The city is a complex system where many parameters converge, making a precise analysis of all of them highly difficult, along with the subsequent evaluation of the phenomena that occur and their impact on the environment. Urban planning is one of the challenges facing today’s society, involving architects and urban planners as well as diverse groups that converge in this shared space of energy and ecological exchange.

An increasing proportion of the global population is moving to urban areas, making these critical points of conflict and opportunity where careful action and planning are required. To optimize urban planning, it will be essential to establish a body of doctrine on environmental and social issues that accounts for energy and resource consumption, as well as personal comfort and well-being.

In this context, the research project “MUM-Foundations for the Characterization of Mediterranean Urban Morphology” was born. This project advances energy efficiency in Mediterranean cities by identifying building morphological parameters, as city shapers, that allow for the characterization of different urban fabrics and their influence on energy demand.

Currently, there is no parameterization of urban structures that allows for a reasonable simulation of their environmental behavior. This research has identified and defined necessary urban parameters for the geometric characterization of different fabrics, facilitating an approach to their environmental performance.

Authors: Helena Coch Roura, Isabel Crespo, Glòria Serra-Coch