00Territory · evidence · decision
We read the city
to make better decisions.
Cartograma is an urban intelligence and territorial strategy practice. We study spatial relationships, change and inequality to inform decisions about the city.
We work with governments, planning and mobility departments, institutions and developers.
NewEveryday Proximity Index · SpainMadrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, Seville and Málaga, Spain’s six cities of more than 500,000 people, measured with the same method. Further down this page. ↓01 · A demonstration · Madrid / ES
What lies within fifteen minutes?
What you can take care of close to home depends on the neighborhood. We measured it in Opañel, in Carabanchel.
Opañel is one of the 2,462 census sections the city is divided into. All of them are measured the same way.
What lies within fifteen minutes? What you can take care of close to home depends on the neighborhood. We measured it in Opañel, in Carabanchel.
- 1,651 people in one section of Madrid Opañel is one of the 2,462 census sections the city is divided into. All of them are measured the same way.
- Each dot, a group of homes Each dot marks where the people of one city block live. Trips start there, not from the center of the neighborhood.
- In Opañel, 6 starting points Its 1,651 people live in 6 city blocks. A trip starts from each one.
- From the front door to the street Each dot is joined to the nearest sidewalk or path, about 21 m away. That is where the walk begins.
- Walking follows the street, not a straight line At a normal pace, fifteen minutes cover 1,186 m along streets and paths.
- On foot: 505 places in 15 minutes Food shops, schools, health centers, parks, libraries and transit stops: everything within a fifteen-minute walk from the 6 blocks.
- By bicycle: 2,301 places In the same 15 minutes a bicycle covers 3.1 km and reaches 4.6 times as many places as on foot.
- By car: 3,442 places In rush-hour traffic, 12 minutes behind the wheel reach 4.4 km. The car reaches only 50% more places than the bicycle.
- Summary · Opañel The bicycle multiplies what lies within fifteen minutes on foot by 4.6; the car, at rush hour, adds only 50% more.
The index compares the 5,560 inhabited sections of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, Seville and Málaga with a different measure: the street distance to the nearest place of each function.
02What we do
That demonstration answered one question. Here are the rest.
Our work is analysis: we turn public data and each organization’s own records into a reading of the territory that can be used to make decisions, and to explain them.
We organize it into three practice areas. Choose the one closest to your question: there you will find what we deliver and the cases that show it.
- Area 01
Land and Urban Regulation
Understanding what can happen in a territory, where, and under what rules.
For those making decisions about the future of a territory.
We help you decide where to grow, what to allow and where to invest, based on what the territory allows today and what is changing.
Questions we answer
- What can be built on this parcel or in this area?
- Where is it best to grow without moving away from jobs and services?
- What changes if the rules change?
Every project starts from your question; the scope is defined with you.
- SpainWhere do Spanish cities build? →42.7% of new housing goes where proximity is lowest, home to 20% of the people
- MexicoWhere can Cancún grow? →Only 17% of what can be built on vacant lots is well connected to jobs
- ColombiaWhere is Bogotá growing? →28% of new construction goes where proximity is lowest, home to 18% of the people
- UruguayWhere is Montevideo building? →9.3 new m² per person where proximity is highest; 2.2 to 3.5 where it is lowest
- Area 02
Mobility and Accessibility
Understanding who can reach what, from where, and how quickly.
For those who need to know how a location connects to the rest of the city.
We help you see who can reach what and how quickly, and where an intervention changes access the most.
Questions we answer
- What can each neighborhood reach in fifteen minutes, or in an hour by transit?
- Which crossing or street should be fixed first?
- Did the project that was built work?
Every project starts from your question; the scope is defined with you.
- SpainWhat is out of reach for older people? →Walking slowly, 33.2% have the health center more than 15 minutes away; the pharmacy and the shop stay close
- MexicoDid fixing Cancún’s crossings work? →The 35 crossings that were fixed had 42% to 48% fewer crashes than expected
- ColombiaWhich Bogotá crossing to fix first? →Only 11 of the top 100 crossings match between spatial justice and road safety
- UruguayWhere do people get hurt on the street? →18% of Montevideo’s street kilometers account for 67% of people seriously injured or killed
- Area 03
Urban Operations
Understanding how the everyday city works, to decide where and how to act.
For those who manage networks, services and operations spread across a territory.
We help you read your records to find where service fails and what to address first.
Questions we answer
- Where does service fail, and why?
- Which places need attention first?
- Are promises being kept?
Every project starts from your question; the scope is defined with you.
- SpainWhere to open climate shelters? →19.4% of Seville’s population has a shelter within 15 minutes; 99.6% in Barcelona
- MexicoAre reports in San Pedro resolved on time? →They are assigned the same day; fixing the pavement takes two weeks
- UruguayIs waste collected on time? →Late on 2% of days in central Montevideo and on 21% to 24% in the outskirts
03New · Everyday Proximity Index · Spain
How close is everyday life in Spain’s large cities?
We repeated the demonstration’s measurement in Spain’s six cities of more than 500,000 people: for each of the 8 million people registered in their 5,560 census sections, we measured the walking distance along the network to food, education, health, recreation, culture and transit, and compared it with everyone else’s. Half of the people in Barcelona reach 63.0 points or more; in Sevilla, 42.2. In Barcelona, 99% have all six functions within a fifteen-minute walk; in Sevilla, 74%.
See the indexMeasure your neighborhoodThe index in each city
less proximitymore
New · Projects · Spain
Questions about Spain’s cities, each with its own atlas.
With INE statistics and the Everyday Proximity Index of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, Seville and Málaga.
Tourist housing does not follow proximity
It follows the historic center: 37% of the six cities’ tourist dwellings are less than 1 km from the center, where 7% of all dwellings are.
Aging in the neighborhood
Walking slowly, one in three older people has the health center more than fifteen minutes away; the pharmacy and the shop are still nearby.
New neighborhoods arrive late
42.7% of the housing built since 2016 is in the quintile with the least proximity, and neighborhoods from twenty years ago remain below the consolidated city.
Close, but in the sun
Between 12.8% and 22.0% of the daily walk runs along hot, treeless streets; 99.6% of people in Barcelona live within fifteen minutes of a climate shelter, and 19.4% in Seville.
Closeness follows density
In Málaga and Madrid lower incomes have daily life closer by; in Seville, higher incomes. The difference comes with neighborhood density.
04Contact
What do you need to decide about your territory?
Every project starts with a good question. Tell us yours, and we will reply with a first reading of the problem.
Discuss a project