Town Planning, Urban Motorway Modernization and Changes in Quito’s Quotidian Life: A Case Study Concerning the San Blas Neighborhood, 1967-1973

Abstract

This investigation analyzes the impact that urban planning, implemented by Quito’s municipality, had on the historic downtown sector of the city during the 60’s and 70’s. It examines what city planners had envisioned when they carried out their modernization policies that included: land-use management, zonal interconnection and transit development. At the same time, it evaluates the consequences that these interventions have had concerning the lifestyle of the residents. The San Blas neighborhood was the setting for the North-South connection transit project that was proposed by the Plan Director de Urbanismo developed in 1967. This expose describes the consequences that this project has had on the neighborhood’s quotidian life and the unfortunate decision to tear down the National Library’s building, in 1973.