La caracterización en niveles funcionales del sistema de asentamientos del Ecuador

Abstract

Studies to determine the functional potential and the hierarchy of the settlements system usually have a descriptive purpose and it is hardly possible from them to set concrete performance measures. The cause lies in the method used, which consists of the aggregation of selected variables leading to obtain a single parameter which allows stablishing the hierarchical order of cities. When establishing the hierarchy by aggregation, whatever the method used, over the process, one loses basic information necessary for determining the weight in each city for each one of its functions. This article provides a methodological proposal, applied to the case of Ecuador, which prevents the loss of information by organizing settlements, according to their characteristics, in functional levels, thus maintaining the uniqueness of each city and making it possible to establish specific policies according to their potential and functional specificities.