THESIS
The Spatial Dimension of Urban Metabolism: Resource Flows, Public Space, and Vulnerable Communities
Daniel Otero Peña’s doctoral thesis develops spatially explicit urban-metabolism tools for resource-sensitive and community-inclusive planning and design.
Thesis information
AUTHOR
Daniel Otero Peña
DATE
PUBLICATION TYPE
Doctoral Thesis
STATUS
Completed
INSTITUTION
University of Louvain
GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
Mexico City, Brussels and Caracas
RESEARCH AXIS
Cross-Axis
PARTNERS
Supervisors: Daniela Perrotti and Pierre Vanderstraeten
THEMES
Urban metabolism; GIS; Public space; Vulnerable communities; Research by design
METHODS
Literature review; GIS; spatial data collection; field visits; stakeholder interviews; socio-ecological analysis; design atlas
Thesis overview
Daniel Otero Peña’s doctoral thesis develops a spatial and design-oriented approach to urban metabolism. It asks how the geography of resource flows can be connected with public-space networks, community practices and environmental vulnerability.
The dissertation combines three linked cases. Mexico City is used to develop GIS methods for mapping resource-efficiency patterns and vulnerable communities; Brussels is studied through alternative resource-governance systems and their spatial configurations; and Caracas provides a setting for synthesising the evidence into resource-sensitive and community-inclusive archetypes. The work combines quantitative indicators, field research, interviews, three-dimensional modelling and research by design.
Defended in August 2025, the thesis demonstrates how metabolism research can move from aggregate diagnosis to spatial intervention. It was supervised by Daniela Perrotti and Pierre Vanderstraeten and received recognition in the 2026 HERA doctoral-thesis programme for its systemic attention to resource accessibility, public space and environmental justice.