Reflexiones sobre densidad urbana y centralidades en la metrópoli de Lima, siglo XXI

Graciela Fernández de Córdova; Marta Vilela

Graciela Fernández de Córdova

Architect from the Federico Villarreal National University (Peru). Master’s Degree in Urban Planning, Master’s Degree in Human Settlements and Environment from the Pontiﬁcal Catholic University of Chile (PUC). Postgraduate specialization in Human Settlements from University of Chile. Postgraduate Diploma in Poverty, City and Territory from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). She is an Associate Professor at Pontiﬁcal Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), and both teaches and conducts research in urbanism, urban segregation, land-use planning and management.
Marta Vilela

Urban architect from Ricardo Palma University (Peru). Master’s Degree in Architecture from the Catholic University of Lovain (Belgium), and postgraduate studies at the Institute for Housing Studies (the Netherlands). Doctorate Degree in Urbanism from University of Liège (Belgium). Specialization in land-use planning and urban development planning. She is an Associate Professor at Pontiﬁcal Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), and both teaches and conducts research in urbanism, urban segregation, land-use planning and management.

Keywords: Urban density, Centralities of integration, Public space

Abstract

This research proposes to study centralities based on how they relate to urban density. It starts with Lima’s urban process, where there are four important plans. The ﬁrst plan guided expansion beyond the walls of the city. The second one constituted a single traditional metropolitan centrality. The third one lowered urban density by extending urban limits. Finally, the fourth one proposes a conceptual scheme to integrate large expansion areas through comprehensive service centers, thus marking an urban structure with a single large centrality and different agglomerations of houses that are dispersed as they expand in the periphery.

In the last decade, there has been a consolidation of a continuous territory that is still functionally dispersed in terms of its equipment and morphology. Within the framework of urban compactness, we propose a methodological approach to create integration centralities. The analysis considers urban scales oriented towards the study of urban restructuring, the center’s functional and spatial articulation – in relation to other surrounding centers and areas – and the habitability of public space as support for everyday activities in these centers. This study contributes to the identiﬁcation of features needed to create integration centralities.