LET-BCN

In 2018, the Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies of Barcelona (IERMB) and the Center for Terrestrial Ecology and Forest Applications (CREAF) have signed a framework agreement for the development of the Metropolitan Laboratory of Ecology and Territory of Barcelona (LET -BCN). This initiative emerges when metropolitan institutions are introducing in their land use planning the fundamental notion that open spaces constitute a green infrastructure that provides diverse ecosystem services, which depend on the quality of life of the population. At the same time, these services are supported by a set of ecosystem functions that are the cause and consequence of biodiversity present in the region. There is also a new approach to the interdependence between the space built and the open space, which has shown the need to know and evaluate the interactions that occur, or could occur, between these two subsystems. However, this new approach requires concepts and tools and data that are still underdeveloped.

The objectives initially formulated in the framework of the LET-BCN have been the following:

• Complete and update the databases and the cartographic information on the most significant biophysical variables in the metropolis of Barcelona, in accordance with the administrations involved, so that they can be used in the sustainable planning of the territory.
• Monitor key indicators of the operation of the metropolitan system.
• Promote the applied research to generate knowledge about the metropolitan socio-ecological system and identify the critical / strategic elements for the planning and management of the territory.