The right to the city in Ecuador and its exercise. Normative and practical analysis of its application and restrictions within Cuenca"™s local government

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyze the legal implications of the right to the city and how its constitutionalization in Ecuador has allowed for citizens to appropriate public spaces or not. In addition, it questions if the secondary legislation in Ecuador has developed upon this innovative concept or if, to the contrary, the municipal administration and politicians continue to prefer a persecutory concept of security versus the appropriation of public spaces by citizens.
To this end, investigative tools were used for gathering quantitative and qualitative data, which is analyzed using the indicators of inclusiveness, security, significant activities, organization and actors, and institutions, which led to the conclusion that the constitutionalization of the right to the city is a concept that lacks depth, since the punitive orientation of the norm restricts the use of public space without supporting the exercise
of the right.