Análisis de la sostenibilidad de los modelos territoriales metropolitanosel caso de Concepción (Chile); aplicación de las tecnologías de información geográfica

Abstract

Metropolitan Areas are emerging as the most appropriate spaces to evaluate the behavior of urban areas in relation to sustainability, known as the most widespread choice to ensure the quality of life and to avoid damage to the environment. This research has as main goal: "assess the current territorial model of Concepcion Metropolitan Area (Chile), from the point of view of sustainability and its projection on the trends reflected in the current metropolitan planning." It´s physical and functional structures are reviewed, with the purpose of assessing the sustainability of the territorial model and the planned one. The case of study is analyzed through two theoretical chapters, organized in a part entitled "The Sustainability of Metropolitan Territorial Models and the Concepción Metropolitan Area", and a second one entitled "The Sustainability of Actual and Planned Territorial Model", that is formed by four practical chapters. In the applied chapters methodological contributions are developed, supported mainly by Geographic Information Technologies, presenting their advantages in spatial analysis. The results allow recognizing the behavior of structures in a recent metropolitan configuration, measuring some aspects of its sustainability and evaluating future scenarios from environmental assessment. The investigation can be considered as a contribution to a contemporary topic that is under discussion, which requires the development of methods to make it more operational; in this sense, geographers and Geographic Information Technologies have much to contribute.