Barcelona’s Tres Turons: three hills and three cruelties

As uncertainty increasingly characterizes urbanization processes, critically addressing a design project as an isolated object after completion does not satisfy the need for criticism to reflect larger urban transformation projects during their unfolding. Using the example of the Tres Turons Park project in Barcelona, this critique attempts to stage criticism ‘in the meantime’, benefitting from a moment in which the project is on hold. The authors involved students of two consecutive master’s courses into the enquiry and the formulation of a grounded position. Proffered by methods extracted from literary theory and site thinking, the authors build an argument to challenge the boldness of the project’s ecological narrative, which they claim stands in the way of a more fruitful urban transformation. The acquired knowledge will be reintroduced into the ongoing process, to possibly allow for improvement of the project.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

From road obsolescence to contemporary European scenic roads

Object: European non-motorway roads nearby natural and cultural heritage overlapping cross border regions in the European Union. Subject: Redundant roads as an Opportunity for land- use change, landscape identity disclosure and reducedspeed access network for the promotion of cultural tourism. The paper sustains a methodology to alleviate road redundancy by reconverting them into a reduced-speed access network. The aim would be to recreate historical access and circulation flows, which in turn might emphasize a more appropriate visual approach to cultural and natural heritage. Thus, we face the reinterpretation of the ‘scenic route’ concept on the contemporary European transport framework. Our goals are to promote an alternative, reduced-speed tourist network, focused upon culture, heritage and landscape; recycling the redundant roads under consideration.Peer Reviewe

From road obsolescence to contemporary European scenic roads

Object: European non-motorway roads nearby natural and cultural heritage overlapping cross border regions in the European Union. Subject: Redundant roads as an Opportunity for land- use change, landscape identity disclosure and reducedspeed access network for the promotion of cultural tourism. The paper sustains a methodology to alleviate road redundancy by reconverting them into a reduced-speed access network. The aim would be to recreate historical access and circulation flows, which in turn might emphasize a more appropriate visual approach to cultural and natural heritage. Thus, we face the reinterpretation of the ‘scenic route’ concept on the contemporary European transport framework. Our goals are to promote an alternative, reduced-speed tourist network, focused upon culture, heritage and landscape; recycling the redundant roads under consideration.Peer Reviewe

International Biennial of Landscape Architecture of Barcelona. A COVID-19 adapted 11th Edition

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Descifrando la forma urbana: un análisis de patrones de agrupamiento basado en SIG

This paper contributes to the classification of urban form on the basis of variables arising from its morphology–buildings, plots, blocks and streets–, taking the case of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona as a case study. New density attributes regarding street alignment and party walls are introduced together with the most common floor and ground surface indexes. The algorithm k-means is used to perform a cluster analysis. The results reveal a clear mosaic of urban fabrics, composed of 12 dissimilar groups. The combination of the outcomes with other non-physical parameters–socio-economic indicators, energy and equity, among others–is suggested with a view to evaluate urban form effects.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Outstanding geoscientific sites in periurban areas: the case of Roses Lighthouse Geosite (Cap de Creus, eastern Pyrenees)

The coastal cliffs around the Roses Lighthouse (Cap de Creus, Mediterranean Costa Brava) display deformation structures generated during the emplacement of a syntectonic granodiorite and associated rocks (quartzdiorite enclaves and leucocratic dykes). These rocks were subjected to shearing and spectacular shear zones are present, which have been object of several scientific publications. The outcrops are considered of international high scientific value, being regularly visited by researchers and students from several European universities. In 2005, the site was included in the Geosite Inventory of Catalonia, but it does not have any special protection yet, despite decades of efforts to claim the need for protection and conservation in front of the constant deterioration and loss of outcrops due to strong urban and touristic pressure. A project of restoration, access improvement, and dissemination of geological values was finally executed between 2020 and 2021. The Roses case study leads us to the remark that urban and periurban geosites offer a good opportunity for promoting geological research, education, and tourism, provided its protection based on geoconservation criteria and a strong sustainable conservation management plan.We wish to thank Joan Esteve Danès, former councilor of the Roses town council, for his concern and awareness on the importance of this geosite and his involvement in dynamizing the project. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments. Thank you also to Manuel Monge for providing a useful review of a previous manuscript presented at the ProGEO SW Europe Regional Working Group Virtual Conference on Geoconservation (March 2022). ED received funding by the Roses town council (Ajuntament de Roses—UAB contract GJ514392).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Criteris per a la protecció urbanística dels teixits i edificacions de l’àmbit del 22@ al Poblenou – Patrimoni arquitectònic i paisatgístic

Sol·licitant de l'informe: Gerència d'Urbanism

The role of Landscape Architects in Circular Economy and Climate Change

Postprint (updated version

The millet route: understanding a cultural landscape: reactivation strategies for the cultural landscape of Dogon country, Mali

The present study proposes to demonstrate the following hypothesis: there are unique tools, such as Cultural routes and Local Development Planning, which can be used to reactivate a region and that allow both local and touristic activities to coexist without endangering local identity and heritage. The study of these societies, their connection with their own heritage, and their adaptation to the landscape can provide an essential perspective that may help redefine the way we interact with our surroundings. The main goal of this investigation is to come closer to a better understanding of Landscape, Tangible and Intangible Heritage, essential principals and values of Moptis Region in Dogon Country. Fundamentally, to achieve a criteria matrix that supports the articulation of any proposal to the place. We proposed as an instrument of territorial management and organisation, a cultural route with the name Millet Route, and intendeds minimal interference to achieve maximum benefit.Peer Reviewe

The millet route: understanding a cultural landscape: reactivation strategies for the cultural landscape of Dogon country, Mali

The present study proposes to demonstrate the following hypothesis: there are unique tools, such as Cultural routes and Local Development Planning, which can be used to reactivate a region and that allow both local and touristic activities to coexist without endangering local identity and heritage. The study of these societies, their connection with their own heritage, and their adaptation to the landscape can provide an essential perspective that may help redefine the way we interact with our surroundings. The main goal of this investigation is to come closer to a better understanding of Landscape, Tangible and Intangible Heritage, essential principals and values of Moptis Region in Dogon Country. Fundamentally, to achieve a criteria matrix that supports the articulation of any proposal to the place. We proposed as an instrument of territorial management and organisation, a cultural route with the name Millet Route, and intendeds minimal interference to achieve maximum benefit.Peer Reviewe