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The expansion of Latin American intermediate cities has left irregular and discontinuous occupation patterns in their peripheral territories. In appearance, the configurations of the urban edges do not have relevant differences. In fact, each morphological structure is heterogeneous and has its own behaviors, different occupation motivations, and diverse resulting consolidated models. In Cuenca, Ecuador, these diffuse zones between the urban and rural limits are marked by segregation dynamics and dependence on the consolidated center and have the lowest quality-of-life indexes in the city. In this context, the objective of the research was to find a possible relationship between the types of peripheral morphologies and the levels of urban habitability of four city urban centers, using a quantitative methodological design with a two-stage correlational scope. Initially, urban morphologies were classified, and the habitability levels were rated separately, applying independent instruments. Then, the results were cross-checked to describe possible links between variables. The findings highlight significant disparities in habitability between conurbations and define an apparent direct correlation between the two dimensions of analysis, La expansión de las ciudades intermedias latinoamericanas ha dejado patrones de ocupación irregulares y discontinuos sobre sus territorios periféricos. En apariencia, las configuraciones urbanas de los bordes no difieren de manera relevante, sin embargo, cada estructura morfológica es heterogénea, posee conductas propias, diferentes motivaciones de ocupación y resulta en diversos modelos consolidados. En Cuenca, Ecuador, estas zonas difusas entre el límite urbano y rural están marcadas a su vez por dinámicas de segregación y dependencia al centro consolidado y en ellas se registran los índices de calidad de vida más bajos de la ciudad. En este contexto, el objetivo de la investigación fue encontrar una posible relación entre los tipos de morfologías periféricas y los niveles de habitabilidad urbana de cuatro núcleos urbanos de la ciudad. Se usó un diseño metodológico cuantitativo de alcance correlacional de dos etapas. Inicialmente, se clasificaron las morfologías urbanas y se calificaron los niveles de habitabilidad por separado, aplicando instrumentos independientes. Posteriormente se cruzaron los resultados para describir posibles vínculos entre variables. Los hallazgos resaltan disparidades significativas de habitabilidad entre conurbaciones y se define una aparente correlación directa entre ambas dimensiones de análisis.

The parish of Calderón, located in the Metropolitan District of Quito, has a spatial dynamic characteristic of the expansion processes, with notable population growth, loss of agricultural land, and settlements in vulnerable areas. This research aimed to identify the vulnerability to climate change by analyzing urban growth in this parish to define measures for its climate change adaptation. A three-stage mixed approach methodology was used: the historical and spatial analysis of urban growth, the relationship between urban growth and vulnerability to climate change, and climate change adaptation measures in the parish of Calderón. The thirteen indicators analyzed show a medium-low risk level in their exposure and sensitivity components. However, the opposite is true for the adaptive capacity component, where vulnerability is high. The relationship between the parish’s urban growth and vulnerability to climate change is not direct. On the one hand, the expansion processes affect the territory and the population, causing environmental and social conflicts. On the other hand, factors immersed in urban expansion’s spatial dynamics are revealed., La parroquia Calderón, ubicada en el Distrito Metropolitano de la ciudad de Quito, presenta una dinámica espacial característica de los procesos de expansión con un crecimiento poblacional notable, pérdida de suelo agrícola y asentamientos en áreas vulnerables. Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo identificar la vulnerabilidad al cambio climático mediante análisis del crecimiento urbano de la parroquia Calderón para definir medidas de adaptación al mismo. Se utilizó la metodología de enfoque mixto a través de tres etapas: análisis histórico y espacial del crecimiento urbano, relación entre el crecimiento urbano y vulnerabilidad al cambio climático y medidas de adaptación al cambio climático en la parroquia Calderón. Los trece indicadores analizados demuestran en sus componentes de exposición y sensibilidad un nivel medio bajo de riesgo, sin embargo, sucede lo contrario en el componente de capacidad adaptativa donde la vulnerabilidad es alta. La relación entre el crecimiento urbano de la parroquia y la vulnerabilidad al cambio climático no es directa. Por una parte, los procesos de expansión afectan al territorio y a la población, originando conflictos ambientales y sociales y, por otra, se evidencian factores que están inmersos en la propia dinámica espacial de la expansión urbana.

Therelationshipbetweenheritage,conservationandtourismhasdeterminedcountlessactionson thehistoriccentersofseveralcitiesintheworld.InLatinAmerica,governmentalentitieshaveset guidelines forurbanheritage interventions throughplans, programs andavarietyof projects implemented inrecentdecades.Thepredominant emphasisof theseactionshasbeenonsafeguarding tangible aspects of heritage, adhering to international conservationguidelines, and promoting tourismasameans tostimulatesustainable local development.However, acritical pointoftheseeffortsliesintheneglectofadversesocialconsequencesimposedonlocalresidents andcommunities. Inthispaperweconsiderarepresentativecase: theheritageareaofCuencain Ecuador,whereaninterventiontookplacestartingwiththeUNESCODeclarationofthecasestudy in1999until2019.Wecharacterizetheprocess,analyzetheincidenceofplanninginstruments andidentifytheattributes thatwereenhancedaswellas thosethatweresuppressedthrougha historical reviewofcurrentplansandexecutedprojects.Theresults reveal thepersistenceofa conservationistandorthodoxvisionofheritage,whichleads tothedisplacementofvulnerable groups.Hence,itisimperativetoreevaluateinterventionpoliciesintheurbanheritagecontextof LatinAmericancitieslikeCuenca.

The proposal of the thesis project begins after observing the problems of insecurity in school-age boys and girls, when they leave their homes to their respective institutions, as well as when they leave the institutions to their homes, since There are no specific roads and urban furniture that help and benefit the little ones, either by providing them with protection from climatic factors or spaces that provide them with security, based on this context, design criteria for new urban furniture for safe school routes will be developed. say inclusive, innovative and is linked to public space, integrating the needs of children such as communication and interaction between the user and urban furniture.

The permanent urban growth and its diverse dynamics make cities entities in constant change; hence the spontaneous urban transformations constitute an inevitable process. This research studies two opposite transformations in the city of Cuenca-Ecuador between 2015 and 2002, through the triangulation of surveys, interviews, cartographic and photographic analysis, secondary sources and observation. As a main finding, two differentiated phenomena are recognized, one with characteristics linked to gentrification, and another related to the popular, informal commerce, mixed land use, social cohesion, disorder, economic activation, which does not have its own terminology. Finally, it is proposed to define the latter as 'popularization', in order to conceptualize it and deepen its study. © 2023 Universidad Nacional de Colombia. All rights reserved.

San Joaquín, a rural parish in Cuenca, is nestled amid the Tarqui natural formation, bordered by the Tomebamba and Yanuncay rivers, on alluvial soils dating back to the twentieth century. Its primary livelihoods include farming, occasional grazing, and processing raw materials that supply the urban center. Historically, San Joaquín and Cuenca were separate haciendas, divided by Escandón Street, now Carlos Arízaga Vega Avenue. This corridor reflects the parish's growth, embodying its urban, cultural, and social essence. The study focuses on heritage buildings and their facades, analyzing damages and causes. The proposed maintenance strategy emphasizes two analyses: a landscape study to understand the parish's general components and an architectural survey focusing on the facades in question. This approach unveils the facades' key conditions, enabling a suitable maintenance proposal. Crucially, the proposal avoids idealizing an original facade, embracing the impact of time to prevent inaccurate historical representations. It respects the historical, urban, and architectural context, preserving the facade's integrity without embellishing or distorting its historical significance. The aim is coherence, ensuring the proposal aligns with diverse realities while safeguarding the parish's cultural heritage.

Casas y Conjuntos presents the results of research on a substantive issue in Latin American cities: social housing. The reflexive proposal that guides this work, inquires about public housing policies, built projects, their impact on the city and on the quality of life of its inhabitants. In the book, the systemic complexity of the different aspects that affect government-produced housing and that, at the same time, unfold from it, are communicated with great lucidity. At the same time, the inescapable urgency to reformulate actions around social housing from a qualitative and sustainable perspective. As is usual in the investigations carried out by the LlactaLAB-Sustainable Cities Research Group, the exploration is carried out between scales, from the house to the city In this case, in addition, we seek to learn from a "project culture" from which we can extract and cultivate new learning. The publication, which as readers we have in hand, is undoubtedly a tool conceived from scientific rigor and contextual relevance, which favors a greater understanding of everyday residential environments in Cuenca. But, above all, it is a claim that transcends the local, and highlights the role of public housing as an element of urban, social and environmental transformation. Casas y Conjuntos skilfully weaves, through space and time, lessons and challenges that lead us to rethink the social habitat as a support for the development and care of life in our cities.

Introduction: Approximately 66 million people with disabilities (PWD) live in Latin America and the Caribbean. Despite the important advances in regulations for social inclusion in this region, urban public spaces are not accessible to PWD. In this study, we assess street-level accessibility in the city of Cuenca (Ecuador) to examine the disparities for people with different mobility conditions. Methods: We designed and implemented a mobile-based tool to audit street-level accessibility related to two key issues: the compliance level with the national standard for accessibility (NAMF) and the presence and characteristics of obstacles that hinder pedestrian mobility. A set of 214 street segments were audited by volunteers with different mobility conditions (unrestricted, restricted, or impaired). The collected data were analysed to compute accessibility indices (AIs) for each condition ranging from 0 (totally inaccessible) to 1 (totally accessible). AI values were examined to determine the differences among conditions. Results: None of the 214 audited street segments fully complied with the NAMF. The AIs were: unrestricted mobility ¼ 0.4, restricted mobility ¼ 0.29, impaired mobility ¼ 0.12. Eighty-three percent of the audited streets were perceived as highly inaccessible by wheelchair users, whereas for individuals with restricted or unrestricted mobility, the rates were 50% and 34%, respectively. Most streets were affected by obstacles that hindered mobility, with curb ramps and driveway ramps having the highest impact on accessibility. Conclusion: The urban streets of Cuenca are highly inaccessible, mainly due to their flawed design and the presence of obstacles, creating excluding environments for people with mobility restrictions or impairments. National regulations are failing to tackle all the issues that hinder accessibility and must be revised. Cuenca, together with other intermediate cities in Latin America, must redesign their sidewalks and pedestrian faci

Introduction: Approximately 66 million people with disabilities (PWD) live in Latin America and the Caribbean. Despite the important advances in regulations for social inclusion in this region, urban public spaces are not accessible to PWD. In this study, we assess street-level accessibility in the city of Cuenca (Ecuador) to examine the disparities for people with different mobility conditions. Methods: We designed and implemented a mobile-based tool to audit street-level accessibility related to two key issues: the compliance level with the national standard for accessibility (NAMF) and the presence and characteristics of obstacles that hinder pedestrian mobility. A set of 214 street segments were audited by volunteers with different mobility conditions (unrestricted, restricted, or impaired). The collected data were analysed to compute accessibility indices (AIs) for each condition ranging from 0 (totally inaccessible) to 1 (totally accessible). AI values were examined to determine the differences among conditions. Results: None of the 214 audited street segments fully complied with the NAMF. The AIs were: unrestricted mobility = 0.4, restricted mobility = 0.29, impaired mobility = 0.12. Eighty-three percent of the audited streets were perceived as highly inaccessible by wheelchair users, whereas for individuals with restricted or unrestricted mobility, the rates were 50% and 34%, respectively. Most streets were affected by obstacles that hindered mobility, with curb ramps and driveway ramps having the highest impact on accessibility. Conclusion: The urban streets of Cuenca are highly inaccessible, mainly due to their flawed design and the presence of obstacles, creating excluding environments for people with mobility restrictions or impairments. National regulations are failing to tackle all the issues that hinder accessibility and must be revised. Cuenca, together with other intermediate cities in Latin America, must redesign their sidewalks and pedestrian faci

The smaller cities have entered the competition for capital and for positioning themselves in the various international rankings. Cuenca, Ecuador, is one of them and is taken as a case study due to its hierarchical status and the success of the urban marketing strategies that have inserted it into the dynamics of the international tourism industry and the real estate market for foreign retirees in the last decade. The article analyzes the urban transformations derived in two specific areas of the city between 2000 and 2017, where gentrification and creative destruction processes have been unleashed, articulated to broader dynamics of capitalist accumulation and the commodification of the urban., Las ciudades menores han ingresado en la competencia por el capital y por posicionarse en los diversos rankings internacionales. Cuenca, Ecuador, es una de ellas y se toma como caso de estudio debido a su condición jerárquica y al éxito de las estrategias de marketing urbano que la han insertado en las dinámicas de la industria internacional del turismo y del mercado inmobiliario para jubilados extranjeros en la última década. En el artículo se analizan las transformaciones urbanas derivadas en dos zonas específicas de la ciudad entre 2000 y 2017, donde se han desencadenado procesos de gentrificación y de destrucción creativa, articulados a dinámicas más amplias de acumulación capitalista y de mercantilización de lo urbano., Les villes de petite taille sont entrées dans la compétition pour le capital et pour se positionner dans les différents classements internationaux. Cuenca, en Équateur, en fait partie. Elle est considérée comme un cas d’étude en raison de son statut hiérarchique et du succès des stratégies de marketing urbain qui lui ont permis de s’intégrer dans les dynamiques de l’industrie du tourisme international et du marché immobilier des retraités étrangers au cours de la dernière décennie. L’article analyse les transformations urbaines qui en découlent dans deux zones spécifiques de la ville entre 2000 et 2017, où des processus de gentrification et de destruction créatrice ont été déclenchés. Ces processus s’articulent autour de dynamiques plus larges d’accumulation capitaliste et de marchandisation de l’urbain., As cidades menores entraram na competição por capital e por se posicionarem nos vários rankings internacionais. Cuenca, Equador, é uma delas e é considerada um estudo de caso devido ao seu status hierárquico e ao sucesso das estratégias de marketing urbano que a inseriram na dinâmica da indústria do turismo internacional e no mercado imobiliário para aposentados estrangeiros. a última década. O artigo analisa as transformações urbanas derivadas em duas áreas específicas da cidade entre 2000 e 2017, onde processos de gentrificação e destruição criativa foram desencadeados, articulados a dinâmicas mais amplas de acumulação capitalista e à mercantilização do urbano.

Urban rivers differ from natural rivers because of the direct connection they have with human habitat. Furthermore, riverbanks are public spaces that contribute to the interaction between natural and urbanized areas and between people from different socioeconomic background. Due to this significance, the main objective of this research was to provide a methodology for the construction of a toolbox that evaluates connectivity and comfort of urban riverbanks, so as to allow comparative visual and numeric analysis between different zones of the same river, distinct rivers in the same city and rivers in various cities. The proposal was based on the disaggregation of the concepts of connectivity and comfort, through the analysis of four dimensions: (a) Spatial and visual accessibility, (b) Continuity of the green corridor, (c) Condition of public space, and (d) Condition of the first built line, expressed in thirteen quantitative condition indicators. For validation, the toolbox was applied to five zones of the Tomebamba River of the city of Cuenca in Ecuador and a series of maps were generated allowing spatial visualization of the results. In addition, an Urban River Sustainability Index (URSI) was developed to reinforce the decision-making processes in planning and urban design.

New techniques that offer more reliable ways of predicting and understanding the use of the space can be valuable tools for designing resilient cities. The proposed methodology aims to generate a spatially explicit empirical basis about the behaviour of the population in different areas of the Tomebamba River in Cuenca-Ecuador -based on systematic observation, behaviour mapping using mobile data collection and spatial analysis techniques-, seeking for correlations with the connectivity, the spatial quality and the physical characteristics of the riverbanks.

In the last decades the accelerated process of urbanization has been a general problem worldwide, that has affected the landscape particularly to the rivers banksand and ravines that have lost great extensions of soil protection. This project seeks to build and help define urban design criteria on the banks on the Tomebamba River; this place is located to the northeast of the city of Cuenca, along the Ordoñez Lasso Avenue via the coast between Camino al Tejar and Los Cedros streets. To this, as a starting point, a conceptual and reference framework is defined, in which the different interpretations of the man are analyzed in relation to the urbanization process and how it has affected the landscape through concepts and criteria associated to the urban development of the area To study in the last 25 years. This background will be of help for the development of analyzes discussed in chapter two and three, and consequently in the definition of criteria to intervene in the riverbanks, that improve the spatial quality.

This article contributes to the debate on public housing policies in Ecuador through an evaluation of urban sustainability and living experience in public housing projects in Cuenca (Ecuador). To this end, the projects built from 1970 to 2014 were identified and three were chosen that correspond to different urban fabrics and are located in various areas of the city and promoted by dissimilar public entities. To evaluate sustainability, assessment models were used to demonstrate that the three projects are poorly rated and that those located on the city limits are rated even lower. In order to assess living experience, surveys were conducted to identify differences in the ways of inhabiting the immediate surroundings and the city. The results indicate that projects disconnected from urban centers generate a series of unsatisfactory effects for life in society. In light of the results, public housing policies must be rethought with a view to overcoming their role as clientelism tools whose only purpose is to compensate the housing deficit in quantitative terms, in order to transform them into planning tools capable of building sustainable cities.

The urban green within cities in contemporary times has become a priority, because their value for better urban environment. The green areas are linked to activities on the ground. In many cases it has confrontation of two ideas, maintaining permeable soil or paving, so losing vegetation. However in case would be a third alternative, the possibility of having green conditions considering the necessity to occupy sites for human activities. With this ideas was born the inquietude to know the state of green areas in the historic zone of the city. So seeking the answer to the question: is it possible to have a greener Historic Center on Cuenca? Examples of places where efforts have been made in the conservation of green areas are reviewed. To know the way to monitoring by green indices, showing their status and evolution. In the case of city activities we reviewed those developed in historic areas of heritage cities by UNESCO. With that information it’s have the possibility to contextualize the state of Cuenca in wide environment. This work is divided into five chapters, the first two explain the subject and create the environment of locate of the study area and the temporary city. Also here are status of the city in the Latin American and global context. In the last three chapters are a specific analysis of the state of green areas which concludes with a proposal determinants. These determinants improve the conditions of green areas in the city and answering the research question.

Latin America has experienced a dramatic urbanization processes in the second half of the twentieth century (Avila, 2009; Velázquez, 2007; Gilbert, 1997), transforming in an accelerated manner the territories near their cities. From the academy, an array of multiple reflections has arisen in this particular regard,and developed into new concepts to refer to these new territorialities, such as the term urban-rural fringe. Considering it as a territorial category, denominated as the growth corridors - study object of this investigation- and appear as one of its subcategories. Under these reflections, it exposed a methodology for the diagnosis and planning of growth corridors of intermediate Ecuadorian cities. However, this proposal does not intend to be conclusive or definitive and provide a developing perfectible framework that seeks to be consistent with the ambivalent space in the study. In conclusion, it tries to contribute to the theoretical debate on the planning of these territories in Ecuador. The following research is addressed in six chapters: the first three are more descriptive and explain the theoretical and methodological structure, problems, and case studies. The next three chapters explicate the proposal, its implementation, and a final reflection that leaves open the debate about growth corridors, and their role in the diverse forms of occupation and transformation of the territories.

The main objective of a housing policy consists in helping society to solve the housing deficit both qualitative and quantitative. In Ecuador through the National Plan of good living, (2013-2017) programs have been established with public entities and national so as to eradicate this problem. Housing policies in addition to influence the architectural project impact on urban planning of the immediate environment and hence in the city, so it is necessary that the processes ensure an urban intervention-architectural quality for the most vulnerable people. The Ilustre Municipalidad de Cuenca from 2001 creates an entity called the Municipal Public Company of Urbanization and Housing of Cuenca EMUVI-EP to be responsible to reduce the housing deficit presented in the canton, directing these houses to the most needy. That is why the investigation proposes the analysis of three projects carried out by the company by means of a methodology to determine the relationship between the quality of the housing projects, the quality of life of users and the housing policy assumed by the company. The analysis of the projects is done in three scales: housing, neighborhood and city, this study reviews each stage of the municipal government of Cuenca from the creation of the company until the last project built.

This project studies and implements Green Infrastructure strategies, as a response to the deficit of green public areas in urban fabricwhich are in consolidation process due to the fact that the accelerate growth of the cities in most cases causes loss of natural resources. Resulting on an urban spot lacking of hydrologic, ecologic and environmental services, causing its inhabitants do not have an adequate quality life. The green infrastructure is conceived as a net of green public areas whether urban or rural; besides, this net is interrelated with other nets just as the blue one and the no motorized transports. In first instance, the outstanding concepts and theories on green infrastructure are studied. Then, it is analyzed the green areas of the city of Cuenca, as a specific case. Consequently, a review is made on the outstanding cases, which employ strategies from the reviewed theory; these will provide intervention criteria applicable to the research field. Subsequently, the analysis of the intervention place is carried out, addressing three scales: the parochial, the head parochial, and the research area, which allows us to notice its needs, requirements, and potential. To finally develop the preliminary design of Green Infrastructure, which considers the different scales mentioned above; so, in this way it contributes to reducing the deficit of green areas in this sort of urban environments.

To Teh, Woltjer, Novotny (2009) when designing and planning a city with rivers and streams it should be integrated the treatment of the riverfronts as articulators elements of the system of public green spaces. During this study, its understood its vital role in generating urban biodiversity, its potential as green corridors, and its ability to strengthen the public dimension of the city. Research recognizes the transformation of public space, and its importance in contributing to the identity; in addition to understanding the growing social inequalities in recent years and the consequences of socio-spatial fragmentation, it’s inequity in the use of public spaces and reduced interaction between citizens. This work focuses on the study of segregation by age and gender on the banks of Tomebamba River from the city of Cuenca and its main objective is the development of criteria for urban intervention that promote spatial cohesion and improve public life in these spaces. Therefore, it’s essential to understand what happens in the banks and river banks, and know the needs of different users. The following research will address five chapters: in the first two an approach to the general concepts and the case study, the third explains the methodology used, and finally in the last two it’s expose the obtained results and the proposed application in the case of Cuenca.

Este artículo explica el proceso de generación de un sistema de indicadores que midan la sustentabilidad urbana en ciudades ecuatorianas. La propuesta aborda dos puntos críticos: a) la importancia de construir un sistema de indicadores que recoja la complejidad de la ciudad y pueda condensarse en un índice sintético; y, b) la necesidad de mostrar la dimensión espacial de los resultados para comparar diversos tejidos urbanos.La metodología empleada se resume en: 1) Construcción de un sistema de indicadores; 2) Selección de un área piloto de estudio; 3) Levantamiento de información primaria y secundaria; y, 4) Implementación del modelo de evaluación.El sistema de indicadores fue aplicado en una zona en proceso de consolidación en la ciudad de Cuenca-Ecuador para evaluar las potencialidades y limitaciones de la metodología. Con los ajustes pertinentes el sistema podrá implementarse en otras ciudades del país y la región, proporcionando una rápida valoración de la sustentabilidad urbana para ciudades en crecimiento, aportando además en la discusión teórica de estos temas y sirviendo de insumo para la toma de decisiones.

The theoretical debate about the scattered city versus the compact city, in the worldwide and particularly in Latin America, this put in evidence the necessary key aspects to propose a new city model, where the quality of life in the present and future generations will be the focus point of reflection. Throughout the study of the state of the art about this topic, it concludes that the returning to a compact city model is the alternative for a possible sustainable development in the intermediate cities of Latin America. In the Cuenca case is concentrated in the study of the densities of the city from the 1950s until today. It is amazing to prove that Cuenca was a compact city with a high quality of life, but gradually it is unnecessarily expanding, with all the problems involved.

In last decades, Latin-Americans’ historic centers have been the center of public interventions in several urban problems, such as inner city slums, our study’s axis. With this degree project, we aspire to study the tenement house as housing typology and collective living at Cuenca’s Historic Center, and develop an architectonic intervention draft in one of these houses, where all the actual tenants will be consider in the design, as our aim is to avoid gentrification. For Cuenca’s reality, we define the tenement house, as the edification where many families live in small rental rooms organized through hallways and central courtyards, here the bathrooms and washing areas, are commonly used; furthermore several formal and informal community relationships are developed. In order to check up this reality in Cuenca, a tenement-house’s identification and verification was made, with this, we confirmed that there are 25 tenement houses in Gil RamírezDávalos and El Sagrario, Cuenca’s historic center parishes. The study of Armijos House, our analysis tenement house, approached us to a reality where, many people find in these small rental rooms their answer for dwelling, in spite of the small rooms’ dimensions and the lack of wet areas. The tenement houses have some features such ascommunity bonds, sharing spaces and resources, spatial distribution through central cores and optimization of spaces and circulations; these co-housing principles could be replicated to improve and promote collective dwelling for Cuenca’s Historic Center addressed to the vulnerable population.

Self-buildingwithsoil has beenone of theoldestbuildingmethods in humanity, thatbecause of thebuildingprocesses and material fast-growingdevelopment; has beenaffectedbybeingleft as a rarelyusedbuildingtechnique in thepresent. Because of this, as a sustainablealternativeforthisresearchproject, a housewasbuilt in Victoria del Portete-Tarqui, Ecuador. Thisresearchisbasedon a literaturereview of traditionalbuildingtechniques, that use soil as a raw material, specifically: adobe and bahareque. Forthisbuildingprocesswebenefitedfromtheresourcesthatthe local ecosystemprovidedus, ancientknowledges are rescued and new ones are obtainedfromexperience. Theworkisrecordeddaily and in form of a binnacle; theplanning, experimentation and executionprocesses of eachstage are described. As a result, weconcludedthatself-building, besidesbeinganeconomicalternative; invites de homeowner and communitytohave a more active role in theplanning and growth of a town.