Methodology for Identifying Urban Types: A Tool for Assessing Urban Place Attachment

Abstract

The physical environment and the different land uses determine a wide range of urban types and urban landscapes. Since the landscape is one of the main assets of urban areas, the aim of the present chapter is to identify and categorise urban types based on variables with influence in the landscape and its perception in a coastal Mediterranean area of Spain. The proposed methodology has been applied to Marbella (Spain). Each stage of the urbanisation process is characterised based on some of the most representative variables of urban habitability, such as vegetation density, construction density, road density, building height and distance to the urban core, whereas each period has specific urban characteristics, which are also connected to a certain socioeconomic level and a landscape value. Six clusters are obtained, which correspond to well-defined urban types in Marbella, with their own urban landscape. This classification allows observing potential correlations between urban types and place attachment. Therefore, the proposed procedure is a useful tool to accurately assess changes in urban areas and people, and it may be used in landscape assessment research to identify patterns of socioeconomic inequality and to assess place attachment.