Quito: expression of the socio-spatial phenomenon of Latin America's urban periphery

Abstract

The socio-spatial behavior of urban peripheries as a form of use and appropriation of space that characterizes these areas of Latin cities in general and the city of Quito specifically responds to accelerated urbanization processes that have developed since the second half of the twentieth century and continue today in Latin American cities. They are the reflection of an unsustainable urban development that must be addressed, hence this work focuses on the social, cultural, environmental and urban behavior of the urban periphery as a goal to improve and enhance these areas; articulate them to the rest of the city, strengthening them as an integrated system of social production of habitat. The result evidences the process of peripheral expansion - dispersion, low housing densities, infrastructure and service deficits, which in most cases do not contribute favorably to the quality of life of the people and the environment in which they live. The urban periphery as a socio-spatial phenomenon is the reflection of a transformation of space and of a social stratification with very clear forms of appropriation and use. The city of the 21st century must provide more efficient responses to these sensitive areas and the population that inhabits them.