Efectos en las interrelaciones sociales luego de la intervención de un espacio público urbano. Caso del Parque de la Madre de la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

Studying public spaces, social dynamics are produced and the activities carried out there, has become important for the development of societies in general and of cities in particular. The situations, problems, encounters and disagreements that arise daily in public spaces are relevant. Likewise, there are projects of urban-architectural intervention, from large cities to smaller towns, which are sometimes not evaluated to analyze whether the impacts have been positive or negative for society. To reflect on this topic, the urban-architectural intervention carried out in the Parque de la Madre of the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, planned during the years 2010-2011 and whose works were executed between 2012-2013, has been taken as a case study. The methodology used in this work begins with an analysis of documents related to the subject. Then it is based on qualitative methods, such as the non-participant observation of social behaviors and dynamics within the Parque de la Madre, and in semi-structured interviews with related actors, to know the appreciation that these people have regarding this space. The study showed that, in this public space, after the intervention sports-related uses are maintained, mainly athletics, and that the citizens perceive it as a safer and friendlier place than before. There are new users such as teenagers and yoga and capoeira practitioners; other groups have been excluded, such is the case of the theatrers and soccer players.