Abstract

Urban vulnerability of a city is difficult to quantify, basically because of the difference among variables that contribute to its definition. Some of these variables have their origin in environmental processes and could be estimated by using efficiency indicators, others are more difficult to evaluate because of their dependence on social phenomena. Furthermore, additional difficulties arise from the fact that such different variables have to be somewhat weighed when it comes to assessing the global vulnerability. In this work some ideas related to an interdisciplinary and holistic approach are presented and discussed, developing a methodology to assess metabolism and resilience of cities under social, environmental and urban planning points of view. Preliminary results of study cases in northern Chile are also presented to justify the use of the proposed methodology as predictive instrument of interventions in middle size cities.