Enfoque de la participación ciudadana en la aprobación del Plan Urbanístico Complementario: estudio de caso de Racar, Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

Citizen participation in urban plans in Ecuador is crucial to promote economic development and local, regional and national social well-being. This study aims to improve the understanding of citizen participation in the GAD-Municipality of Cuenca. This research analyzes the approval process of complementary urban action plans in the Racar region, Cuenca, Ecuador. This is a qualitative and descriptive study. It examines the forms of intervention and interaction of both municipal officials and community. The results indicate that a single approach of citizen participation was not applied in the approval of the Racar Urban Action Plan; Instead, three approaches were found: informational approach, pluralistic approach, and consultative approach, but the informational approach predominated. Various methods were used to promote citizen participation, including workshops and community meetings. However, differences in criteria and lack of conceptual precision concerning the mechanisms of citizen participation were also found. Findings permit conclude that the quality of citizen participation is low since it is reduced to an informative practice, which generates discontent and frustration among citizens. On the other hand, a series of technical, procedural, communication, and administrative barriers that affected citizen participation were identified.