48 Urban Morphological Transformation via Urban Constituent Optimization: A Sustainable Neighborhood Design Based on Integrative Modification Methodology

Due to the environmental and economical concerns, sustainable morphological urban transformation has been brought into its own. This paper explicates a possible method of sustainable urban transformation design principles, through a case study based in Barcelona; this methodology aims to reform urban assessment, as well as to design new sustainable neighborhoods as an integrated part of the city. The paper demonstrates how one can transform a neighborhood into a lower energy consumption system, using the Integrated Modification Methodology (IMM). In this approach, the city is considered as a Complex Adaptive System; the research discusses how the urban system performance could be optimized via this methodology. Accordingly, the sustainable urban form emerges through modification of its elements and integration of its subsystems. The paper is concluded by making a comparison between energy consumption of the neighborhood before and after the interventions.