1. Urbanization and socioecologial
transition
Philippe Woloszyn, University of Renne
Yolanda Hernández. University Distrital Bogo
Cyria Emelianoff, Maine Universi

2. Urbanization impacts socioecological dimension: with population high rate
growing within less than 2 per cent of the earth’s surface, cities concentrate
more of the 80 per cent of economic output, more of the 60 per cent of global
energy consumption, and contribute with more of 75 per cent of CO₂
emissions ( Burdett and Rode, 2011).
Transmilenio Bogotá. 80 Aveneu Bolivar square in downtown
Bogota

3. In this sense, cities, generate high entropy levels within their territories and their
hinterlands (Bettini, 1998). They highly consume resources to transform them, thus
generating footprints in the rest of the territory.
This is the major way for cities to impact the neighboring populations, thus increasing
their vulnerability.
Lanscape Bogotá City.
info.oab@ambientebogota.gov.co

4. This diagnosis was partly made by authors who, during the
20th century, will produce a Green thinking on the city. The
ideas underlying the repository of sustainability and the
urban socio-ecological transition today are in running order
since the beginning of the 20th century. On the other hand,
their operationalization in the form of public policy phase is
late, mainly due to the oil price shocks then to the « global
change » (Emelianoff, 2011)
Ce diagnostic avait été en partie posé par des auteurs qui, au cours du
XX° siècle, vont produire une pensée écologique sur la ville. Les idées
qui sous-tendent le référentiel de la durabilité et aujourd’hui de la
transition socio-écologique urbaine, sont en ordre de marche depuis
le début du XX° siècle. En revanche, leur phase d’opérationnalisation
sous forme de politiques publiques est tardive, surtout consécutive
aux chocs pétroliers puis au « global change » (Emelianoff, 2011)

5. One of the most troubling issues is related to the rapid
urbanization into areas of influence of large cities. Burdett and
Rode (2011) attribute this phenomenon to the process of land
speculation, the weakness in the mechanisms of planning, thus
increasing population mobility and the rise of car use.
View Cajica municipality in the
area of influence of the city of
Bogotá and impacted by rapid
urbanization.

6. McHarg est à l’origine d’une méthode de planification destinée aussi bien à réduire la
vulnérabilité des villes qu’à préserver les écosystèmes régionaux et l’accès social à la nature.
McHarg propose de canaliser les extensions urbaines sur les espaces qui présentent le moins
de valeurs et de fonctions écologiques. Des zones aptes ou inaptes à l’urbanisation peuvent
être définies, en superposant par la cartographie un ensemble de données
environnementales. Cette méthode ouvre la voie aux études d’impact environnemental et
préfigure les SIG. En délimitant des zones inconstructibles et en augmentant un peu la
densité des zones à bâtir, en contrepartie, on protège les ressources et les fonctions
environnementales, la beauté des paysages naturels et ruraux, et les villes elles-mêmes
McHarg is at the origin of a method of planning intended as well to
reduce the vulnerability of cities to preserve regional ecosystems
and social access to nature. McHarg offers channel urban extensions
on areas that present the least values and ecological functions.
Areas fit or unfit to urbanization may be defined, overlaying by
mapping a set of environmental data. This method opens the way to
environmental impact studies and foreshadows the GIS. Delimiting
unsuitable areas and slightly increasing the density of areas to build,
in return, it protects resources and environmental functions, the
beauty of the natural and rural landscapes, and the cities
themselves. (McHarg, 1967)

7. Wilches-Chaux (2008) and Bettini
(1998) match from their different
perspectives on the concept of entropy
in relation to the cities. Entropy
(disorganization) exchange is defined by
cities in resources demand generating
waste contaminating water sources
internal processes, in regard of regions
providing water capacity regulation,
thus contto cities in search of ributing
to population migration.
Sale of land for urbanization in the
municipality of Cota in the area of
influence of the city of Bogotá.

8. For these reasons, urban ecology considers "cities are a hot
spot”: One hectare of metropolitan district uses 1000 times
more energy than an equivalent area of rural type. Resulting
heat, dust and other contaminants influence the climate of
neighboring fields. Cities are warmer and cloudy, with less
sunshine and more rain and fog adjacent fields "(Bettini,
1998:115).
Conurbation area toward the
depressed area of the city of
Bogotá and Soacha, receptor
population displaced from
different regions

9. The case of the capital region of Colombia is illustrative in this regard, in this area was
made an analysis of the dynamics of urbanization and its effects on populations. This
area is located in the central region of the country with 9,023,644 people (DANE,
2013). In this region, there are a special natural conditions, agricultural soils, the
strategic ecosystems, the presence of activities related to food production but this
region is being occupied by housing projects for socio-economic strata with high
income levels and industrial areas. In this region, Bogotá is the national metropolis
harboring about 15 % of the population and the highest rate of population growth
(2.29 % ) of the four major cities. Bogotá ranks first in the capital market.
http://www.rupestreweb.info/tmcsabanax.jp
g
Bogotá and the municipalities belonging to its
region of influence

10. The first problem is the occupation of soils suitable for agriculture and
the loss of agricultural potential of these areas, Alfonso (2005), Arango
Escobar (2008). The loss of the natural dynamics of bodies of water,
reducing the protective forest reserve Bogotá River Basin. These factors
combined to affect long-term food security of the region and its
sustainability
Agricultural potential areas occupied
by the process of urbanization in
Usme

11. In the second place there is the phenomenon of gentrification (Lees, Slater, & Wyly,
2007), Simon, et al (2004), University of Nottingham and University of Liverpool
(1999). These changes in the pressure region home sales of traditional people who
leave their lands and go to live in the city of Bogotá, the new inhabitants have a
tradition of farming, using new homes as places of retreat for weekends, the
traditional inhabitants who do not migrate, works in various trades for new
residents.
In the municipalities of the region of influence of Bogotá, the ancient inhabitants
sell their homes to make way for housing developments for people with higher
incomes

12. Thirdly there is the phenomenon of conurbation between small towns
and big city, which affects the ecological structure of the region,
(Barrera, 2011), as this process is not adequately planned this despite
the existence of the land use plans specified by law 388 of 1997 (Law
on Territorial development).
Conurbation of the city of Bogotá with the municipality of Soacha.

13. Fourth, these negative impacts on the main ecological structure and
model of land occupation, to generate risk scenario by threat of flooding.
Floods in Cota municipality's area of ​​influence of Bogotá

14. Strategies derived from traditional inhabitants
towards a model of urban resilience
Cameron E. Freer (2013) proposed a "first step" to implement entropic
conception of intelligence from the general formula for the entropy
maximization. Thus, he shows that a "causal generalization of Entropic forces
(such as urbanization processes) may spontaneously encourage remarkably
sophisticated behaviors, for example participative processes, collaborative
initiatives or globally social cooperation, associated with the man living in his
"cognitive niche", that means, within his urban environment.

15. The local knowledge is a strategic factor to impact positively on the communities
themselves in response to the dynamics of change (McDaniel, J., & Alley, K. , 2005).
Strategies built from local actors can be structured into two types: those oriented
organization, other, focusing on concrete actions. In fact, some farmers have
begun a process of community organization to work together for the defense of
their territories , this type of strategy has been successful in cases like the Soches
AgroPark, which the inhabitants work together in a commun objective : to secure
the existence of a territory with traditional rural cultural patterns in a urban
environments.
View of AgroPark the soches in Usme the rural area of Bogotá

16. The latter are related to the processes carried out in the territory of Usme, in this
place, some farmers are working toward certification in their fields as organic
production. These strategies are important to consolidate and to support , as these
people require assistance in marketing their products because of its secluded location
of market centers .
Meeting of accelerated urbanization and rural uses in Usme

17. At another scale, it is interesting to observe the way in which
environmental vulnerability could play to engage stakeholders in
urban development in innovations that have had a more global
scope, and décatégorisent who in turn the concepts of city and
nature. We propose a return to the origin of a number of
European sustainable neighbourhoods. Sustainability has
sometimes arrived incidental way, under the influence of socio-
environmental vulnerabilities and constraints. Indeed, the first
projects of what will become of the neighborhoods have begun
before the Rio conference and the imposition of the repository of
sustainable development.
A une toute autre échelle, il est intéressant d’observer la manière dont la vulnérabilité
environnementale a pu jouer pour engager les acteurs de l’urbanisme dans des
innovations qui ont eu une portée plus globale, et qui décatégorisent à leur tour les
notions de ville et de nature. Nous proposons ici un retour sur l’origine d’un certain
nombre de quartiers durables européens. La durabilité y est parfois arrivée de
manière incidente, sous l’effet de contraintes et vulnérabilités socio-
environnementales. En effet, les premiers projets de ce qui deviendra des
écoquartiers ont commencé avant la conférence de Rio et l’imposition du référentiel
du développement durable.

18. To build a model of resilience needed to overcome a
binarista vision of society and nature, city-rural areas, and
to build models of territorial occupation based on the
coexistence of rural-urban land use relationships, where
the ecological structures to be valued and protected by
organized communities, where the public policies are
geared to the empowerment of stakeholders.

19. Conclusion

20. Whether at the global or local scale either upstream or
downstream of the occurrence of problems, socio-
environmental vulnerabilities are changing managers
and sometimes operating modes of urban planning or
development. Policies of prevention or adaptation to
environmental changes become one of the main drivers
of urban innovation, and timidly more social innovation,
which yet remains the key to a socio-ecological
transition.
Que ce soit à l’échelle globale ou locale, que ce soit en amont ou en aval de
l’apparition des problèmes, les vulnérabilités socio-environnementales font
évoluer les cadres et parfois les modes opératoires de l’urbanisme ou de
l’aménagement. Les politiques de prévention ou d’adaptation aux
changements environnementaux deviennent un des principaux moteurs de
l’innovation urbaine, et plus timidement de l’innovation sociale, laquelle reste
pourtant la clé d’une transition socio-écologique.

21. References:
• Alfonso, O. (2005). La residencia en condominios en un ámbito metropolitano andino. En V.
• Arango-Escobar, G. (2008). Salvemos el espacio rururbano colombiano. Cuadernos de vivienda y
urbanismo Volumen 1 N 2, 394-409.
• Barrera, P. (2011). La Sabana de Bogotá se está secando. Recuperado el 05 de 06 de 2013, de Periodico
Unimedios. Universidad Nacional: http://historico.unperiodico.unal.edu.co/Ediciones/114/11.html
• Bettini, V. (1998). Elementos de Ecología Urbana. Valladolid: Trotta.
• Burdett, R., & Rode, P. (2011). Living in the urban age. En L. S. Society, Living in the endless city (págs. 8-
43). London-New York: Phaidon.
• DANE 2013.
• Lees, L., Slater, T., & Wyly, E. (2007). Gentrification. New York: Routledge.
• McDaniel, J., & Alley, K. (2005). Connecting local environmental knowledge and land use practices: A
human ecosystem approach to urbanization in West Georgia. Urban Ecosystems, 23-38.
• Simon, D., McGregor, D., & Nsiah-Gyabaah, K. (2004). The changing urban-rural interface of African cities:
definitional issues and an application to Kumasi, Ghana. Environment&Urbanization. Vol 16 No 2, 235-248.
• University of Nottingham y University of Liverpool. (1999). Literature Review on Peri-Urban Natural
Resource Conceptualisation and Management Approaches.Peri- Urban Production Systems Research.
London: Natural Resources Systems Programme,Department for International Development, Government
of the United Kingdom.