Abstract ID: 3.9100 | Accepted as Talk | Talk | TBA | TBA

As cities across the globe contend with the pressures of climate adaptation and urban expansion, mountain settlements remain an under-theorized yet critical site of inquiry. Existing urban analytic tools are ill-equipped to capture the realities of high-altitude environments, where extreme topography, fragmented infrastructure, and seasonal weather pattern instability shape daily life. Standard methodologies of defining accessibility and centrality flatten the terrain, erasing the lived complexities of access, mobility, and infrastructure strain in mountain cities.

This project develops a spatial benchmarking tool that foregrounds terrain-sensitive urban analytics, integrating architectural, ecological, and geospatial methodologies to re-map accessibility in topographically extreme environments. By embedding verticality into urban analysis, this tool resists the assumptions of conventional spatial models, exposing the fractures in access to key amenities such as healthcare, transit, and economic hubs. Beyond a diagnostic instrument, this platform aims to invite a broader cross-city dialogue, where mountain cities can compare and adapt strategies for more resilient urban futures.

Positioned at the intersection of urban theory, spatial justice, and digital infrastructure, this research makes a case for rethinking how cities are measured, compared, and understood in the context of extreme mountainous landscapes. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this work aims to reshape the discourse on mountain urbanism, bridging data-driven analysis with the material and lived realities of high-altitude cities.