Análisis multidimensional del equipamiento social urbano en la ciudad de A CoruñaDistribución y equidad espacial

Abstract

Urbanism is being studied for decades with a multidisciplinary perspective, a trend that has increased since the introduction of sustainability criteria in urban planning. These criteria arise in three different dimensions: economic development, social equity and environmental conservation. One of the main ways to address the social dimension of equity from the urban perspective is the analysis of spatial equity in the distribution of urban social facilities (public places, education, health, culture, etc.) in a city. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the distribution of this type of urban infrastructure in the neighborhoods of the city of A Coruna and spatial equity is performed. For this we have developed a matrix of data from an original study of Colexio de Arquitectos de Galicia (COAG) on the neighborhoods of the city, which has been applied a factor analysis (to know the determinants of the distribution of urban public facilities) and on which are calculated the Gini Index for the spatial distribution of each type of equipment (which allow us to assess the degree of spatial equity). The results show that commercial equipment and public spaces are related to levels of population and population density, that educational facilities are more correlated with the surface and that there is a correlation between the provisions of health and care facilities, on the one hand, and cultural and sports, on the other. The types of urban facilities with lower rates of inequality neighborhoods are public spaces, commercial and educational, while those with higher levels of inequality are health, welfare and sport. These differences are due to the importance of minimum population size required for a particular service will operate properly with cost-efficiency criteria. In general, we can say that equity in the distribution of urban social facilities in the city of A Coruna is acceptable and in this sense urban planning is working with social sustainability criteria, although there are specific types of equipment with notable differences in their spatial distribution through the neighborhoods of the city.