Framework for monitoring urban indices and indicators

BARBERO, D.; DISCOLI, C.

Amsterdam

Otro; Computer, environment and urban systems; 2011

Frameworks are software tools with high degree of genericity and reusability, that is the reason why its implementation solve many problems of a particular type rather than a specific one. This paper presents the design, implementation and use of a framework that allows to represent systemic models based in quantitative indicators and indices. For this reason, it is possible to use the framework to represent urban life quality models, since they consist of quantitative variables (indices and indicators) that attempt to describe the state of energetic, social, infrastructure, environmental and economic aspects among other dimensions. Such indices and indicators are not always independent of each other but they are often interrelated. Therefore, changes in a variable require recalculating the value of the other ones. This problem is very common in applications related to urban planning and cadastre. The software developed allows to maintain the consistency of values in indexes and indicators even in the case of systemic models with cycles.As the developed software has a generic character, it can be coupled to a GIS to geographically visualize the changes produced in the value of a variable and, at the same time, observe its effect on the rest of the variables of the model.Finally, as an example, the use of the framework to represent an urban life quality model and its application to La Plata city, Argentina, are shown.