City Of Seville Research Articles

Influence of the Urban Green Spaces of Seville (Spain) on Housing Prices through the Hedonic Assessment Methodology and Geospatial Analysis

The city of Seville (Spain) is made up of a historical network of pre-existing city overlaps, which increase the economic and heritage value of certain urban areas. To date, green spaces are one of the most important variables in determining the economic value of housing. Thus, this paper uses the hedonic technique and geostatistical analysis with GIS as a methodological approach to infer the economic influence of urban green spaces on housing prices. Along with the traditional variables used to explain dwelling prices, the size of the green space has also been taken into account as an environmental variable affecting prices. The sample consists of 1000 observations collected from Seville. According to the findings, the most relevant variables depend on the hedonic model. Still, in general terms, a dwelling’s selling price is related to basic explanatory variables such as living area, number of rooms, age, and number of baths. The green area per inhabitant present in a dwelling’s district is also included as part of these basic explanatory variables. In conclusion, the hedonic linear model is the model that best fits housing prices where the values are similar to those obtained by kriging regardless of the district. Based on this research, each square meter of green space per inhabitant in a district raises the housing value by 120.19 €/m2.

The Definition of the Heritage Status of Modern Residential Architecture from a Multi-Scalar and Perceptual Approach. A Heritage Perspective in the Case Study of the Neighbourhood of El Plantinar in Seville (Spain)

The demographic, political, social and economic evolution of the last 40 years has shown how difficult it has been for the residential architecture of the 1960s to adapt to the needs of the turn of the century, in many cases suffering abandonment by the administration and the citizens themselves. However, these architectural ensembles, grouped together in the so-called “barriadas” (neighbourhoods), represented a change of era and a conceptual transformation in the way the city was built. This has led various international organisations to consider the need to study and protect them. The El Plantinar neighbourhood, located in the city of Seville, is one of these architectural complexes that are in a situation of vulnerability. The aim of this article is to propose a research methodology that, from different scales and with the incorporation of new players, allows us to understand these modern assets in their maximum dimension and to define their unique heritage. The methodology is structured in two phases. In the first phase, a general study of the neighbourhood is carried out on three scales: urban, object-typological and perceptive. In the second phase, the cultural attributes of the urban ensemble, of a patrimonial nature to which values can be assigned, are identified. The results provide very heterogeneous attributes that contribute to enrich the neighbourhood beyond the traditional scientific-technical and objectual vision that accompanies the assets of the modern period. The conclusions indicate that a methodology that takes into account different approaches and scales is necessary to incorporate these neighbourhoods solidly into the heritage landscape.

Design and Application of a Citizen Participation Tool to Improve Public Management of Drought Situations

The growing scarcity of water for human consumption in southern Europe is driving today’s public administrations to search for new ways of optimising its availability. Within this context, the purpose of this paper is to analyse whether citizen participation is an appropriate way of improving the management of available water, as several international organisations suggest. This study is part of a research project carried out by the University of Seville in Spain on behalf of the city of Seville’s metropolitan water supply company, hereinafter EMASESA. A qualitative method is applied in this research using pre-mortem testing techniques, enabling a specific participation tool to be designed, called the EMASESA Water Observatory, which this article describes in detail. The tool produced specific measures aimed at better addressing drought situations. In view of the practical application of this newly designed tool, we conclude that citizen participation is indeed useful in identifying solutions to improve public water policies and drought management. It is also concluded that the tool’s design calling for active participation is a positive factor in its application. Finally, the tool has also demonstrated that it generates knowledge that can be used to address other water-related issues and challenges, beyond those related to water availability.

Cultural Heritage, Sustainability, Conservation, and Social Welfare. A Management Plan for the Historic Municipal Buildings of Seville (Andalusia, Spain)

ABSTRACT Significant international forums and programmes, particularly the 2016 United Nations Conference Habitat III and the Horizon Europe, emphasise the need to address heritage management planning in cities from a comprehensive and inclusive perspective in balance with environmental issues. Accordingly, this research develops cross-cutting, alternative, and sustainable strategies for the design of a management process for municipal heritage assets in historical cities, which have been implemented in the city of Seville (the Management Plan for Heritage Municipal Buildings of Seville). This plan, finally approved in 2022, involves 130 symbolic buildings of which one third are either under-utilised or abandoned. The research focuses on the design of the developed methodology and presents the resulting 9 management programmes with 30 action lines created for the organisation of these heritage sites into a comprehensive system. Seville’s municipal built heritage plan implies the involvement of academics and researchers from a wide range of disciplines, public agents, and local actors who can guarantee a sustainable process and integrated governance in the future. In conclusion, the research shows an innovative design process for cultural heritage management based on the premise that such buildings are resources for contemporary local development and for a better quality of life.

The late medieval and early modern ceramics in the city of Córdoba (Andalusia, Spain). Christian productions under the Islamic tradition

The archaeological knowledge of the material culture in the city of Córdoba (Andalusia, Spain) during the late medieval and early modern periods is very scarce. Urban rescue excavations and archive sources evidence that the so-called Barrio de las Ollerías (potters’ quarter) was the main ceramic production area from the early medieval period until the end of the early modern period. Nevertheless, there is a total lack of archaeological and archaeometric studies since research has traditionally focused on Seville city and other production centres closer to the Atlantic Coast. However, archaeological and archaeometric studies concerning Islamic pottery have increased in Córdoba in the last years, although there is a lack of studies on the late medieval and early modern ceramic production. This article aims to contribute to filling this gap through an exhaustive study of the ceramic production of Córdoba in this period. As a first objective, studying the ceramics recovered from the workshops will enable us to define the chemical reference groups (RG). The second step will be the approach to the technology used by the potters for the elaboration of the different products. With these objectives in mind, 120 individuals have been chemically characterised using x-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) and mineralogically through x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The sample includes tin-lead glazed vessels, coarse and cooking ware vessels, and storage and transport jars dated from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries.

La evolución de la política urbana en Sevilla (España): alcances y límites para la promoción de la inclusión socioeconómica y territorial

This article analyzes the evolution of urban policy in the city of Seville (Spain) in a context marked by the advance of neoliberalism, productive restructuring, deregulation of the market and of the city’s protagonism. The aim is to evaluate the scope and limits of urban policy to reverse the indicators of socioeconomic and territorial exclusion and to reduce inequality. It results from exploratory research using two bases: the interdisciplinary bibliography that focuses on the urban phenomenon under multiple approaches and the institutional sources that systematize socioeconomic, demographic and statistical data and that allow evaluating the recent evolution of Seville. The results show that the focus of urban policy on the construction and qualification of high-quality business spaces, characteristic of urban entrepreneurship, in the face of excessive deregulation of the labor market, low levels of income per capita and per household, accentuates the duality of the labor market and hinders the challenges of socio-territorial inclusion.

Urban pervious concrete for thermal conditioning in open spaces: an adaptation to the climate change and the urban heat island effect.

UIA CartujaQanat project is part of a new vision of the urban environment, in which the way of thinking about cities and their spaces is changed, as well as in the interaction of its inhabitants with them. In this new concept of urban space, possible solutions to current and future needs, both social and climatic, must be found, since these environments have the responsibility to contribute to improving the lives of their inhabitants by minimizing the consumption of resources used in it. These solutions are the result of the knowledge gained from experience and tradition together with innovation and research.The project incorporates passive techniques and bioclimatic solutions adapted to the hot and dry climate of the city of Seville, which is where it is located, trying to create semi-confined open spaces that provide a comfortable environment. The solutions adopted introduced water as a heat transfer fluid that allows these spaces to be tempered. Apart from other solutions such as bioclimatic lattices, we worked on draining pavements that, thanks to their permeability, allow the flow of water and the evaporation of air through their surface.In this work the study of the use of pervious concrete flooring solutions and their advantages over the use of other materials is developed. Analysing its behaviour in its combination in hybrid pavements with vegetal soils or with fines such as silica sand, as well as other solutions that allow a constructive solution that reduces the temperature of the pavement using the evaporative effect, with minimal maintenance and cost.

Investigating the relationship between land alteration and the urban heat island of Seville city using multi-temporal Landsat data

Investigating the relationship between land alteration and the urban heat island of Seville city using multi-temporal Landsat data

Evaluation model of the economic-environmental impact on housing recovery. Application in the city of Seville, Spain

The recovery of dwellings, understood as the repair of severely damaged housing, it is of great importance at a European level due to the large number of neighbourhoods in need of improvements in comfort, structural integrity, and accessibility. The proposed model, based on the ecological footprint (EF) indicator and the amounts of resources required as expressed in the project budget, provides the necessary quantification for the evaluation of the economic-environmental impact, while simultaneously evaluating the viability of the intervention. The model facilitates the comparison of the most sustainable and competitive solutions; hence it can be employed to establish resilient policies based on sustainable planning. Eight practical projects are analysed in Seville, Spain. At the level of material results, the impact can be reduced by 80%, depending on the potential for recycling and recovery of the materials. The foundation and structure chapters have the greatest impact with 30% of the total EF. With the energy improvements implemented, an average reduction of 60% in CO2 emissions is achieved. From the results produced by the model, it is possible to clearly identify the elements on which to act to achieve a significant reduction in the EF of the project.

Beyond the Giralda: Residents’ interpretations of the Seville portrayed in fictional movies and TV series

This article aims to widen the discussion on destination images and imaginaries circulated via fictional movies and TV series. In particular, it analyzes how people living in film locations interpret media portrayals of their place of residence, which is an uncommon approach in the research conducted to date. To this end, an exploratory qualitative study was carried out in the city of Seville, Spain, which has appeared in multiple movies and TV series. Interviews were conducted with a heterogenous group of 23 residents and the data were assessed using a thematic analysis. The results illustrate the pivotal role of personal experiences of a place, or an absence thereof, in the decoding processes undertaken, as exemplified by the ways in which the interviewees interpreted the portrayal of local social issues and marginal areas of the city. The findings also uncover a desire to see a more diverse and accurate depiction of Seville on screen.

Classification of the flood severity of the Guadalquivir River in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the 13th to 19th centuries

This study estimates the flood severity between the 13th and 19th centuries on the southwestern Iberian Peninsula based on the historic records of impacts of the Guadalquivir River flooding on the city of Seville (Spain). The main documentary source was Historia crítica de las riadas o grandes avenidas del Guadalquivir en Sevilla (Critical history of the floods of the Guadalquivir in Seville) (1878), which compiles news from different observers that were contemporaries of each flood. Regarding the methodology, it was necessary to transfer the information from different documentary sources to ordinal indices, which required developing allocation criteria per flood impact. From the annual severity index assigned to the different floods, an interannual series was generated. Through interannual weighing of the flooding indices, it was possible to deduce the durations and intensities of sequences of flood periods between 1250 and 1850. Of the 10 floods classified as most destructive during the five centuries analyzed (i.e., from 1280 to 1880), five occurred during little more than a century (1598-1701). The obtained results contribute to knowledge on regional rainfall, as well as to historical climatology and hydrology, over multiple centuries.

Numerical Model Validation for Detection of Surface Displacements over Twin Tunnels from Metro Line 1 in the Historical Area of Seville (Spain)

In order to solve connectivity problems in metropolitan areas, the development of underground metro lines constitutes an unquestionable requirement. However, the construction work thereof encounters unfavourable circumstances when surface excavations must be carried out that cross historical areas of the city, due to the need to control surface movements. The design of the metro in the city of Seville (Spain) from 2004 to 2006 provides a representative example of this situation and triggered major upheavals that exerted repercussions on historical buildings. For these reasons, the excavation stages of Line 1 of this metro have been simulated by numerical methods using FLAC3D software and validated with the results provided by the real conditions. Consequently, various surface settlements have been evaluated by taking not only variates of the main parameters that characterise the soil of Seville, but also of the various load situations and excavation conditions. Notable results have been achieved through calibration of 54 variants of the same model corresponding to Line 1, and their comparison with the real results obtained in nine critical areas of the itinerary. The results obtained have made it possible to determine the effects of excavation on the subsoil of the city of Seville with great accuracy, since the percentage error of calculated vertical surface movements varies from 0.1% to 5.3%.

Holistic Approach to the Restoration of a Vandalized Monument: The Cross of the Inquisition, Seville City Hall, Spain

The Cross of the Inquisition, sculpted in 1903 and raised on a column with a fluted shaft and ornamented with vegetable garlands, is located in a corner of the Plateresque façade of the Seville City Hall. The Cross was vandalized in September 2019 and the restoration concluded in September 2021. A geological and microbiological study was carried out in a few small fragments. The data are consistent with the exposure of the Cross of the Inquisition to an urban environment for more than 100 years. During that time, a lichen community colonized the Cross and the nearby City Hall façades. The lichens, bryophytes and fungi colonizing the limestone surface composed an urban community, regenerated from the remains of the original communities, after superficial cleaning of the limestone between 2008 and 2010. This biological activity was detrimental to the integrity of the limestone, as showed by the pitting and channels, which evidence the lytic activity of organisms on the stone surface. Stone consolidation was achieved with Estel 1000. Preventol RI80, a biocide able to penetrate the porous limestone and active against bacteria, fungi, lichens, and bryophytes, was applied in the restoration.

Nature-Based Solutions to Hydro-Climatic Risks: Barriers and Triggers for Their Implementation in Seville (Spain)

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are currently a priority of international institutions (UN and EU) to improve urban resilience to hydro-climatic risks. However, responsible institutions, such as river basin authorities and local governments, while still prioritizing gray infrastructure, often present resistance to these strategies. This paper analyzes this issue in the case of Seville (Spain). We identify historical and recent institutional practices related to the development of gray infrastructure and the experience of citizens’ movements that demand the implementation of green infrastructure and the naturalization of urban space. Based on the theoretical framework of the sustainability transition, the article contributes to the identification of the factors that hinder or trigger the processes of change, drawing from the results of a case with a long tradition in hydro-climatic disaster management. The research has included an in-depth review of risk planning in the city of Seville, semi-structured interviews with 24 social and institutional actors, and participant observation of both urban planning processes and the practices of citizen movements. Our results show that the generation of shared visions clashes, first with conflicting perceptions of the city’s strengths and weaknesses regarding risks; second, with contradictions between institutional discourses and practices, and finally, with the operational limitations of public participation processes.

Assessing the impact of the envelope’s dynamic thermal transmittance on dwelling’s cooling performance with respect to the occupants’ thermal comfort

Regarding the constantly increasing cooling demands in the building sector due to climate change effects, strategies for reducing the cooling demands are vital. Among the major strategies is thermal insulation, however, overheating phenomenon during the summer months is a frequent problem in over-insulated buildings. In this study, a typical dwelling was examined in ten Mediterranean regions concerning the influence of the envelope’s thermal transmittance on its cooling performance. A passive dynamic insulation system was also developed and implemented, while its cooling performance was optimized through a rule-based control strategy for the cooling period of each region. Regarding always the occupants’ thermal comfort perception, increased cooling loads were recorded for most of the regions with the highly insulated envelope, which reached up to 12% for the city of Damascus, while in the hot-desert regions the picture is reversed. The dynamic insulation system displayed great potential, as its efficiency was maximum with the super-insulated envelope, resulting in up to 61% less cooling demands for the city of Seville. Finally, by disregarding the occupants’ interference in the cooling system, as most of the national legislations do, higher cooling needs are calculated, that in our study reached up to 49% for the super-insulated envelope.

Annual Censuses and Citizen Science Data Show Rapid Population Increases and Range Expansion of Invasive Rose-Ringed and Monk Parakeets in Seville, Spain.

Simple SummaryMonitoring programs are crucial to understanding and managing invasive species populations. However, they are infrequent and not usually conducted in the long term. In this work, we used population censuses and observational data from citizen science platforms to monitor the growth and expansion of populations of two invasive species established in Seville (Spain): the rose-ringed parakeet and the monk parakeet. During our study period (2013–2021), rose-ringed and monk parakeet populations increased fivefold and twentyfold, respectively. These rapid population growths coincided with the increasing number of observations of both species recorded by volunteer birdwatchers, as well as the increasing expansion of monk parakeets throughout the study area. Citizen science can be useful for roughly knowing the population status of invasive species, but it cannot replace specific monitoring programs to understand their spatiotemporal dynamics.Population changes of invasive species can go unnoticed long before population explosions, so long-term monitoring programs are needed to assess changes in population size. Although invasive populations of rose-ringed (Psittacula krameri) and monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) are present worldwide, their current status and dynamics are mostly poorly known. Here, we provide a long-term population monitoring of both parakeet species established in a Mediterranean urban area. Between 2013 and 2021, we conducted systematic population censuses in the city of Seville and collected their occurrence and spatial distribution data from citizen science platforms. Our censuses showed a rapid population growth of both species: rose-ringed parakeets increased from 1200 to 6300 individuals, while monk parakeets increased from 70 to 1487 individuals. These population trends were weakly reflected by the number of parakeet observations and the number of cells with parakeet observations but not by the number of individuals recorded in citizen science platforms. Moreover, for the monk parakeet, the number of cells with observations was related to the spatial spread of its nests across the study area. Although resource-intensive, long-term monitoring programs are essential to assess population changes and develop effective management actions for invasive species. Thus, contrasting this information with data taken through citizen science platforms can validate the utility of the latter for assessing population status of invasive species.

Convergence patterns in the city of Seville

Abstract Research carried out over the past few years in several Andalusian cities has revealed the processes of convergence towards conservative realisations that are occurring among the allophones of the phoneme /θs/. This time, using the Seville PRESEEA corpus, we have analysed the frequency of the seseante and dento-interdental pronunciation patterns that coexist in this city, and we have correlated them with linguistic, social, and individual parameters. Our data showed that this variation process was mainly influenced by closeness of [s] and [θ] in the immediate phonetic context, and by the educational attainment level, the age, and the sex of the respondents. The analysis per surveyed subjects indicated that most of them combined both variants.

URBAN LAYOUT FOR BUILDING SOLAR OPTIMIZATION AND OUTDOOR COMFORT BALANCE: NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGY IN MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE

The urban configuration in the Mediterranean area, which has noticeable solar radiation and significant thermal oscillation, is one of the factors that affect the microclimate and the urban heat island phenomenon of the cities located in that zone. To contribute to the improvement of urban comfort, this work presents an experimental methodological proposal for the analysis and multicriteria optimization of performance indicators using a parametric workflow through Grasshopper. This workflow can lead to the development of a set of environmental design criteria as support tools in the design of the urban configuration. The methodology is based on the quantification of two parameters on the analysis and management of daylight in interior spaces by means of dynamic metrics and, on the other hand, on the evaluation of hygrothermal conditions and the urban heat island effect, which affect both the daytime comfort of passersby and the nighttime comfort of dwellings. This study considers the most typical variables of urban layout, both morphological and material. The case study analyzed is located in the city of Seville (Spain), which has a significant percentage of its contemporary buildings without a suitable adaptation to local climate conditions. The results obtained from the case study prove the potential of the proposed methodology to evaluate and optimize lighting and thermal performance at the neighbourhood scale. Thus, it provides urban planners with a powerful decision support tool for both urban expansion and urban renewal.

Relationship between Eating Habits, Physical Activity and Tobacco and Alcohol Use in Pregnant Women: Sociodemographic Inequalities.

Pregnant women must maintain or acquire healthy habits during pregnancy to protect both their own health and their child’s. Such habits include an adequate eating pattern along with good adherence to the intake of certain supplements, practice of moderate physical activity and avoiding the consumption of toxic products such as tobacco and alcohol. The objective of this study is to assess the interrelation between such habits and their association with sociodemographic variables. To such end, a cross-sectional study was conducted with a representative sample of pregnant women who attended the scheduled morphology echography consultation at the 20th gestational week in their reference public hospital in the city of Seville (Spain). Results: Younger pregnant women and with lower educational levels are the ones that present the worst eating habits and the highest smoking rate. Pregnant women with lower educational levels are the least active. Non-smoking pregnant women present better eating habits than those who smoke. Pregnant women with lower educational levels are those who accumulate more unhealthy habits during pregnancy. This should be taken into account when planning the health care provided to pregnant women and in public health intersectoral policies.

The redistribution of the Tourism Flow in Destination (TFD) from spatial-temporal concentration. Seville is flowing.

This research seeks to interrelate the spatial-temporal behaviour of tourists in the historic centres of urban destinations with the evolution and configuration of Urban Tourism Precincts, based on the analysis of tourist flows and the delimitation of the different tourist areas. For this purpose, the city of Seville was used as a case study, since it is the third urban destination in Spain with the highest number of visitors and overnight stays per year. In terms of methodology, direct observation techniques and GPS tracking technology are used to quantify and track groups of tourists in route, thus obtaining the different types of Tourist Flows in Destination and Tourist Zones. This study shows that tourism is growing and that it has become evident beyond the traditional concentration of visitors in the historical centres. A process of redistribution of flows with territorial repercussions on the use of public space is under way.