Frame do intermed cities uclg ilo unh cimes eng

5.2.5. The physical or urban spatial plans establish balances between consolidated and open spaces to the benefit of natural environments It is broadly agreed that it is not possible to develop a form of urbanism that ignores criteria for sustainability and respect for the environment. For this reason, physical and urban plans and their subsequent administrations achieve the following general objectives, which can serve as a working hypothesis.

The physical plan establishes a system of open spaces as guideline for planning the urban occupation (Tardin, 2013). It means that the plan is based on a system of open spaces and occupied spaces (existing or forthcoming) and its rules of occupation. This approach aims to promote and apply the ecological advantages of cities, as well as ensure the protection of their visual features, such as the skyline, landscape and urban composition etc. Those plans guide the construction of the built elements in the urban context, such as infrastructure and buildings. In this sense, urban plans and particularly infrastructure plans, impact on the environment and the whole landscape in their models for territorial organisation and development.

In the larger scale, the territory, officially recognised in the form of the specific landscape of each urban area and its own particular diversity, constitutes the fundamental element of urban planning. I-Cities have more opportunities to establish systems of open spaces, promoting/protecting geographic and environmental elements (rivers, hills, wetlands), as well as ensuring open space protection between consolidated areas as land markets and urbanization are still open. The result of this approach means a more integrated urban development in which the most significant physical-spatial attributes of open spaces (biophysical, visual perception and related to the integration of urban context) are preserved/reinforced as guidelines to the construction of the urban occupation of cities.

5.2.6. The urban spatial plan provides measures, definitions and indicators The physical plan gives concrete definition of the relationship between factors such as total surface area and zone density, maximum distances and general urban form, land use planning and means of transport. This has an impact on the rates of the individual and essential movements of people between their places of work, residence and service. Many solutions involve adopting denser models in the case of horizontal cities (as found, for example, in the cities of North America, northern Europe, and the English-speaking world) and controlling densities in areas that already have high densities (e.g. the Mediterranean region or Asia).