Journal of Housing and the Built Environment

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-019-09694-8

ARTICLE

Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood

vitality: five cases in Valdivia, Southern Chile

Antonio Zumelzu1   · Melissa Barrientos‑Trinanes2

Received: 4 September 2018 / Accepted: 25 June 2019

© Springer Nature B.V. 2019

Abstract
The transformation of Chilean cities has followed a similar morphological pattern of
change as observed in European and North American cities. From individuals to commu-
nities, social interactions have been decreasing following the individualistic single-fam-
ily housing model. Evaluating these changes provides a unique opportunity to study the
impact of urban form, especially in intermediate cities in southern Chile in which there is
very little evidence of these processes. Assessing neighborhood vitality, as it is triggered
by components of urban form, can help contribute recommendations for more sustainable
future planning and the improvement of current environments. This study investigates the
effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality in five neighborhoods in the city of Val-
divia, Chile. Quantitative and qualitative methods are used to explore the morphological
elements that influence human activity, to determine how various spatial elements impact
vitality levels. Results show that certain neighborhoods have a greater degree of morpho-
logical adaptability to generate a diversity of uses. Further, four conditions are associated
to increased human interaction in neighborhoods, including land use mix, block size, plot
sizes and adaptability. Finally, our results are used to propose recommendations to guide
the urban design of neighborhoods towards a more sustainable path.

Keywords  Chile · Latin America · Neighborhoods · Neighborhood vitality · Urban form

1 Introduction

Lack of urban planning in emerging Latin American countries is a problem increasingly

being placed at the center of twenty-first century development agendas (UN-Habitat
2016). In Latin America, the urban space has evolved from a compact form to one that
is fragmented and expanded, undergoing important changes in the last decades (Borsdorf
and Hidalgo 2010). In particular, urban life is being directly affected by rapid growth, the

* Antonio Zumelzu
antonio.zumelzu@uach.cl
1
Instituto de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad Austral de Chile, Av. Elena Haverbeck s/n –
Edificio Ernst Kasper – Campus Isla Teja, Valdivia, Chile
2
The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, 22 Gordon St,
Bloomsbury, London WC1H0QB, UK

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 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

diffusion of peripheries and the proliferation of new residential structures. Recent evidence
shows that these changes are forcing inhabitants to redefine their social relationships, per-
sonal identity, and connection to the built environment (Grigonis 2013; Guevara 2015;
López-Morales 2015; Robinson and Roy 2015).
Moreover, research indicates that intermediate Latin American cities are following
a pattern of change similar to that observed in European and North American contexts,
mainly in aspects considered the basis of the city: form and function (Ingram and Carroll
1981; Bolay and Rabinovich 2004; Borsdorf et al. 2012; Maturana and Rojas 2015). Sali-
nas and Pérez (2011) associate this transformation with morphological modifications, in
relation to compactness and the limiting historical model of the city by which discontinuity
or diffusion of the contemporary urban consequently produce dispersion. In this way, units
such as the neighborhood—the basis of a city microstructure—have gradually lost struc-
ture, identity and meaning (Méndez and Otero 2018; Zumelzu 2019).
In recent decades, research has increased on the topic of neighborhoods, which repre-
sent the link between city and individual (Mortland et  al. 2002; Rodriguez et  al. 2018;
Sampson et al. 2002; Singh 2016; Wu et al. 2018; Zumelzu 2016). From the morphological
perspective, certain characteristics mark this relationship: the conformation of a distinctive
morphology that defines a hierarchy, the union of activities that allow development of a
certain functional autonomy, and the establishment of social relations in the urban space.
There is also a broad, ongoing debate regarding the regeneration of neighborhoods through
the promotion of greater vitality (Montgomery 1998; Wu et  al. 2018). It is stated that
neighborhoods with a strong sense of community, reflected in social interactions, neighbor-
hood life, activities and attachment to the place promote high levels of vitality (Zeng et al.
2018).
To critically observe urbanization in Latin American cities, it is necessary to consider
the literature regarding effects of the built environment on neighborhood vitality. Urbaniza-
tion processes can generate, for example, poor walking environments, overcrowded areas
or an increase in traffic. Besides, not all residents have preference for high neighborhood
vitality. For example, older adults, families with children or simply people do not appreci-
ate vibrant urban life may prefer low neighborhood vitality. As these cities are developed
more and more in a car-oriented manner, the condition for traditional street life has been
diminishing. Evaluating these changes provides a unique opportunity to study the impact
of urban form, especially in intermediate cities in southern Chile in which there is very lit-
tle evidence of these processes, and today represent a great range of potential and interest
from local governments to promote sustainable urban development (IDB 2015; Franchi-
Arzola et  al. 2018). Assessing neighborhood vitality levels, as triggered by components
of urban form, can help contribute recommendations for more sustainable future planning
and the improvement of current environments. Considering the above, this research formu-
lates the following research questions: how can the urban form contribute to neighborhood
vitality? What elements of urban form can be measured and evaluated, to improve current
environments in intermediate cities?
The objective of this article is to analyze effects of urban form on neighborhood vital-
ity. Specifically, five neighborhoods in Valdivia, a city of intermediate scale in the south
of Chile, are studied. Valdivia is a predominantly twentieth century city in southern Chile,
where important urban transformations have occurred. The article is structured in three
parts. First, literature on neighborhood vitality and its relation to urban form is reviewed.
Subsequently, an empirical analysis is carried out integrating qualitative and quantitative
methods. By identifying potential activity nodes that provide vitality, the study neigh-
borhoods are characterized according to size, types of activity, and vitality levels. To

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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

determine node size, three morphological evaluation criteria of the neighborhoods that
influence human activity are applied: block dimensions, plot size and building use. To
determine vitality levels of the nodes, two observation methods from the space syntax the-
ory are used. Gate method, is used to analyze the intensity of spatial occupation; and the
Static Snapshot method is used to measure different usage patterns (static and moving) and
human activities in space. Later, a descriptive matrix classified by types, levels and sizes is
generated to determine which factors affect the generation of vitality in neighborhoods and
the definition of spatial hierarchies.
Finally, results are used to contribute recommendations and suggestions to guide the
urban design of neighborhoods towards a more sustainable path. Critical aspects are high-
lighted along with future challenges regarding the development of more sustainable urban
forms in neighborhoods of intermediate cities in Latin America.

2 Literature review

2.1 The concept of neighborhood vitality

The neighborhood is defined as a shared interaction space (Chhetri et al. 2006; Ellin 2006)
and neighborhood vitality is understood as fundamental for community sustainability
(Talen 1999; Dave 2011; Medved 2016). Some authors characterize urban vitality at the
neighborhood scale according to three main factors: the continuous presence of people
on streets and in public spaces, their activities and opportunities, and the environment in
which these activities are carried out (Jacobs 1961; Oreskovic et al. 2014; Wu et al. 2018).
The existing literature about neighborhood vitality includes discussions regarding space
security (Sung and Lee 2015), diversity and racial heterogeneity (Maas 1984; Talen 2008),
physical environments (Alawadi 2018; March et al. 2012; Sevtsuk et al. 2016), leisure and
entertainment opportunities (Kim 2018; Zainol et al. 2017) and social interaction (Demp-
sey et al. 2011; Hemani et al. 2017).
Jacobs (1961) was one of the first to mention the importance of vital urban areas to
create vibrant communities, as she criticized intensive urbanization processes happening
in American cities during her time. Jacobs referred to neighborhoods with high levels of
vitality as places where people can easily interact and benefit from social networks. Human
interaction in public spaces works as an agent for safety and promotes social stability and
economic prosperity in a variety of ways. Years later, Kevin Lynch mentioned vitality
as one of the seven principal factors of quality (together with meaning, proportionality,
access, control, efficiency and justice), defining it as the extent to which a city supports
vital operations, biological conditions and human abilities (Lynch 1981). Lynch estab-
lished three operational factors fundamental to vitality in a space: survival, security and
adaptability (Lynch 1981; Zarin et al. 2015). Vibrancy of public spaces was also a mandate
of H. Whyte, who studied abandoned public squares in several American cities, e.g. Man-
hattan, New York. He conducted a series of direct observations in combination with time-
lapse photography and interviews, consequently contributing detailed guidelines about the
built form of outdoor spaces concerning comfort, accessibility and orientation of seating
(Elsheshtawy 2015).
More recent studies suggest that neighborhoods with high levels of vitality help pro-
mote a strong sense of community, reflected through social interactions, neighborhood life,
activities and attachment to a place (Wu et al. 2018; Zeng et al. 2018). Emily Talen (2011)

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also defines diversity as one of the principal generators of urban vitality, as it increases
interactions between multiple urban components. Diversity builds bridges of social capital
by expanding interaction networks. Talen argues that diversity and integration of activities
are necessary parts of “an urban fabric for an urban life” (Talen 2008, p. 34). The maximi-
zation of exchange possibilities, both economic and social, is considered as the key factor
for quality of life and community sustainability (Talen 2011). More simply, the combina-
tion of housing, schools and shopping is the basic definition of a “good pedestrian neigh-
borhood” (Talen 2008).
The majority of research exploring neighborhood vitality has involved qualitative meth-
ods, such as field studies and interviews. However, approaches to data analysis have varied
(Wu et al. 2018). For example, Filion and Hammond (2003) observed the physical envi-
ronments of various neighborhoods in Ontario, Canada, evaluating how they are used by
people and to what extent this encourages their behavior, applying data from surveys and
field observations. For her part, Talen (2011) studied the sustainability of urban form in
Phoenix, Arizona, through the identification of activity nodes that provide neighborhood
vitality through five criteria: accessibility, connectivity, density, diversity and nodality.
Zeng et al. (2018), instead, established four factors of urban vitality: density, habitability,
accessibility and diversity, to calculate spatial indices of different neighborhoods located
in Chicago, Illinois and Wuhan in China, analyzed in a big data environment. Zarin et al.
(2015) investigated two neighborhoods in Teheran, Iran to establish comparison criteria to
define vitality: contact and availability, variety of attractions, welfare, aesthetics, hygiene,
public participation, shelter, activity and legibility. Similarly, Landry (2016) formed a set
of neighborhood vitality indicators based on two categories: objective measures and sub-
jective measures, focusing on aspects of creativity in relation to vitality.
In short, there have been diverse approaches to studying neighborhood vitality. Further-
more, the contribution of the built environment to neighborhood vitality is an important
aspect of this subject, which we estimate has not been sufficiently measured in terms of the
variables and factors involved or with systematized processes.

2.2 Elements of urban form and its effects on vitality

A wide range of studies agree that urban form can influence human behavior and social
interaction, indicating it can be planned integrally according to the desired environment.
Moulay et  al. (2017) define social interaction as a process of reciprocal stimulation and
interactivity between at least two people. They mainly address types of social relations
among passive (public solicitude, people watching) and active (fleeting encounters, chance
encounters and quasi-primary relationship) interactions. It can be measured through the
amount of time people spend in the place, reflecting their engagement in a public open
space and the intensity of contact (Vaughan 2001; Gehl 2011; Sampson 2012). However,
how urban form affects vitality—and how it affects human behavior in public space—dif-
fers in different scales.
As research has shown on a macro level, denser cities are more lively than low-density
ones. It seems that compact urban forms characterized by high density, high accessibil-
ity and public transport promote livelier areas than suburban forms (Frey 1999; Oliveira
2016; Sharifi 2019). Compact forms may have well-established benefits for vitality, but
some scholars have expressed concern regarding to the impact of large and dense cities
on human relationships. For example, Simmel (2005) and Wirth (1938) observed that cit-
ies with extreme vitality create impersonal social interactions since residents encounter

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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

numerous people in their every-day lives compared with residents of small towns or rural
areas, and since they cannot engage with everyone, they eventually become emotionally
detached. Similarly, Hosni and Zumelzu (2019) noted extreme vitality at district level gen-
erates impersonal and superficial relationships between residents. Their study suggests
that social relationships at neighborhood level are weaker in high-density urban forms, as
well as around high-rise buildings. Many studies suggest that extreme vitality caused by
extreme density in urban areas may lead to stress and may negatively affect mental health
(Evans 2003; Gruebner et al. 2012).
At meso scale, examples of the relationship between urban form and vitality are related
to population density, layout and extent of mixed land uses in a street or neighborhood.
For example, some studies show that high-density mixed-use streets with flatted residences
facilitate social interaction due to the increased range of people using the street, compared
to wholly residential ones (Dempsey et al. 2011; Hemani et al. 2017; Zumelzu and Doev-
endans 2016; Zeng et  al. 2018). Mouratidis (2018) found that proximity to city center,
higher densities and local amenities can increase social interaction, enable larger social
networks, offer more opportunities for meeting new people, and finally lead to higher sat-
isfaction with social relationships. Van den Berg et al. (2017) suggest that density, acces-
sibility and distance dynamics influence frequency of face-to-face social interaction, as
well as quality of social interactions. These authors state that a good neighborhood walk-
ability improves health conditions, the physical environment and increases social interac-
tions between residents. People who are living in a more walkable neighborhood are more
socially involved in the neighborhood, have a higher level of social capital and thereby a
higher quality of life. Talen and Ellis (2002) claim that increased social interaction between
neighbors has been found to result in feelings of safety, greater utilization of public space
and greater use of local shopping facilities. In particular, the prominence of public space
and the emphasis on mixed land uses may be seen as contributing to increased social
interactions.
At micro scale, three morphological elements are generally recognized in the literature:

• Dimensions of Street blocks frontages The street block is a fundamental element of the
physical structure of cities. The scarce literature that exists on this topic favors the idea
that smaller blocks provide more possibilities for interaction between people and adapt
better to certain aspects of urban development, in comparison to longer or larger blocks
(Siksna 1997; Oliveira 2013, 2016).
  Many city planners have advocated for smaller blocks with the hypothesis that these
should be correlated with higher levels of pedestrian activity (Ewing and Cervero 2010;
Boarnet et  al. 2011; Singh 2016). For example, Leon Krier argued that street blocks
in small cities introduce higher diversity and complexity to the urban landscape. For
Krier, blocks should be as small in length and width as typologically viable; creating
as many well-defined streets and squares as possible in the form of a multi-directional
horizontal pattern of urban spaces (Krier 1984). Jane Jacobs also suggested that streets
and opportunities to turn corners must be frequent: “Shorter blocks would facilitate
more encounters and interactions between people” (Jacobs 1961, p. 150). Similarly,
Allan B. Jacobs indicated that a high number of street intersections contribute to the
various pedestrian qualities of a street: “Streets with one entrance for every 300 feet
(90 m) are easy to find, and some of the best streets are close to that number, but there
are more entries in the busiest streets” (Jacobs 1993, p. 302). In the literature, there is
a common agreement that indicators of ‘good’ performance suggest blocks between 60
and 70 m are highly geared and optimal for pedestrians, 100 m are well geared and very

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 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

convenient for pedestrians, while 200 m or more are inconvenient to pedestrian mobil-
ity (Maitland 1984; Siksna 1997; Oliveira 2013; Sevtsuk et al. 2016).
• Building use In urban morphology, building use has long been an important considera-
tion, as well as a highly debated topic in the literature. In fact, this criterion and the
zoning mechanism associated with it (promoting segregation, or sometimes the inte-
gration of uses) have remained among the most stable planning instruments over time.
The debate surrounding regulation based on land use is sometimes misunderstood as
regulation based on form (Oliveira 2013); that is, constructed forms and human activi-
ties are intrinsically interrelated, but the relationship is not fixed (Kropf 2014). While
forms remain relatively stable over time, uses and activities tend to change more rap-
idly. Moreover, a type of given form can accommodate a range of activities.
• Plot size and built proportion The plot, often identified as the “module” of the urban
fabric (Cannigia and Maffei 2001; Tarbatt 2012), has also frequently been studied in
urban morphology, giving rise to new concepts and innovative methods for explora-
tion (Hillier and Hanson 1984; Oliveira 2013). Kropf (2014) states that the plot itself
is composed of the building and its associated private space. Beyond the traditional
‘adjunct’, the plot includes a variety of external area types, such as front gardens, side
gardens, patios, parking plots, open storages and maneuvering spaces. For Oliveira
(2013), the plot can be seen as a composition of buildings and exterior spaces. In this
conception, the building and exterior area work together at the same level, as figure and
terrain. Exterior spaces constitute the main field within which human activity occurs.
Both types of spaces are composed of structures, but one forms internal private spaces
while the other forms private or semi-private external spaces. For his part, Tarbatt
(2012) claimed the importance of the relationship between the pattern of plot subdivi-
sions and concepts of density and diversity. Tarbatt also said that diversity in successful
places manifests itself in assorted ways, at different scales and in varying degrees, with
plot size playing an essential role. The range of elements including construction, archi-
tectural design, building age, types of mixed housing, sizes and holdings, mixture and
intensity of uses, combine to sustain a wide variety of nearby activities, imparting to
each location its unique character, identity and sense of place.

Other authors suggest that details such as the scale and dimension of streetscapes, shape,
color, building façade ornaments, patterns and pavement materials, and types of vegetation,
are key factors for people interact with space (Talen 1999; Gehl 2011; Zhou 2012). During
the seventies, Christopher Alexander in his book A Pattern Language (1977) demonstrated
that individual facades or sections of walls are often angled, so that they form certain spa-
tial relations with each other, and communicate with people standing from different angles
and distances in a space. Years later, Gehl (2011) mentioned that soft edges between pri-
vate and public space support long-duration activities and social interaction. In-between
spaces between the street and the building create the possibility for residents to spend time
together and socialize. Additionally, the specific characteristics of those spaces are very
important for encouraging interaction. Similarly, Can and Heath (2016) suggested that
these spaces can be an extension of the interior spaces of a building, directly attached to
the street such as courtyards, balconies, front yards and sidewalk cafes, where such spaces
form the interface between private and public. These spaces also encourage social encoun-
ters and street life in neighborhoods and can have varying significances among cultures.
In summary, the relevant literature has addressed urban form as a determining factor
that influences the motivation of residents to interact and occupy the public domain when
performing different activities. Our study focuses on developing an empirical analysis of

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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

the physical elements that affect vitality, adopting a series of measurements of urban form
to demonstrate relational degrees between urban form and neighborhood vitality.

3 Materials and methods

3.1 Study area

To study the impact of urban form on neighborhood vitality, we carried out a case study in
the district of Isla Teja in the city of Valdivia, Southern Chile, representing one of the pio-
neering cities of industrial principles during the twentieth century (Espinoza and Zumelzu
2016). Isla Teja is a residential and service district, which covers approximately 15  km2
and contains several residential areas. The growth and urban development of Isla Teja has
been generated in a dispersed and fragmented way, given the natural geomorphology of the
territory composed of natural systems such as wetlands, rivers, lagoons, forests and hills,
generating “residential islands” within the same island, adapted to natural borders (Fig. 1).
Despite its early occupation, the real urban development of Valdivia began with the
arrival of German settlers in the late nineteenth century, who started the economic growth
of the city through industrial development. Industrial development and the subdivision and
specialization of work creates the need for large labor forces, and therefore, the develop-
ment of neighborhoods for workers arose in the early 1930s. These neighborhoods were
developed in Isla Teja in close proximity to the industries, taking advantage of the con-
nected areas (Guarda 2001).
Despite the efforts made by families descended from German settlers, the great earth-
quake of the year 1960 abruptly ended the industrial development of the island and may
have implied an end to the urban development of Isla Teja. The 1960 earthquake not only
altered the economic development of the island, but also redirected its productive role to
a residential and service role. These changes were accompanied by morphological varia-
tions, including the descent of extensive areas which currently form wetlands considered
nature sanctuaries.

Fig. 1  Location of Isla Teja district

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 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

The original types of housing with social character also stopped developing along with
the end of industry, being replaced by residential complexes for the middle class and later,
the upper class. In this sense, due to the varied construction phases and applications of
planning concepts, substantial differences in urban form can be noted among the neighbor-
hoods of Isla Teja.
Isla Teja consists of five neighborhoods: Prochelle, Santa Inés, Los Raulies, Teja and
Teja Sur. The spatial and morphological characteristics of the neighborhoods of Isla Teja,
described in Table  1 and illustrated in Fig.  3, reveal a mixture of urban occupation and
grain types, from a predominantly urban fabric to those that are largely culs-de-sac.

3.2 Methods

Figure  2 shows the methodological diagram used in this investigation. To evaluate the
size of neighborhood activity nodes, three morphological evaluation criteria are applied
(Oliveira 2013, 2018) to analyze the scalar patterns of the built environment and its influ-
ence on human activity:

• Dimensions of street block frontages According to Oliveira (2013), evaluating street

block size involves dividing the blocks into groups. These groups are defined by the
GIS (Geographic Information System) method of ‘natural ruptures’, according to the
width of the street block facades.
• Building use The degree of mixture among buildings of residential and non-residential
use is calculated. For this, we use a scale from 0, which indicates exclusively residen-
tial use, to 0.5 indicating an equal amount of residential and non-residential use, to 1
indicating exclusively non-residential use.
• Plot size and built proportion Total area of the plot, as well as in relation to its built
proportion, is calculated through the GIS (Geographic Information System) method.

To assess the vitality levels of neighborhood nodes, two observation methods from the
space syntax theory will be used (Vaughan 2001; Al_Sayed et al. 2014):

• Gate method The Gate Method is a spatial observation technique, of a quantitative

nature, which allows to collect a large amount of data regarding intensity of occupa-
tion along different routes, by recording observations of moving people and moving
vehicles within the space. For its application, the Gate Method was set up to divide Isla
Teja district into four main quarters with four observers, representing a wider range of
the selected nodes. Each quarter was surveyed to record a number of 20 gates to serve
a total of 80 gates in Isla Teja. Through a scheduled time-slot, each gate was observed
eight times per day. The total gates were spatially selected from a range of 19 streets
across the neighborhoods to be recorded over three scheduled days. The days of the
week selected were Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, signifying two regular working
day patterns for comparison with 1 weekend day.
• Static Snapshot method The static snapshot method, on a manageable scale of neighbor-
hoods, allows the observer to register all personal encounters in one static moment when
walking around a given area within a period of time. This method is most useful for not-
ing density of use, activities and grouping of activities, rather than for precise recording
of numbers or movement rates. It facilitates measuring different usage patterns (static
and moving) in convex public spaces (squares, terraces, streets, etc.), pedestrian activities

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 Table 1  Comparison of built form characteristics of Isla Teja neighborhoods
Neighborhood
Prochelle Neighborhood
Santa Inés Neighborhood
Los Raulies Neighborhood
Teja Neighborhood
Teja Sur
13
Gross population Distance to Form and spatial characteristics
density (gppha) city center (m)
18 790 Residential area founded in 1964 for middle class. Urban fabric shows modular and sequential structure
with a regular street network, rectangular blocks and plots, with single-family detached housing with
front yards as dominant. Since 2010, a transformation towards becoming a services area is taking place,
which 30% of land is for non-residential uses. However, the change in land uses has not modified the
scale of the area. Two neighborhood centers are distinguished: Los robles subcenter and a services zone
at Saelzer street
81 1150 Residential area developed in 1990 for middle and upper class, localized at core of Isla Teja. Single-family
detached houses are the predominant pattern, but 8,8% corresponds to high rise housing. Plots are
morphologically modular and orthogonal. The street network is regular, with a high number of cul-de-
sacs. The 3,7% of total land is destined to open green areas and retail, both concentrated at Los Lingues
avenue
60.8 1570 Developed in 1995 for middle class, this neighborhood is localized at the west of the island. Single-family
detached housing is the dominant typology, with plots rectangular and modular. It is a monofunctional
Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…
area with residential uses only. Neighborhood center is located at Raulies Avenue, as designed area for
public space with several pieces of street furniture and facilities for recreation
155 980 Neighborhood founded in 1930, formed by residential complexes mainly generated for the workers of
industries situated in the area. The urban fabric is modular, with a regular structure of streets and pas-
sages. Buildings are diverse in terms of typology, from single-family detached to semi-detached and
block tenure. Plots are extremely long, initially designed for being use as orchards for household’s con-
sumption. Today, 40% of the place is used for constructing bungalows to rent, which explains the high
density of the area (80–110 houses per block). The neighborhood has two centers: Teja main square that
lies with dense mixed-use street, and several local shops and facilities along Los Laureles Avenue
51 1024 Neighborhood formed in 1987 for upper class. Located at the south of the island, the urban fabric shows
dendritic and discontinues structure, with and low dwelling density. Urban structure shows irregular
blocks and ramified street networks, with mainly cul-de-sacs. The spatial pattern is dominated by single-
family detached dwellings with large front yards and high vegetation, with residential uses only
 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

Fig. 2  Methodology diagram

(people sitting, walking, standing, interacting, commercial activities, etc.) and parked vehi-
cles. When a round of registration is finished, a map of the collage of human presence and
activities in the time span can be generated. Then, the next round of registration follows
the same route as the previous round. To make data comparable, the snapshots for dif-
ferent neighborhood nodes were conducted in similar weather conditions. Weekdays and
weekends also have very distinguished activity patterns. The data recorded are graphically
represented and described in maps and charts.

Finally, to evaluate types of nodes, we explore land use patterns in the selected neighborhoods.
To do this, we integrate data from various sources:

• Residential and non-residential (services and facilities, public administration, communal

space) land use data georeferenced with GIS in Shapefile format and polygon geometry
(National Institute of Statistics, INE). The information obtained was updated to 2018
through field work analysis.
• Data for net housing density per urban block georeferenced with GIS in Shapefile for-
mat (Laboratory at the Architecture and Urbanism Institute of the Universidad Austral de
Chile).
• Aerial photographs from 2016 of the neighborhoods in Isla Teja, in JPG digital format
(photo-drone and GIS) scale 1:5.000 by authors. These photos allow to obtain information
about physical attributes of the neighborhoods, such as urban grain, number of buildings
and relation of green areas to the built environment.

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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

Fig. 3  Neighborhoods in Isla Teja and its morphological and spatial characteristics

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 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

4 Results

4.1 Identification of potential activity nodes

Spatial and morphological characteristics of the neighborhoods, described in Table  1

and Fig. 3, provided information to explore and identify the potential node areas to apply
research methodology.
Nodes were selected based on four overlapping morphological criteria of local popu-
lation density, location (distance to city center), mixed use development and diversity of
uses. According to literature review, these criteria can greatly affect how vitality is shaped
among different neighborhoods. Those nodes gave a primary indication of human activ-
ity in public spaces, due to the identification of meeting places. Results are illustrated in
Fig. 4, showing six main nodes within neighborhoods to evaluate vitality according to size,
level and type: Los Robles subcenter, Prochelle neighborhood, Los Lingues Avenue, Los
Raulies Avenue, Teja square and Los Laureles Avenue.

4.2 Morphological analysis

Results of the morphological analysis are illustrated in Fig. 5a–c, as well as Tables 2, 3 and
4.
Results show that the nodes identified in Isla Teja have street façades with a significant
diversity of sizes and lengths. Most neighborhoods with potential nodes have an average
façade length ranging between 80 and 92 m, mostly well-connected blocks, convenient to
promote pedestrian activity (Table 2). For example, the Teja neighborhood has the highest
average block length mixture, while the Proschelle neighborhood has the most convenient
average block length to promote pedestrian activity.
With regard to building land use, there are high percentages of non-residential uses
associated with building reuse. Table 3 shows various services and businesses housed in
building typologies that were previously homes. Conserving the sizes of typological forms,
building proportions and front gardens through the adaptation of new uses is not only a
way to provide ‘mixture of use’—assuming that mixture has a relation with size—but also
adds value by providing a larger customer base for small business owners in the vicinity,
and in turn encourages the growth of local small businesses.
With respect to plot size and building proportion, 93% of non-residential buildings in
all the nodes have front yard spaces, with a minimum length of 3 m and an average width
of 6  m. Table  4 shows an important balance of built and free space among plots in the
Proschelle and Teja nodes, with free space averaging 46% of built proportion. In non-res-
idential uses, the free space is configured with public terraces for commercial activity and
leisure. This binding space regulates the scale of the street façade, as well as the expansion
of the non-residential building. Notably, change of use in this sector has not altered the
neighborhood scale over time.
In summary, the analysis of scalar patterns shows a diversity of form and size in rela-
tion to scale and impact on vitality. One of the most important aspects observed is that
the size regularization of the neighborhood nodes defines the vitality and activation
of the space. For example, block lengths in the Proschelle neighborhood node facilitate
a greater diversity of flows in terms of origin (cars, bicycle, pedestrian). Non-residential
uses such as restaurants and commerce have adapted the original housing to a new use,

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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

Fig. 4  Potential nodes of activity within neighborhood areas that provide high levels of vitality

without transforming the typology through extensions or new attached buildings. This con-
dition has generated that a percentage of the front garden space be used for the construc-
tion of semi-public terraces that promote influence over street activity (Fig. 6a–d). On the
other hand, Teja neighborhood presents a modular morphology of plots and blocks, with a
clearly identifiable functional center in the main square and mixed-use buildings towards
the edges. A transformation is also observed in the original house typology, concentrating

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 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

Fig. 5  a Calculation of street facade dimensions of the selected nodes in Isla Teja. b Calculation of lot sizes
of the selected nodes in Isla Teja. c Calculation of built proportion and building use of the selected nodes in
Isla Teja

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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

Fig. 5  (continued)

Table 2  Calculation of Nodality Maximum (m) Minimum (m) Mean (m)

average dimensions of street
block frontages in Isla Teja
Nodality 1 (3 blocks) 171.6 30.6 80.0
neighborhoods and its potential
nodes Nodality 2 (4 blocks) 160.5 46.7 92.0
Nodality 3 (5 blocks) 176.8 21.7 90.1
Nodality 4 (6 blocks) 276.1 33.6 90.0
Nodality 5 (9 blocks) 257.7 20.3 87.9
Nodality 6 (6 blocks) 161.1 26.2 82.2

Table 3  Comparative table of non-residential buildings reused and originally designed in Isla Teja and its
potential nodes
Nodality All-non residential Originally Reused or Proportion of
buildings planned adapted adapted building
uses (%)

Nodality 1 23 15 8 35
Nodality 2 18 0 18 100
Nodality 3 3 3 0 0
Nodality 4 5 1 4 80
Nodality 5 17 8 9 53
Nodality 6 9 8 8 89

13


13
Table 4  Comparative table of plot size and built proportion of the Isla Teja nodes
Nodality Amount of plots Plot size average Free space within Built proportion Amount of buildings Built proportion resi- Built proportion
­(m2) plot ­(m2) (%) per plot dential (%) non-residential (%)

Nodality 1 16 1769 1321 31 1.6 41 29

Nodality 2 60 433 255 46 1 50 48
Nodality 3 90 582 443 29 1.2 27 43
Nodality 4 127 416 289 32 1.2 32 33
Nodality 5 214 350 210 47 1.6 46 46
Nodality 6 106 370 204 44 1.9 44 61
A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes
Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

Fig. 6  a Extension and change of use from original neighborhood until today; b lots contained within the
boundary created by a number of streets; c the building today contained within the lot and its spatial rela-
tion; d adaptability of urban form to house new uses maintaining the scale of the Proschelle neighborhood,
Isla Teja

towards the front yard on main streets, where small commercial spaces are defined in front
of the houses. This transformation modifies the morphological configuration of the origi-
nal built proportion but maintains the original size and scale of the plot, thus promoting

13
 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

not only the mixture of housing with commercial uses at a neighborhood scale, but also a
diversity of services. This diversity is due to the conservation of the original ‘small’ size
of the plot and the large number of small plots per block that the neighborhood presents. In
this way, mixed dwellings are observed with services such as laundromats, grocery stores
and mini-markets, especially on busy cross-streets.

4.3 Analysis of vitality

Results of the gate analysis are shown in Fig. 7a, b. These maps are both outcomes which
illustrate the analyzed data spatially. At district level, the maps show that the greatest loads
of use in Isla Teja are generated mainly along Los Robles and Los Lingues Avenues, due
to both avenues directly connecting with the center and surrounding neighborhoods. How-
ever, regarding pedestrian movement in Fig. 7b, Los Robles subcenter at Prochelle neigh-
borhood appeared to be more crowded with pedestrian activity, which can be attributed to
two factors. First, the load is recognized to increase in this node due to certain activities
that promote pedestrian activities, for example, the primary school on Los Robles street,
the entrance to the University campus and the diversity of commercial activities within
the node. Second, the short distance from Prochelle neighborhood to the city center, with
790 m. According to static snapshot analysis, the matrix in Table 5 shows a summary of
the maximum load of use in space and the social activities observed in each node. Results
show a high average pedestrian vitality on weekdays and weekends in the Proschelle neigh-
borhood node, with 32 types of activities of interaction and high temporality of use. On
weekdays, greatest vitality is observed during the lunch and late afternoon sessions. It is
also observed that the front gardens as morphological elements contribute to the vitality
of the street. These front yards, transformed into terraces for commercial and service uses,
generate spaces for collective life, social encounter and recreation, representing the places
of greatest pedestrian attraction in Isla Teja. Students and adults with families are the pre-
dominant social profile of the neighborhood. During the weekend, the greatest pedestrian
vitality is observed mainly at the corners and towards inner Saelzer Street. Here, the ter-
race as a morphological element becomes a key of urban activation and the protagonist of
human activity on the street (Fig. 8).
On the other hand, what is observed in the Teja neighborhood node is also relevant,
at Teja square, registering a greater vitality during mid-afternoons on weekdays and the
weekend with 38 activities of interaction registered and very high temporality of use. This
node is set in a central block that contains leisure and recreation facilities, a community
center, hair salon, police station and mini-market, being the articulator of two residential
areas with different social and economic strata. The greatest intensity of use is concen-
trated around Teja Square, where pedestrian activity predominates over vehicle. According
to Table 5, greater social interaction is observed at the corners, where there is also a greater
mixture of building uses. Commerce at the neighborhood level—such as grocery stores and
mini-markets—influences human activity at street corners, where older adults and young
people congregate. Teja square shows a high load of use, given the several entertainment
and recreation attractions for young people and adolescents.
In summary, there are relevant relationships between the morphological configuration
of neighborhoods and incidence of vitality. The non-residential buildings in the Proschelle
neighborhood node are entirely remodeled houses adapted to new uses (mostly restaurants
and bars). For example, service terraces generally occupy 20% of the total plot and between
30 to 50% of the total free plot, indicating the importance of the exterior plot space in the

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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

Fig. 7  a Average of intensity vehicular movement registered in Isla Teja. b Average of intensity of pedes-
trian movement registered in Isla Teja

13
 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

Fig. 7  (continued)

spatial and functional conformation of the street. In this sense, the adaptation and changed
use of houses in this sector is not related to user flows corresponding to equipment, ser-
vices and trade, but to certain morphological qualities and configurations that manage to

13
 Table 5  Analysis outcome summary of Static Snapshots
Neighborhood Nodality Representative static snapshot Intensity of use (total num- Type of activity observed Temporality of use
ber of observed people) (total number of people per
activity)

Prochelle Neighborhood Los robles street Lunch time–weekday 48 Walking 37 Very high
Standing or sitting 7
Recreation 4
Interaction 30
Lunch time–weekend 32 Walking 21 High
Standing or sitting 3
Recreation 8
Interaction 17
Saelzer Street Lunch time–weekday 49 Walking 20 Very high
Standing or sitting 6
Recreation 23
Interaction 38
Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

Lunch time–weekend 38 Walking 6 High

Standing or sitting 2
Recreation 30
Interaction 30
Santa Ines Neighborhood Los Lingues Avenue Evening–weekday 27 Walking 13 Medium
Standing or sitting 9
Recreation 5
Interaction 15
Lunch time–weekend 25 Walking 9 Medium
Standing or sitting 2
Recreation 14
Interaction 18

13

Table 5  (continued)
Neighborhood Nodality Representative static snapshot Intensity of use (total num- Type of activity observed Temporality of use
ber of observed people) (total number of people per

13
activity)

Los Raulies Neighborhood Los Raulies Street Afternoon–weekday 9 Walking 5 Very low
Standing or sitting 4
Recreation 0
Interaction 4
Lunch time–weekend 3 Walking 3 Very low
Standing or sitting 0
Recreation 0
Interaction 0
Teja Historica Neighborhood Teja Square Afternoon–weekday 43 Walking 12 Very high
Standing or sitting 7
Recreation 24
Interaction 32
Afternoon–weekend 16 Walking 7 Low
Standing or sitting 8
Recreation 1
Interaction 9
Los Laureles Afternoon–weekday 19 Walking 9 Low
Standing or sitting 10
Recreation 0
Interaction 9
Afternoon–weekend 12 Walking 4 Low
Standing or sitting 8
Recreation 0
Interaction 6
A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes
 Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

Fig. 8  Representative static snapshot in Teja Square and Los Laureles nodes (left) and Saelzer street node (right) registered on a day of the week

13
 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

generate their own attraction. The use adaptability observed in the plots of these neighbor-
hoods not only provides small spaces to local retailers that promote service and trade diver-
sity, but also strengthens activation and revitalization of the street without generating large
morphological transformations that affect the habitable scale.

5 Discussion

A comparative matrix of neighborhood vitality nodes characterized by types, levels and

sizes is illustrated in Fig.  9. Regarding this figure, three factors can be observed which
affect vitality generation in the neighborhoods and the definition of spatial hierarchies.
The first factor is population density, in which a higher temporality is observed in the
nodes of districts with greater population density. For example, Teja square presents high
population density around its node. This produces the support to generate diverse services
and commercial uses. At Teja square, most of the ground floor spaces are designed for
service function to provide basic facilities to neighborhood residents, in which population
density is high. The population density factor is also shown in the Santa Inés neighborhood
node, where recreational activities increase due to the park. These contemplative activities
generate a greater vitality of the node during the weekends. This is also due to the high
population density of the neighborhood. The second factor is mixed use. At Teja square,
high mixed use is observed, causing more intense pedestrian movement at the corners,
where social interaction occurs. The mixed-use located in the corners are the morphologi-
cal elements that control the activity of the street and where encounters between neighbors
take place, influenced by local commerce: commerce defined as ‘daily needs’ (groceries,

Fig. 9  Comparative matrix of neighborhood vitality nodes in Isla Teja, classified by types, levels and size

13
Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

produce shops, mini-markets). This diversity of uses influences the temporality of spatial
use.
On the other hand, the vitality of Proschelle neighborhood is generated by the morphol-
ogy of the place, associated to the adaptability of building use and the plot size. This is
not only by the change in land use at the interior streets, but also by the short size of street
blocks, which show a positive association with the high pedestrian activity registered in
this neighborhood. This land use adds value to the place, in plots that transform their out-
door spaces into public terraces. These elements are what activate the street and create a
greater diversity of social activities and greater pedestrian vitality, influenced by the ser-
vices of restaurants and bars. Regarding the latter, the reuse of old buildings, incorporating
new uses, also shows a positive association with the high pedestrian activity of the place.
Concerning plot size, we observe a relationship between the area occupied by commerce
in one or more lots and the intensity of vehicular use, translating into low social interaction
in the nodes of Los Raulies and Los Laureles. The node is generated thanks to the high
topological accessibility of the street, which in addition to being the main connector has a
high load of preferably vehicular use. This connects the urban center of the city with the
Island and the most peripheral sectors and gives rise to new uses such as supermarkets and
equipment which have modified the size of the original plots and transformed the scale of
the neighborhood. Despite being the node with the greatest use load, the temporality of
use and types of activities are low. The businesses with greater adaptability of building
use without lot modification show higher social interaction, as is the case of Saelzer Street
and Teja square. On the other hand, the Los Raulies Avenue node—despite having a high
spatial quality defined by the presence of green areas—the lack of complexity, diversity of
uses and the mono-functional development of isolated housing typologies define the place
as resistant to physical evolution, where a low diversity of social activities is observed,
especially in terms of use. Being places of low spatial hierarchy, these conditions do not
promote the generation of vitality nodes with a high diversity of activities.
One of the most important aspects is that activity nodes with a greater diversity of activ-
ities are not associated with places having a higher load of use. This is the case of Saelzer
Street at Proschelle neighborhood, which shows greater adaptability in its morphology to
generate new uses. The plots located directly on streets with a high load of use (and at the
same time with greater topological accessibility), such as Los Lingues Avenue node, tend
to alter the spatial scale, transforming into sectors that promote more functional and less
diverse nodes, in terms of uses and activities. On the other hand, plots oriented towards
streets with a lower use load and located close to streets with greater topological accessibil-
ity, tend to maintain their building and land scale, showing greater adaptability in morphol-
ogy to generate new uses that promote the development of social activities in the public
space.

6 Conclusions

This study concludes as follows, according to our evaluation of neighborhood vitality and
the influence of urban form, exploring five cases in the district of Isla Teja, in the city of
Valdivia, Southern Chile.
Results indicate that four urban form conditions are associated to greater human inter-
action in neighborhood vitality: land use mix, block size, plot sizes, and adaptability of
building use. High population density and mixed use facilitate social interaction because

13
 A. Zumelzu, M. Barrientos‑Trinanes

of the increased range of people using the street, in comparison with streets that are exclu-
sively residential. According to previous literature, high population densities and diversity
of local amenities can increase social interaction, offering more opportunities for meeting
people and increasing exchange possibilities, both economic and social, that finally lead
to higher satisfaction with social relationships (Talen 2008; Mouratidis 2018). In terms of
adaptability of building use, the role of front yards transformed into terraces also encour-
age social encounters and street life in neighborhoods. This is highly supported by recently
works, suggesting that spaces from the interface between private and public, directly
attached to the street such as balconies, sidewalk cafes or front yards, encourage social
encounters and street life in neighborhoods (Tarbatt 2012; Can and Heath 2016). Con-
cerning plot and block sizes, these elements affect vitality in the temporality of use, for
example the historic Proschelle and Teja neighborhoods show a greater flexibility of urban
form, given by the mixed sizes of lots and blocks. This not only increases the possibility of
generating mixed uses (combining housing, shopping and services, promoting pedestrian
mobility), but also increases the possibility for economic exchange and social interaction
within these neighborhoods, thus defining its vitality. The four mentioned characteristics
are shown to promote greater sustainability in this type of context.
Sustainability implies the ability to endure. In this sense, the scope of urban design is
particularly broad because it includes not only the capacity of the natural environment to
endure, but also the built environment: the place, its community and economy. This paral-
lel focus, having to simultaneously consider maintenance of nature and the economy, is a
source of tension when it comes to interpreting what sustainability means in practice. It
has also been noted that the neighborhoods in transformation in medium-scale cities of
southern Chile still have the human scale, which justifies taking measures to avoid repeat-
ing the errors of big cities. Continuing in this line, one challenge in urban morphology is
to strengthen the physical–social dimension, which can serve as a strategy for sustainable
planning in the twenty-first century. This dimension complements scalar hierarchy related
to the forms of spatial organization of the city (home, block, neighborhood, district) with
the forms of social–civil organization (from families to urban communities). Furthermore,
this association between spatial and social organization positions the neighborhood as the
basic “sustainable unit” of the city.
Although the results of this article focus on certain case neighborhoods, caution should
be exercised with generalization of results. The exploratory results of this study provide
insights to the relationship between urban form and neighborhood vitality in southern
Chile. Although neighborhood vitality in Isla Teja provides certain aspects to take into con-
sideration, such us population density, adaptability and mixed-use patterns like observed in
Western Countries, more research is needed to compare these results with other cities in
the region. Neighborhoods in Chile have their own unique urban form, and the effects on
vitality may vary depending on the local conditions, resident perceptions and node loca-
tion. In terms of methodology, neighborhood vitality assessment requires a comprehensive
reflection of urban livability and the necessary expression of spatial features, which require
an accessible indicator system and a spatially explicit approach. In in future studies, more
advanced statistical modeling could be used to investigate relationships between more vari-
ables that could influence in the degree of vitality of neighborhoods, such as employment
data, social belonging and personal living preferences.
It is proposed that the initiatives associated with urban design in this context should be
oriented, on one hand, to improve the morphological conditions of neighborhoods, under-
standing their potential and weaknesses in terms of vitality; and on the other, that they pro-
mote human development and the generation of necessary conditions for sustainable social

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Analysis of the effects of urban form on neighborhood vitality:…

and economic development. The sustainable city of the twenty-first century should not be
conceived as a neutral machine with zero carbon emissions, but rather, as the maximum
expression of complex social, economic and cultural fabrics, in which the constant interac-
tion of these is what determines, to a large extent, the success or failure of a sustainable
urban experience.

Acknowledgements Our thanks to CONICYT for funding this research under the Project FONDECYT
Number “11160096”, and to Universidad Austral de Chile.

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