How to Define a New Metropolitan Area? The Case of Quito, Ecuador, and Contributions for Urban Planning

Esthela Salazar, Cristián Henríquez, Gustavo Durán, Jorge Qüense and Fernando Puente-Sotomayor
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Esthela Salazar: Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y la Construcción, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas-ESPE, Sangolquí 171103, Ecuador
Cristián Henríquez: Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago 7820244, Chile
Gustavo Durán: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, FLACSO, Diego de Almagro, Quito 170201, Ecuador
Jorge Qüense: Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago 7820244, Chile
Fernando Puente-Sotomayor: Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170521, Ecuador

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-23

Abstract: The Metropolitan Area of Quito has experienced exponential growth in recent decades, especially in peri-urban sectors. The literature has described this process as “urban sprawl”, a phenomenon that is changing the landscape by increasing land consumption and forming conurbations with the nearest populated centers. This article proposes a new, broader and more complex metropolitan structure for the metropolis of Quito, the linking of neighboring and conurbed areas to the form a new metropolitan area based on the case study of the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ). This new metropolitan area identification considers the interpretation of satellite images and the classification of land uses, highlighting the main urban growth areas located outside, but contiguous to the administrative limit of the DMQ, over a period of 19 years (1998 to 2017), the demographics analysis, particularly the densification of new urban peripheral areas close to the DMQ border and the mobility links of population, goods and services between human settlements that allows the configuration of urban corridors and the integration of the territory. The main findings evaluated are the need to evaluate urban planning strategies aimed at sustainable development.

Keywords: urban sprawl; peri-urban; conurbation; land uses; urban planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:4:p:413-:d:535624

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