National urban systems and connectivity. Analysis from intermediate cities in Guatemala, Cuba and Colombia

Abstract

Latin America is one of the most urbanized developing areas in the world. Today with a globalized context where relationships are increasingly necessary, urban systems must also seek to consolidate different connected nodes that allow expanding opportunities for the entire population. For this reason, the article seeks to analyze the role of intermediate cities in the organization of the national urban systems of Colombia, Cuba and Guatemala. For this, a qualitative research is developed that uses quantitative tools such as spatial syntax and Social Network Analysis to identify these relationships. It is concluded that the cases analyzed are very different, where Guatemala shows the highest concentration and perhaps the least consolidation of intermediate cities; Colombia also has a high urban concentration around three main cities, but with intermediate cities that are connected to them; and Cuba emerges as the case with a greater distribution of the urban system, with a similar presence throughout the territory of intermediate cities.