Challenges and Opportunities of Urban Fabrics for Sustainable Planning in Cuenca (Ecuador)

Abstract

In recent years attention has been given to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, causing climate change, without recognizing the importance of urban form. In Latin American cities, spatial dynamics, urban fabrics and territorial distribution, among others, are not always considered when plans are developed. The cities of Ecuador, particularly Cuenca, show processes of dispersion as a result of their own growth disconnected from urban centers, which is evidenced by the high rate of use of the private vehicle per capita and implies a high consumption of fossil energy and environmental pollution. Additionally, urban fabrics affect the functioning and social dynamics of a city and therefore have a direct relationship with planning. With this background, this project seeks to identify and categorize different urban fabrics in the city of Cuenca using a visual methodology that takes into account street and block patterns; patterns of parcelization and land use; building form, scale and placement on lots; street and parking design; and typical relationships between "green" and "gray" landscape components. As a result, eighteen urban fabrics were identified in the city, with different challenges and opportunities for sustainability. The produced knowledge allowed the generation of sustainable and resilient planning recommendations and opened a wide field of possibilities for future research.