Over the last decades, the environmental situation of the planet has worsened. Much of the pollution and energy consumption is attributed to cities, which are expected to increase in size and population in the coming years. It is therefore necessary to develop systems to make them more sustainable and resilient. In this regard, different agendas, strategies, and regulations have been published, such as the 2030 Agenda. The current research carried out a surveillance and foresight process at the European level in the field of the sustainable city, analyzing actions accomplished, ongoing, or forthcoming from 2014 to the present (2020) and coming years. The objective is to identify the potential niches and opportunities for decision making to develop successful projects in this sector. The study concludes that one of the most promoted themes is related to the environment, highlighting nature and biodiversity in cities to improve environmental quality and achieve the decarbonization necessary to fight climate change. Furthermore, society plays an important role, emphasizing the need to promote the population’s inclusion and empowerment. It also underlines the promotion of urban regeneration, which should include energy transition and digitalization to create smart cities, with local circular economies.

Cities are the main contributors to pollution, resource consumption and social inequalities. Therefore, they should play a key role in the path towards a more sustainable scenario in line with SDGs and different Urban Agendas. However, there are still difficulties in their implementation and citizen can play a central role. This paper presents the Urban Action Structures (UAS), understood as entities with a catalytic capacity with respect to innovative urban policies. Methodologically, firstly, a prospective analysis from regional to international level has been developed, making it possible to identify innovative lines of action in the field of sustainable cities. Secondly, the study has focused on identifying and studying UAS that can make it possible to implement the lines of action previously identified. This paper has shown that there are already social structures that can be understood as UAS, since they implement actions aligned with the priorities of the Urban Agenda for the Basque Country and, therefore, of the SDGs. The research concludes that UAS can play a key role in facilitating the implementation of Urban Agendas. Hence, urban policies should favor the generation of UAS, in order to promote long-term urban development and to foster a more sustainable spatial planning.

Moving towards a caring city requires transforming the starting point in urban design. To introduce this concept in teaching in public space and urban facilities, we work on a case study with a methodology based on Participatory Action Research, developing an action of tactical urbanism. In this action, both students and citizens reflect and generate knowledge so that the future is directed towards a city based on care. Moreover, designing, building and living a transformation of urban space and the relationship that this path offers to all the agents involved, gives rise to possibility of changing the hierarchies of use of public space in our cities. Thus, these reflections and collective creative processes present opportunities for dialogue and negotiation of power in the use of urban space, which must prioritize reproductive uses over current productive ones. Transitar hacia una ciudad cuidadora requiere transformar el punto de partida en el diseño urbano. Para introducir este concepto en la docencia sobre espacio público y equipamientos urbanos se trabaja, partiendo de una metodología basada en la Investigación Acción Participativa, en un caso de estudio, desarrollando una acción de urbanismo táctico. En esta acción, tanto el estudiantado como la ciudadanía reflexiona y genera conocimiento para que el futuro se encamine hacia una ciudad basada en los cuidados. Además, el diseñar, construir y vivir una trasformación del espacio urbano y la relación que este camino ofrece a todos los agentes implicados, da pie a poder cambiar las jerarquías de uso del espacio público de nuestras ciudades. Así, estas reflexiones y procesos creativos colectivos ofrecen oportunidades para el diálogo y la negociación del poder en el uso del espacio urbano, que debe priorizar los usos reproductivos sobre los productivos actuales.

Notable shortcomings and difficulties can be identified along the cultural-heritage value chain that can result in missed opportunities with respect to vulnerable cultural and architectural heritage, especially in the case of industrial architectural heritage. Shortcomings have been observed in the early documentation stage, which constitutes the foundation for subsequent processes. The objective of this article is to respond to this issue by presenting a research methodology for the documentation and analysis phase and demonstrate its application to an industrial architectural complex: “Nueva Cerámica de Orio.” This article describes the detailed study of the existing documentation through cross-referencing data from various sources. The application of this methodology facilitated the establishment of a general understanding of the heritage asset and its characteristic, providing a solid base for the development of the value chain.

Este artículo presenta una nueva metodología para una clasificación precisa y sistemática del parque edificado a escala municipal. Los métodos desarrollados hasta ahora consideraban variables edificatorias y obtenían resultados genéricos que no son suficientemente detallados para obtener una segmentación que recoge la diversidad del parque residencial de los municipios españoles. La principal aportación de este trabajo es la combinación de dos variables urbanas (densidad-forma urbana y tipología arquitectónica) con las dos variables propias de la edificación que se vienen utilizando más habitualmente (año de construcción y número de plantas). Ello permite desarrollar una clasificación más precisa que hace posible la identificación de cada edificio dentro de su contexto histórico y urbanístico y posibilita una caracterización del parque más detallada. Para su aplicación, se ha creado una herramienta de Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) y se han utilizado software y fuentes de datos de libre acceso. Se ha implementado en el caso de estudio de Donostia-San Sebastián pero es exportable a otros contextos. Los resultados muestran que la metodología propuesta proporciona una clasificación singular y detallada de las tipomorfologías del parque residencial existentes en la ciudad y posibilita un conocimiento profundo de la realidad útil para la toma de decisiones y definición de estrategias y políticas urbanas.