Analysis of the Patrimonial Conservation of a Quito Suburb without Altering Its Commercial Structure by Means of a Centrality Measure for Urban Networks

Abstract

In about 1940, Quito’s urban planning department contemplated the creation of a new suburb called Villaflora following the garden city model: homes in connection with nature but also near services. In Villaflora we do not find monumental elements that characterize patrimonial architecture; the value of Villaflora’s patrimony is in its urban model characterized by some architectonic elements. However, Villaflora is valuable because it is the result of a unique urban model. Over the years, the suburb has suffered profound degradation from the point of view of its patrimonial conservation. Hence, we propose an urban intervention in the suburb that contemplates the restoration of some important elements in the urban layout, without altering the commercial structure of the same. To accomplish this task we perform a study of the heritage conservation of each of the buildings of the suburb, as well as a study of the commercial activity that is developed in the suburb in order to determine those areas with the highest commercial activity and as a consequence, a greater presence of people in the streets and public spaces.