Climate change and sustainability have recently been object of study due to the impact on the planet and on human activity of the first and the benefits that could derive from the efficiency of the second. Particularly, urban environments are locations that represent a high percentage of emissions of gases, waste, resources use and so forth. However, they are places where great changes can be made, in an attempt to accomplish the urgent challenge to adapt to current and projected rates of climate change. Research has shown that a fruitful approach to urban sustainability is to describe indicators that measure the effectiveness of current processes of urban infrastructures, analyze areas in need of improvement and measure the effect of any actions taken. The significant feature of this research relies on its global approach, considering both major worldwide used and less widely-spread frameworks and the analysis of the 32 selected tools and guidelines, including over 2000 indicators. The result is a proposed structure of 14 categories and 48 indicators, easily applicable in urban areas, that tries to fulfill basic aspects to obtain a general diagnosis of the sustainable nature of the urban environment, which can serve as support to detect the strongest and weakest areas in terms of their sustainability.

The article presents the findings of a research project that focuses on the role of rural areas as key players in addressing the current climate emergency. The article addresses the challenge of a just energy transition by examining the obstacles to the implementation of renewable energy infrastructure. The investigation is situated within the context of Galicia, a rural region in the northwest of Spain. The study conducted an extensive review of the literature, surveys, and interviews, which revealed a significant gap between local communities and planning decisions to be one of the primary obstacles to a just transition. In light of these findings, the research puts forth an integrated planning methodology founded on social and metabolic principles. This methodology investigates the communal management of energy resources with the objective of improving local welfare and integrating this into the planning process. This methodology proposes a series of steps and associated tools for the analysis of the potential for local energy generation using biomass, hydropower, solar, and wind infrastructures. Landscape and social considerations are articulated through continuous community engagement. The energy generation capacity will be used as a catalyst to address the most pressing issues and to improve living conditions in rural areas. The article confirms the need for a holistic approach to energy infrastructures, paying particular attention to landscape integration and endogenous development.

Frente a las actuales aproximaciones y marcos teóricos predominantemente urbanos, se propone una metodología que integre la perspectiva de género en la fase de diseño de la planificación para entornos rurales, necesariamente estructurada en cuatro fases: 1) análisis de la materialidad, 2) construcción del marco teórico, 3) diagnóstico rural con perspectiva de género y 4) definición de indicadores. Su aplicación al caso de Galicia permite identificar aspectos que los procesos tradicionales de planeamiento rural suelen invisibilizar, evidenciando el valor de incorporar la perspectiva de género desde las etapas iniciales de diseño. A partir de esta experiencia, se presenta una metodología abierta y adaptable a otros territorios, que integra la perspectiva de género en la planificación territorial rural mediante una aproximación específica y diferente a la de los precedentes urbanos, promoviendo estrategias equitativas e inclusivas para su desarrollo sostenible.