Public spaces as sensitive areas in the Historic Center of Quito

Abstract

The traditional city and its historical center are very sensitive areas of urban context. These places have passed through a lot of transformations and now they are the protagonists of buildings degradation, segregation, excessive overexploitation and the effects caused by the aggression of traffic, leaving aside for what they really were designed. One of the most important attribute of these spaces is the tangible reality of their historical urban landscape, now at days and in the future, it can be considered as a fundamental criterion to structure and order its use and operation. The purpose of this work is to show how the Historical Center of Quito does not attend correctly its landscape values, it continues giving priority to the automotor traffic, the insecurity increases and its dynamics of use continues to be governed by the tertiary economy, informality. Hence, the objective is to demonstrate the importance of preserving the existing values and the unavoidable need to achieve the rescue of their public spaces through the implementation of sensitive actions among which, the creation of an interconnected network stands out due to its connotation, an articulated of places where the interests of the pedestrian predominate in the historical center, their landscape and the patrimonial wealth that characterizes it are today a valuable resource, a citizen right in which we have to support us to reach the goal of the sustainable city.