitan Area when urban planning has been deeply influenced by design tools, from traditional surveys to Big Data.L'objectiu d'aquest article és descriure quines han estat les eines fins ara determinants en el planejament de l'Àrea Metropolitana per després comprendre l'estat actual de la tècnica de cara a albirar les futures transformacions. A diferència d'altres treballs que exposen la història de Barcelona (Solà-Morales, 2008 i Espuche i Guàrdia, 1986), o bé tracten d'extreure conclusions sobre l'anomenat "Model Barcelona" (Montaner, Álvarez i Muxí, 2012), aquest article es dóna suport a la hipòtesi que les eines de representació condicionen la mirada i, per tant, el projecte objecte d'aquestes tal com afirma Corner (1999). A través de l'anàlisi i la comparació de diverses representacions gràfiques, se centra la mirada sobre uns pocs moments en la història del territori metropolità de Barcelona en els quals el planejament urbà ha estat influenciat profundament per les eines de disseny emprades, des de la topografia al Big data.Peer Reviewe

Cartografías de la ciudad nocturna a través del Big Data

La visualización de datos se ha convertido en una herramienta clave para el pensamiento y el diseño urbano utilizada para explicar las relaciones que se establecen entre los ciudadanos y su entorno. Nuestro objetivo es explorar el potencial de las técnicas de representación mediante el desarrollo de cartografías digitales que nos permitan asignar geometría al Big Data urbano. A través del proyecto atNight, que utiliza el análisis y la visualización de datos para establecer una posible interpretación del paisaje nocturno urbano, queremos generar también un modelo de intervención que desvele los posibles paisajes ocultos detrás de lo visible

Governance of urban green spaces across Latin America - insights from semi-structured interviews to managers amid COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to managers of urban green spaces. As suggested by findings from 18 structured interviews from six Latin American countries reported in this paper, managers in Latin America have not been able to take the most advantage of available green space during the COVID-19 lockdown. At the core of this inability is a governance characterized by dependence on political will, lack of continuity due the nonexistence of civil service, limited autonomy, insufficient budgets, absence of formal paths to fund themselves, shortage of technical know-how, and insufficient citizens’ involvement. Thus, while a criticism to management of urban green spaces in developed cities is its focus on recreational services —with no attention to other ecosystem services—, management in Latin America is heavily constrained by funds that barely afford maintenance of basic infrastructure —with exceptions that we highlight in the manuscript. Consequently, managers of urban green spaces across Latin America have not successfully implemented adaptation measures that, for instance, European counterparts have —e.g. traffic management, information campaigns. In addition, these governance capabilities pose the risk of maladaptation. For instance, many managers in Latin America have formally resorted to a full closure of their premises during the COVID-19 lockdown but they have not successfully enforced such a closure, which likely has brought undesirable effects —e.g. more overcrowding than under a controlled no-closure scenario. We provide public policy recommendations, and a list of research questions specific to Latin America —an understudied region when it comes to both governance of urban green spaces, and the role of urban green spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic

Atnight project, designing the nocturnal landscape collectively

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

How urban fabric fosters knowledge transfer and innovation: the example of Barcelona

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Journal of environmental protection

The White Paper published in 2011, Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area [1], urges on a 30% modal shift of road freight over 300 km to other modes (rail, maritime and inland waterways) by 2030, and more than 50% by 2050. However the environmentally friendly performance of maritime transport regarding air pollutant emissions in compari-son with road transport is in doubt. This paper presents a three dimension simulation model, in which performed trans-port work, arisen emissions and produced impact are estimated and inter-related for the assessment of the environmental performance of both road and maritime transport. The simulation model will be a valuable decision making tool for policymakers as it enables the precise assessment of considered transport alternatives in the EU27 until 2020, and hence supports the design of future intervening actions.Postprint (published version

Implementation of a building automation system based on semantic modeling

This paper presents an Ontology-Based multi-technology platform designed to avoid some issues of Building Automation Systems. The platform allows the integration of several building automation protocols, eases the development and implementation of different kinds of services and allows sharing information related to the infrastructure and facilities within a building. The system has been implemented and tested in the Energy Efficiency Research Facility at CeDInt-UPM

Facile production of stable silicon nanoparticles: laser chemistry coupled to in situ stabilization via room temperature hydrosilylation

Stable, alkyl-terminated, light-emitting silicon nanoparticles have been synthesized in a continuous process by laser pyrolysis of a liquid trialkyl-silane precursor selected as a safer alternative to gas silane (SiH4). Stabilization was achieved by in situ reaction using a liquid collection system instead of the usual solid state filtration. The alkene contained in the collection liquid (1-dodecene) reacted with the newly formed silicon nanoparticles in an unusual room-temperature hydrosilylation process. It was achieved by the presence of fluoride species, also produced during laser pyrolysis from the decomposition of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) selected as a laser sensitizer. This process directly rendered alkyl-passivated silicon nanoparticles with consistent morphology and size (<3 nm), avoiding the use of costly post-synthetic treatments