INTERMEDIATE CITIES LOCAL TOOL WITH GLOBAL VISION. CASE STUDY OF THE METROPOLITAN AREA OF MERIDA. STATE OF MERIDA - VENEZUELA.

Abstract

Intermediate cities are small and medium-sized cities, with specific conditions that allow them to interact better with rural areas; however, at present, these spaces promote territorial expansion, which generates environmental problems and stimulates accelerated, fragmented and dispersed growth, transforming them into large and inefficient settlements; In light of this reality, the objective is to "define a planning mechanism, where it is proposed to interact efficiently between the urban and the rural, between the regional and the city, thus making its planning and desired development sustainable, with the purpose that this instrument can be implemented in the Metropolitan Area of Merida, Venezuela". The study was achieved through the theoretical development of the concept of the intermediate city and the identification of its characteristics, together with a planning mechanism that organizes and allows the efficient and sustainable development of both spaces, thus achieving a better cohesion of the territory. As a result, a balance between economic, social and environmental aspects is proposed, through strategic territorial planning, with advantages to better develop sustainability in intermediate cities, where rural and urban areas will interact harmoniously, allowing a better quality of life, through an understanding of the environment and the built environment.