A Guide for Sustainable Urban Development of the 21st Century

Fostering Culturally Rich CommunitiesThe community of Old Quito is full of historical buildings with colonial architecture andis the principal tourist destination of this capitol city.The historic core of Quito has a long history of preservation experiences. The first attempt ofdeveloping a preservation strategy dates back to 1967, when the Comisión del Centro Históricoand a city Master Plan were established. These efforts were enhanced in 1978 when Quitosuccessfully achieved status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1980, the Municipality of Quitoelaborated a comprehensive plan (Plan Quito 1980) where it stressed the necessity to identify andsurvey the areas and monuments that constituted the city’s historic-cultural heritage. Earlyconservation policies mainly aimed at dealing with architectural blight and cosmetic renovation.The decision was made that the city centre should conform to an 18th and 19th century Spanishcolonial vision even though many of the buildings were of contemporary design.The political shift that occurred in the 1980s resulted in significant transformations in historicpreservation policies in Latin American cities. In the 1990s, as redevelopment became a keyelement of the urban agenda, the historic core of Quito became the object of pioneering urbanrenewal efforts. Key to this was a market-based approach involving the creation of public-privatepartnerships for redevelopment, often in cooperation with international agencies. An integratedrehabilitation strategy was put in place that included social and economic issues, employment,commerce, transit and, most importantly, housing. This was a dramatic shift from previouspolicies that simply targeted monument restoration and preservation of the built environment.Lessons Learned:While market-based approaches frequently result in the improvement of the built environmentand the appearance of new upscale consumption sites (restaurants, boutiques, hotels) fostering16