Revitalización urbana del centro histórico de Santiago de Guayaquil desde la lectura de su traza urbana. El caso de la calle Panamá.

Abstract

The historic center of Santiago de Guayaquil has undergone important transformations during its more than 450 years of existence. From the progressive destruction of architectural heritage by fires and the ruthless dynamics of the land market, the overcrowding of buildings because of migration from the countryside to the city, to its depopulation of inhabitants; Its survival as a historical reference to the city's beginnings has always been in dispute. However, its urban layout has survived and is preserved as the main reference of its heritage memory that argues for the need to formally declare it as a historic center. The urban intervention on Panama Street - the former Liberty Street - represents a new milestone in the challenge of revitalizing the center and reactivating the historical memory of citizens. Despite there being no master plan for the center of Guayaquil, the main strategy of this project was to intervene and pedestrianize several streets - some of them that preserve the shape of old estuaries - and highlight the historical urban layout of the center to attract new equipment, services and families to the sector, necessary to recover and activate the old Barrio del Puente, as it was called in colonial times. The objective of this presentation is to explain the results of this project from its conceptualization, which starts from the reading of the urban layout that lies hidden in different overlapping layers as in a palimpsest, and that has a strategic heritage value for its official declaration as a historical center. It was possible to corroborate that the urban intervention and the modifications to the ordinances activated a land market in accordance with the vision of revitalization proposed. However, there are still limitations to overcome to achieve the consolidation of a comprehensive revitalization process.