El uso residencial como elemento transformador del periurbano en la ciudad de Cuenca. Caso de estudio: Parroquia Baños

Abstract

This research project examines the role of residential use as a transformative element of the peri-urban landscape in the rural parish of Baños, in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. The study focuses on how residential urbanization influences land use and landscape morphology in a context of urban expansion. Using a mixed methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative techniques, five landscape units within the parish are analyzed to document changes induced by residential practices. The general objective of the project is to analyze the impact of residential use on landscape modifications and land occupation in Baños, highlighting how this use has integrated and transformed the peri-urban region in response to urban expansion. Specific objectives include defining modes of land occupation, characterizing forms of residential occupation, and demonstrating the impacts of residential urbanization on the landscape. The results show that residential use has been a significant driver of change, reconfiguring both the social composition and the physical structure of Baños. The analyzed landscape units reveal a transition in land use, where the dynamics of the parish center and the city of Cuenca shape the

periphery, which has modified the traditional configuration and the socio- economic dynamics of the region.