This article analyzes the trends in urban development in an area of 6930 hectares in the northern sector of Bogotá that includes the Northern Zonal Management Plan (POZN, in Spanish) and part of the Thomas Van der Hammen Nature Reserve (RTVH, in Spanish). The plan established by the Mayor’s Office through Decree 088 of 2017 seeks to manage an urban development trend that has occurred de facto, with important ecological and social consequences, while the RTVH intends to protect the ecological characteristics of this sector located between the hills and the Bogotá River. The method consisted of analyzing time series of surface temperature and vegetation using remote sensing techniques and radiometric indicators to identify the structural changes experienced by the sector in terms of its biophysical components. The results of the analysis show that the urbanization process taking place in the northern sector of Bogotá is the driver of the observed trends in the biophysical space beyond the legal protection instruments currently in force, including POZN and RTVH. In the case of RTVH, the protection framework has been insufficient to preserve the ecological characteristics that led to its creation. The inclusion of empirical evidence in urban development planning, such as that shown in this work, is key to advancing the active protection of the environment beyond the regulatory discourse.