Luis Inostroza

Mendel University in Brno, Department of Environmentalistics and Natural Resources, Faculty Member

Technische Universität Dresden, Geosciences, Post-Doc

Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Department of Geography, Faculty Member

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Associate Editor Ecosystem Services.
I integrate quantitative analysis, remote sensing and GIS to understand the underlying metabolic processes giving rise to the particular spatial structure of socio-ecological systems, and its links to ecological and economic functions, from local to global scales.

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Videos by Luis Inostroza

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Servicios ecosistémicos ¿Economizar la ecologia o ecologizar la economía?

Cuan importante es la naturaleza para el desarrollo humano? A pesar del consenso existente en tor... more Cuan importante es la naturaleza para el desarrollo humano? A pesar del consenso existente en torno a la importancia de la naturaleza para el bienestar social, el siglo XX y el XXI se han caracterizado por una devastadora gestión de los todavía llamados “recursos naturales”. La depredación de nuestro capital natural ha sido amparada por aparatos disciplinares obsoletos que en su intento por economizar la ecología han sido el soporte de políticas públicas nefastas para la conservación de la naturaleza y de su biodiversidad. La pregunta de cuan importante es la naturaleza para nuestro desarrollo es una pregunta política, que requiere no obstante respuestas apoyadas en evidencia científica y en la medición y cuantificación del tremendo valor que la naturaleza aporta a nuestro bienestar. Al ignorar ese valor escondido en la toma de decisiones se encubre el deterioro y la perdida de los beneficios que se reciben dañando el bienestar de nuestras comunidades e hipotecando severamente opciones

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Papers by Luis Inostroza

¿Es detectable empíricamente la protección normativa del territorio? Análisis de las tendencias de temperatura y vegetación del área norte de Bogotá con sensores remotos Is regulatory protection of the territory empirically detectable?

by Luis Inostroza and Richard Lemoine-Rodriguez

Investigaciones Geograficas, 2024

Este trabajo presenta un análisis de las tendencias de desarrollo urbano del sector norte de Bogo... more Este trabajo presenta un análisis de las tendencias de desarrollo urbano del sector norte de Bogotá, en un área de 6930 hectáreas que incluye el Plan de Ordenamiento Zonal del Norte (POZN) y parte de la reserva natural Thomas Van der Hammen (RTVH). El plan propuesto por la Alcaldía
mediante el Decreto 088 de 2017 intenta dar coherencia a un desarrollo urbano que ha ocurrido de facto y con importantes consecuencias ecológicas y sociales mientras que la RTVH intenta proteger las características ecológicas de este sector entre los cerros y el rio Bogotá. El método consistió en analizar series de tiempo de temperatura de la superficie y de vegetación mediante técnicas de teledetección e indicadores radiométricos para identificar los cambios estructurales que
ha experimentado el sector en términos de sus componentes biofísicos. Los resultados del análisis ponen en evidencia que el proceso de urbanización instalado en el sector norte de Bogotá es el determinante de las tendencias del espacio biofísico observadas, más allá de las figuras de protección legal que existen que incluyen el POZN y la RTVH. En el caso de la RTVH, el marco de protección no ha sido efectivo para preservar las características ecológicas que justificaron su creación. La inclusión de evidencia empírica como la mostrada en este trabajo en la planificación del desarrollo urbano es clave para avanzar en la protección activa del
medio ambiente, más allá del discurso normativo.

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Desarrollo urbano en armonia con los servicios ecosistemicos. Plan de ordenamiento zonal del norte, Bogota D.C.

Probogotá Región, desarrolló una metodología para la identificación, mapeo y análisis comparativo... more Probogotá Región, desarrolló una metodología para la identificación, mapeo y análisis comparativo de los Servicios Ecosistémicos (SE), para determinar el impacto del desarrollo urbano sobre los SE. Este estudio fue liderado por el Dr. hábil Luis Inostroza y su equipo de trabajo, el cual fue probado en el suelo de expansión del norte de la ciudad. Este tipo de ejercicios sienta un precedente en la transferencia de conocimiento de rigor científico al ámbito de la planificación y el diseño urbano, con la posibilidad concreta de basar la toma de decisiones en el conocimiento empírico. Utiliza metodologías probadas con éxito para analizar las tendencias biofísicas y evaluar los cambios en los SE a lo largo del tiempo a partir de la valoración de los mismos, utilizando los parámetros urbanísticos existentes en la norma actual. El estudio destaca la importancia de una mejor colaboración entre planificadores, diseñadores urbanos y científicos para lograr una integración efectiva de la ciencia en la toma de decisiones en los procesos de desarrollo urbano.

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Does urban climate follow urban form? Analysing intraurban LST trajectories versus urban form trends in 3 cities with different background climates

Science of The Total Environment, Jul 1, 2022

The current climate change trend urges to apply efficient spatial planning to mitigate the effect... more The current climate change trend urges to apply efficient spatial planning to mitigate the effects of urbanization on local urban warming. Nevertheless, how urban temperatures respond to urban form changes inside cities is still insufficiently understood. In this paper, we explored the relationship between urban form and diurnal space-time land surface temperature (LST) trends (2003-2019) in Beijing (continental climate), Cairo (arid) and Santiago (temperate). We analyzed change in land cover, white sky albedo (WSA), night lights (NL) and the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) inside areas representing clustered thermal performance (steady cold and hot spots and warming cold and hot spots). The structure of local climate zones (LCZ) was assessed for each LST trend. To test the relevance of other urban form dimensions, we analyzed the hierarchical influence of the employed 2D metrics (i.e., built-up cover, WSA, NL and EVI) and additional 3D indicators (i.e., height and volume) on LST, applying machine learning classification and regression trees (CARTs) to Beijing's data. Despite diverse patterns of urban form change, cities in our sample present common LST trends, with thermal differences as consequence of local climate. LCZ are composed of highly heterogeneous built-up inside LST trend categories. For the case of Beijing, LST is hierarchically driven by footprint, WSA and EVI. Moreover, by adding height and volume, urban form differences between LST trend classes that are not evident with 2D data were found. Our findings suggest that a compact green urban tissue is necessary to cope with the current trends of urban warming, taking into account city-specific measures based on local background climate.

Too hot to handle? On the cooling capacity of urban green spaces in a Neotropical Mexican city

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Aug 1, 2022

The Varying Roles of Ecosystem Services in Poverty Alleviation Among Rural Households in Urbanizing Watersheds

ContextUnderstanding the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being in rural ar... more ContextUnderstanding the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being in rural areas of rapidly urbanizing watersheds is one of the core research questions of landscape sustainability science. It is important for poverty alleviation and forming related policies. However, there is insufficient investigation on the impact of ecosystem services on poverty alleviation at the household level in such regions. ObjectivesThis paper investigates whether household characteristics play an important role in connecting ecosystem services and poverty alleviation in a rapidly urbanizing landscape from the perspective of landscape sustainability science.MethodsWe use an urbanizing watershed with a large number of poor people, analyzing the impacts of ecosystem services on poverty alleviation among different types of rural households based on surveys, cluster analysis, and multinomial logit models. ResultsThe results suggested that neither provisioning services nor cultural services ...

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Urban Flood Risk Reduction by Increasing Green Areas for Adaptation to Climate Change

Procedia Engineering, 2016

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Key Parameters for Urban Heat Island Assessment in A Mediterranean Context: A Sensitivity Analysis Using the Urban Weather Generator Model

IOP conference series, Oct 1, 2017

Although Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a fundamental effect modifying the urban climate, being widel... more Although Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a fundamental effect modifying the urban climate, being widely studied, the relative weight of the parameters involved in its generation is still not clear. This paper investigates the hierarchy of importance of eight parameters responsible for UHI intensity in the Mediterranean context. Sensitivity analyses have been carried out using the Urban Weather Generator model, considering the range of variability of: 1) city radius, 2) urban morphology, 3) tree coverage, 4) anthropogenic heat from vehicles, 5) building's cooling set point, 6) heat released to canyon from HVAC systems, 7) wall construction properties and 8) albedo of vertical and horizontal surfaces. Results show a clear hierarchy of significance among the considered parameters; the urban morphology is the most important variable, causing a relative change up to 120% of the annual average UHI intensity in the Mediterranean context. The impact of anthropogenic sources of heat such as cooling systems and vehicles is also significant. These results suggest that urban morphology parameters can be used as descriptors of the climatic performance of different urban areas, easing the work of urban planners and designers in understanding a complex physical phenomenon, such as the UHI.

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Airsheds, watersheds and more – The flows that drive intra-extra-urban connections, and their implications for nature-based solutions (NBS)

Nature-based solutions, Dec 1, 2022

The version presented here may differ from the published version. If citing, you are advised to c... more

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The role of spatial planning in land change: An assessment of urban planning and nature conservation efficiency at the southeastern coast of Brazil

Land Use Policy, 2021

From urban sprawl to compact green cities – advancing multi-scale and multi-dimensional analysis

Ecological Indicators, 2019

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Airsheds , watersheds and more – The flows that drive intra-extra-urban connections , and their implications for nature-based solutions ( NBS )

Nature-Based Solutions, 2022

Cities are highly complex, inter-connected social-ecological systems, encompassing social, built ... more Cities are highly complex, inter-connected social-ecological systems, encompassing social, built and natural/ semi-natural components. They interact with their surrounding extra-urban areas at varying scales, from peri- urban and rural to global. Space is a valuable commodity in cities. However, in most instances, city planners tend to think about interventions only within cities and rarely about the wider connected domains outside. Yet, considering the wider spatial context, including space outside of the city boundaries, may open up opportunities to achieve substantially greater benefit for city residents without sacrificing valuable space, leading to more sustainable city design for people and the environment. In this paper we discuss the intra-extra-urban flows which connect cities to their wider airsheds, watersheds, biosheds and resourcesheds, which in turn interact with their peoplesheds. For each domain, we illustrate the processes and the scales they operate at, and discuss the implications for optimum location of nature-based solutions (NBS) to address urban challenges. We suggest that integrating knowledge about these multiple sheds can inform holistic design of NBS to deliver greater benefit for city residents. This takes into account the synergies and multi-functional co-benefits which arise from a careful consideration of place and people, while minimising potential disbenefits and trade-offs.

China’s ecosystem services planning: will Shanghai lead the way? A case study from the Baoshan district (Shanghai)

Erdkunde, 2021

Ecosystem services (ES) are a fundamental component of well-being and sustainable urban developme... more Ecosystem services (ES) are a fundamental component of well-being and sustainable urban development with tremendous potential to enhance urban planning. Recently, several studies have evaluated the environmental performance of urban plans using the ES approach. To strengthen this science-policy integration, it is still necessary to perform ES assessments within the urban planning practice as well as to collect empirical evidence on the impacts of envisioned planning measures on the supply of ES in urban environments across the world. In this research, we analyzed the state-of-the-art of China’s new environmental governance, which aims to change China’s land use policy and particularly the role of Green Infrastructure (GI) regarding urban planning and ES. We focused on the Shanghai Baoshan district Master Plan as a case study, and analyzed it under the lenses of the supply of ES using the matrix approach. We ascertained the supply of ES as delineated in the ecological network plan fo...

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Ecosystem Function

Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2020

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Climate change adaptation responses in Latin American urban areas.: Challenges for Santiago de Chile and Lima

The aim of this chapter is to assess climate change (CC) adaptation strategies at urban scale in ... more The aim of this chapter is to assess climate change (CC) adaptation strategies at urban scale in two Latin American cities: Lima and Santiago de Chile. It is an approach which explores current policy responses towards CC, intersecting general CC adaptation perspectives with specific urban characteristics. It puts together a scaled approach, from the international and national arena to local urban policies and drafting concepts, strategies and methods needed for its implementation, from the point of view of a policy orientated research. One of the first priorities to promote CC adaptation in the context of local responses to CC impacts is to link scientific knowledge and policy making. While looking at land policy needs it is clear that researchers should aim to develop simply and ready to use measures, with methods that are also no more complex than necessary. In most of Latin American public administrations, lack of adequate technical capacities is a common issue which increases the gap between science and policy making. It is important that assessments and tools remain simple to understand, accessible, replicable and ready to use, if they are aimed to be applied at local scale or included in urban planning in the continent. But at the same time, it is fundamental to include local knowledge and social capacities. For that purpose, the integration of stakeholders is fundamental to identify the potential advantages and weaknesses of undertaking city-scale impact analyses, to exploit them fully, and identifying the limitations of such analysis.

Who Pays the Bill? Assessing Ecosystem Services Losses in an Urban Planning Context

While Ecosystem Services (ES) are crucial for sustaining human wellbeing, urban development can t... more While Ecosystem Services (ES) are crucial for sustaining human wellbeing, urban development can threaten their sustainable supply. Following recent EU directives, many countries in Europe are implementing laws and regulations to protect and improve ES at local and regional levels. However, urban planning regulations already consider mandatory compensation for the loss of nature, and this compensation is often restricted to replacing green with green in other locations. This situation might lead to the loss of ES in areas subject to urban development, a loss that would eventually be replaced elsewhere. Therefore, ES assessments should be included in urban planning to improve the environmental conditions of urban landscapes where development takes place. Using an actual planning and development example that involves a proposed road to a restructured former industrial area in Bochum, Germany, we developed an ad-hoc assessment to compare a standard environmental compensation approach ap...

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Clustering Spatially Explicit Bundles of Ecosystem Services in A Central European Region

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2019

Ecosystem Services (ES) are classified into three main categories: regulating, provisioning and c... more Ecosystem Services (ES) are classified into three main categories: regulating, provisioning and cultural. However, spatially explicit bundles of ES may not necessarily conform to these groups. In this study, bundles of ES were explored in a central European region to identify spatial associations. We estimated the provisions of 31 ES using the CORINE land use land cover dataset and assessed the clustering using principal component analysis. Five clusters of ES were identified and did not completely represent the three traditional groups. Our results suggest that clustering should consider geographical features to identify ES bundles that work together independently. The spatially explicit characterisation of ES bundles is fundamental to determine the trade-offs and synergies to support adequate policy making.

The metabolic urban network: Urbanisation as hierarchically ordered space of flows

Cities, 2021

Urban ecosystems perform a distinctive metabolism appropriating fundamental materials and energy ... more Urban ecosystems perform a distinctive metabolism appropriating fundamental materials and energy resources from other ecosystems. This appropriation enables a productive circularity which sustains the material production of urban space: urbanisation. Upon entering the urban ecosystem, the material fluxes are processed by human labour to be consumed, exchanged and accumulated. The appropriation of raw materials and the further production of technomass are entangled processes along a complex material circulation, sustained by internal metabolic processes of production, consumption, transformation and accumulation. The overall process couples several ecosystems along a metabolic urban network (MUN), a large-scale interconnected metabolism of urban and non-urban ecosystems. Long and short distance metabolic interactions configuring a huge space of flows from which distinct urbanisation patterns arise. The extended urbanisation, differential urbanisation, accumulative urbanisation, cascade urbanisation and speculative urbanisation are historically and ecologically determined. The MUN is an asymmetric spatiotemporal exchange structure to and from which matter, energy and information flow, producing profound socio-ecological asymmetries in a global range of dispersed urban tissues. The MUN is the vortex where the planetary processes of ecological and social deterioration is driven. The MUN is an analytical device to unveil urbanisation as a socio-ecological process of colonisation of urban and non-urban ecosystems.

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Intraurban heterogeneity of space-time land surface temperature trends in six climate-diverse cities

Science of The Total Environment, 2021

Surface urban heat islands (SUHIs) are present in all cities, derived from their thermal properti... more Surface urban heat islands (SUHIs) are present in all cities, derived from their thermal properties. While looking at the spatiotemporal variability of land surface temperature (LST), there is still a gap in understanding patterns of change. In this paper, we analysed diurnal and nocturnal annual mean LST trends in continental (Beijing), temperate (Mexico City and Santiago), and arid (Cairo, Hyderabad, and Riyadh) cities employing 1 km MODIS data (2003-2019). Each time-series was assessed with the structure of a space-time cube. Hot and cold spots were detected for each year and the LST trends were analysed. Each pixel was classified into different space-time LST trends and their SUHIs were estimated. Cities exhibit trends of increasing temperatures in cold and hot spots for diurnal and nocturnal data. Temperatures are increasing faster in hot spots for diurnal and in cold spots for nocturnal scenes. Steady hot spots and warming hot spots exhibit the highest SUHIs for day and night. Our approach provides a framework to empirically delineate the spatial intraurban heterogeneity of LST patterns over time. This spatially explicit information provides insights into urban areas requiring heat mitigation strategies and can be used to monitor the performance of measures already implemented for climate adaptation.

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Matches and mismatches between the supply of and demand for cultural ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing watersheds: A case study in the Guanting Reservoir basin, China

Ecosystem Services, 2020

Abstract Evaluating the spatial relationship between the supply of and demand for cultural ecosys... more Abstract Evaluating the spatial relationship between the supply of and demand for cultural ecosystem services (CESs) in rapidly urbanizing watersheds is critical for landscape planning and the improvement of human well-being. However, few approaches can investigate relationships of multiple CESs in a spatially explicit way and involve different groups of stakeholders. In our study, we developed an integrated approach that combined a survey-driven model (SolVES) and a text analysis of the social media reviews, using the Guanting Reservoir basin as an example. Three CESs, including aesthetic service, historical and cultural service, and recreational and therapeutic service, were examined. The results showed that 80% of the total area of the basin exhibited a spatial mismatch between CES supply and demand. Among the three CESs, historical and cultural service had the largest mismatched area, which was dominated by a low supply and high demand. For the venue of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Chongli District, all three CESs exhibited spatial mismatches, while the main type of mismatch was low supply and high demand. Urbanization can either promote a match or worsen a mismatch. Therefore, place-based solutions, such as environmental monitoring and promoting tourism, are encouraged to mitigate the mismatch of CES supply and demand in rapidly urbanizing watersheds.

The global homogenization of urban form. An assessment of 194 cities across time

Landscape and Urban Planning, 2020

Abstract The spatial structure of cities, i.e. their composition, shape and degree of fragmentati... more Abstract The spatial structure of cities, i.e. their composition, shape and degree of fragmentation or compactness, is a physical expression reflecting development efficiency. Identifying the evolution of urban systems in time and space is crucial towards sustainable urban development. In this paper, we assess the spatial structure of 194 cities from 1990 and 2015, in order to identify patterns, clusters of similar cities, trajectories, and the global distribution of urban form. We delineated the contiguous urban fabric, employed landscape metrics to quantitatively describe urban patterns, applied a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimension of data to an uncorrelated set of variables and identified groups of cities with similar urban forms by means of hierarchical clustering. We found four types of urban form: compact-grey, transitional, ragged-small and fragmented-complex cities. Globally, continentally and regionally, cities have followed a trend towards more homogeneous urban forms, most of them becoming transitional as a consequence of both, processes of fragmentation and compactness. The only exception of this trend is a group of large cities in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, which are still predominantly fragmented-complex. Under the persisting process of urban expansion, small to medium-sized cities showed to be the most dynamic in terms of expansion and change in urban form, which makes them key towards sustainable urban development. This analysis contributes to the understanding of the transformations induced by the process of urban expansion that shapes urban form. Such information is crucial for achieving urban sustainability.

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