This doctoral research develops a spatially explicit approach to urban metabolism, connecting resource flows with public space, landscape infrastructure and the lived conditions of vulnerable communities. It challenges city-wide accounts that conceal where resources are consumed, where environmental burdens accumulate and which communities have access to supportive infrastructures.

The work proceeds across three complementary case-study scales. In Mexico City, GIS analysis and a Borough Pattern Scan connect material and energy indicators with open-space networks, communal lands, indigenous areas and vulnerability. In Brussels, alternative resource-governance systems are examined through fieldwork, interviews, GIS and three-dimensional spatial modelling. In Caracas, the evidence is translated into resource-sensitive and community-inclusive urban archetypes that can be used by design practitioners.

The resulting framework joins quantitative metabolism assessment with research by design and environmental-justice concerns. It shows how spatial analysis can identify resource-efficiency hotspots while also revealing unequal access to public space and infrastructure. The thesis, defended in August 2025, anchors several publications and design tools in the collection and was recognised in the 2026 HERA doctoral-thesis selection.