Urban landscape transformation due to new infrastructures incorporation during the first half of the twentieth century. The case of Cuenca (Ecuador)

Abstract

Currently, the study of the urban landscape has acquired technical and scientific relevance. Cities are constantly changing and evolving, and infrastructures are among the greatest modifiers of the urban landscape, after agriculture and urbanization. During the twentieth century, urban systems expanded, a centralized infrastructure was built, which broaden as the city grew. The twentieth-one century challenges to incorporate distributed infrastructures and new technologies in response to climate change, which are transforming urban landscapes and on which we must reflect. Thus, it is essential to learn from the past and identify how the incorporation of infrastructures and services influenced the city’s image, transformed natural into urban environments, and modified the ways of living of its inhabitants. This research aims to identify the crucial moments of transformation in the urban landscape during the first half of the twentieth century in Cuenca (Ecuador), associated with the incorporation and innovation of infrastructures and services systems: water, sanitation, and energy. Primary and secondary sources and historical photos were used as tools to analyze urban landscape transformations. The results show that the 20’s marked an inflection point with the beginning of a modernizing renovation in the country, specifically in Cuenca. Due to the exploitation of quinine and the exportation of Panama hats, the economic boom became the driving force for the incorporation of new infrastructures. Finally, questions are raised that should lead to a more profound exploration and conscious decision-making on this issue in cities.