Towards Liveable Urban Densities Using a GIS-Based Assessment Methodology

Abstract

Urban density and densi fication are hotly debated topics of sustainable urban development. On the one hand, international landmark agreements such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda highlight the importance of good quality urban environments with low pollution, easy access to green spaces, walkability, and active mobility. On the other hand, densi fication can increase pollution, decrease available green spaces, and degrade walkability by concentrating vehicles and their operations. The result can be a degradation of urban liveability, de fined as a city's capacity to promote the wellbeing of residents. Yet higher urban density can also result in more effi cient urban infrastructures and networks and provide more housing (including more aff ordable housing) in more appropriate mixed-use locations. The challenge, then, is to maintain the liveable quality of this denser urban fabric. The GIS-based approach presented in this paper uses a basic liveability assessment by calculating connectivity, greenery, and urban form complexity metrics to be employed in the context of densi fication, aiming to optimize sustainability and liveability aspects. Using our study area in Salzburg, Austria, we demonstrate how such a GIS-based liveability assessment, relying on spatial data, can aid urban planners in quantifying and achieving both urban density and liveability.