Browsing by Author "de la Barrera, Francisco"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    A conceptual framework for integrated analysis of environmental quality and quality of life
    (2014) Banzhaf, Ellen; de la Barrera, Francisco; Kindler, Annegret; Reyes-Paecke, Sonia; Schlink, Uwe; Welz, Juliane; Kabisch, Sigrun; CEDEUS (Chile)
    Environmental quality has a strong influence on the quality of life for human beings. There are direct linkages between primary elements of the environment, such as air, water, and land surface and the quality of life. Our main research refers to the question how residents and their environment interact by assessing the measured and perceived environmental quality and quality of life. Although, this integrated research requires a wide range of data, there is a lack of studies which have attempted to combine qualitative and quantitative data on quality of the environment and subsequently, quality of life. Based on Lawrence's (2011) notion of environmental quality as a complex concept that is neither static nor absolute, we focus on two interrelated sets of components: bio-geophysical, measurable components and subjective susceptibility of the environmental burdens. We do this by a combined qualitative and quantitative analysis to draw out dimensions of environmental quality and subsequently, quality of life. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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    A Heat Vulnerability Index: Spatial Patterns of Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity for Santiago de Chile
    (2016) Inostroza, Luis; Palme, Massimo; de la Barrera, Francisco; CEDEUS (Chile)
    Climate change will worsen the high levels of urban vulnerability in Latin American cities due to specific environmental stressors. Some impacts of climate change, such as high temperatures in urban environments, have not yet been addressed through adaptation strategies, which are based on poorly supported data. These impacts remain outside the scope of urban planning. New spatially explicit approaches that identify highly vulnerable urban areas and include specific adaptation requirements are needed in current urban planning practices to cope with heat hazards. In this paper, a heat vulnerability index is proposed for Santiago, Chile. The index was created using a GIS-based spatial information system and was constructed from spatially explicit indexes for exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity levels derived from remote sensing data and socio-economic information assessed via principal component analysis (PCA). The objective of this study is to determine the levels of heat vulnerability at local scales by providing insights into these indexes at the intra city scale. The results reveal a spatial pattern of heat vulnerability with strong variations among individual spatial indexes. While exposure and adaptive capacities depict a clear spatial pattern, sensitivity follows a complex spatial distribution. These conditions change when examining PCA results, showing that sensitivity is more robust than exposure and adaptive capacity. These indexes can be used both for urban planning purposes and for proposing specific policies and measures that can help minimize heat hazards in highly dynamic urban areas. The proposed methodology can be applied to other Latin American cities to support policy making.
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    Análisis de la estructura y composición del arbolado en parques del área Metropolitana de Santiago
    (2014) Correa, Paula; de la Barrera, Francisco; CEDEUS (Chile)
    El arbolado urbano es un elemento fundamental en el paisaje de la ciudad. Por esto, se requieren conocimientos para mejorar la elección de especies para su producción de árboles en los viveros y plantación en las áreas urbanas. Este estudio evalúa la composición, diversidad y similitud del arbolado de los parques urbanos del área metropolitana de la ciudad de Santiago. Para este propósito, se analizaron los catastros de cada uno de los parques administrados por el gobierno. Las especies más frecuentes en los parques urbanos de Santiago son Platanus orientalis var. acerifolia (14,0%) y Quillaja saponaria (13,8%); diez especies nativas destacan entre las 35 especies que tienen más de 100 ejemplares en todos los parques estudiados. De estas diez especies, siete tienen atributos forestales y ecológicos que sugieren su promoción para ser producidas en viveros y plantadas en parques y otras infraestructuras verdes urbanas. En general las especies dominantes tienen bajos y medios requerimientos hídricos, existiendo entre ellas exóticas con altos requerimientos hídricos. Los parques evaluados muestran una baja similitud en su composición específica. Abstract "Analysis of trees structure and composition in urban parks of Metropolitan Santiago" The urban forest is a key element in the urban landscape. Therefore knowledge is required to improve the selection of species for production of trees in nurseries and for planting in urban areas. This study evaluates the composition, diversity and similarity of urban forest in parks of the Metropolitan Area of Santiago. For this purpose, the cadastres of each of the parks administrated by the government were analyzed. The most frequent tree species in the parks are Platanus orientalis var. acerifolia (14,0%) and Quillaja saponaria (13,8%); ten native species stand out among the 35 species that have more than 100 specimens in all studied parks. From this ten species, seven have forestry and ecological attributes that suggest its promotion to be produced in nurseries and planted in parks and other urban green infrastructure. In general, the dominant species have low water requirements and there are exotic species with high water requirements. The evaluated parks showed a low abundance-based similarity in their species composition.
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    Spatiotemporal vegetation dynamics in a highly urbanized Chilean coastal wetland: Insights on long-term natural and anthropogenic influences
    (2024) Munizaga, Juan; Rojas, Octavio; Lagos, Bernardo; Rojas Quezada, Carolina Alejandra; Yepez, Santiago; Hernández, Esteban; Ureta, Fernando; de la Barrera, Francisco; Jato-Espino, Daniel; CEDEUS (Chile)
    This study analyzes the spatiotemporal dynamics of the vegetation of a highly urbanized coastal wetland in the 2000–2020 period, considering natural disturbances and anthropogenic stressors. The wetland system was stratified into four domains: Coastal, Intertidal, Freshwater, and Urban, differentiated by their geomorphological, topographical, and water salinity characteristics, which were validated by ground vegetation sampling. In these domains, spectral indicators of vegetation were used on 884 Landsat images in the Google Earth Engine to determine vegetation types, trends, and phenology. The start of the growing season coincides with the beginning of the Austral winter, exhibiting seasonal behavior, which was interrupted by abrupt natural disturbances such as floods and tsunamis. In addition, a progressive trend associated with the replacement of native species by exotic species was reported in areas with significant anthropogenic stressors (e.g., highways, city edges, and grazing areas), with 45 % presenting an increase in the normalized difference vegetation index. Areas far from anthropogenic stressors maintained their behavior, which is explained by natural factors such as precipitation, temperature, and evapotranspiration. The proposed method strengthens our understanding of the interrelationship between factors that modify the behavior of vegetation in coastal wetlands pressured by anthropogenic stressors and contributes to their management and protection.
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    Urban ecosystem Services in Latin America: mismatch between global concepts and regional realities?
    (2019) Dobbs, Cynnamon; Escobedo, Francisco J.; Clerici, Nicola; de la Barrera, Francisco; Eleuterio, Ana Alice; MacGregor-Fors, Ian; Reyes-Paecke, Sonia; Vasquez, Alexis; Zea Camano, Jorge Danilo; Jaime Hernandez, H.; CEDEUS (Chile)
    Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the most urbanized and biologically diverse regions in the world but is often characterized by weak environmental governance and socioeconomic inequalities. Given large expanses of intact biomes, a long history of pre-Colombian civilizations, and recent urbanization trends, the urban ecosystem services (UES) concept has the potential to address issues of well-being for its citizens. We review relevant regional and global literature and use expert-based knowledge to identify the state of the art of the UES concept as applicable to green spaces in LAC and elucidate three overarching guidelines for management and future research needs: 1. LAC cities can be socio-ecologically unique; 2. Drivers of UES in LAC can be different than in other regions; and 3. Context and demand need to be accounted for when valuing UES. Overall, we show that research on UES is mostly from the global north and rarely accounts for the diverse and complex socio-political and ecological drivers of LAC's urbanization processes. We find that, as in other regions, the biophysical context and land use policies play a major role on UES provision. However, socioeconomic inequalities and weak governance are key drivers in UES supply and demand in LAC. Context-specific information on how to promote, educate, and apply UES is particularly important, not only in LAC, but in other regions where inequities, rapid urbanization, and climate change effects are stressing socio-political and ecological systems and their adaptive capacities. Standardized approaches from developed countries should be used to complement - not substitute - LAC context specific approaches for studying and applying UES. We suggest that improved research funding and local governance can also provide critical strategies, information and the means for more effective management, planning, and equitable provision of UES.