Centro de Território, Ambiente e Construção
Escola de Engenharia da Universidade do Minho
Campus de Azurém
4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Phone: + 351 253 510 200 (517 206)
Fax: + 351 253 510 217
Email: geral@ctac.uminho.pt
@JournalArticle {2997, title = {A quantitative spatial methodology to delimit urban areas {\textendash} a case study from Portugal}, journal = {Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers {\textendash} Municipal Engineer}, year = {2020}, month = {2020-11-02 00:00:00}, pages = {1-11}, publisher = {ICE Publishing}, abstract = {Delimiting urban areas is crucial for planning and managing cities. In Portugal, urban limits are exclusively decided\ at the municipal level according to the strategic vision of each municipality. Consequently, urban delimitation is a\ significantly changeable process. This paper presents a methodology to fill this gap aiming at delimiting urban areas\ based on objective and quantitative spatial data. A hybrid methodology combining morphological with demographic\ and land cover data is proposed to delimit urban boundaries. The methodology, which was based on using the\ most disaggregated spatial units {\textendash} the census tracts, was applied in Guarda, a medium-sized Portuguese city.
}, keywords = {city planning, local government, sustainability/town}, issn = {1751-7699}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1680/jmuen.18.00007}, url = {https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/jmuen.18.00007}, author = {Soares, M. E. S. and Fonseca, F. and Fonseca, A. M. D. and Ramos, R. A. R.} }
The obtained urban boundary shows a suitable spatial adjustment considering the consolidated urban area. The\ identified surrounding settlements were used to define expansion areas by fostering development towards these\ urban areas. In terms of planning, the method can be helpful in designing/revising municipal master plans and in\ implementing more sustainable planning policies. The described method could be useful for managing and\ evaluating the city{\textquoteright}s needs in a more efficient way.
The Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction (CTAC) is a research unit of the School of Engineering of University of Minho (UMinho), recognised by the “FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia” (Foundation for Science and Technology), associated to the Department of Civil Engineering (DEC), with whom it shares resources and namely human resources.
Currently CTAC aggregates 25 researchers holding a PhD of which 20 are faculty professors of the Civil Engineering Department. Read more
Centro de Território, Ambiente e Construção
Escola de Engenharia da Universidade do Minho
Campus de Azurém
4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Phone: + 351 253 510 200 (517 206)
Fax: + 351 253 510 217
Email: geral@ctac.uminho.pt