Urban sustainable development based on the recovery model of urban areas

Abstract

Cities have been conceived as the suppliers of life for their inhabitants. They should focus on offering more efficient spaces where people can perform their activities. Nowadays, the urban development of cities must be directed to providing such spaces and the resources needed in order for their inhabitants to reach environmental, social and economic sustainability.

However, those cities within El Salvador´s municipalities lack the necessary conditions to allow for such sustainability. To be more specific, the urban and historical áreas are usually abandoned, deteriorated or austere. This situation does not allow them to take advantage of the touristic or comercial potential they may offer and it generates insecurity and insalubrity, which is detrimental to the welfare of the population.

Urban renovation, by itself, does not generate sustainable development, but it does constitute a scenario which provides the necessary spatial resources for this to take place, thus contributing to the improvement of the lifestyle of its citizens. Specific actions to improve urban areas can be the starting point to guide further projects that reach other areas which would offer better sustainable life conditions in time.

Entorno, august 2015, issue 59: 9-34