Patrones de comportamiento peatonal en relación a la calidad del espacio público en el borde del Centro Histórico de Cuenca-Ecuador

Abstract

Introduction. Public space is important in the architecture of cities; however, since the 20th century, it has lost its prominence. Also, it has presented a decrease in the performance of social activities due to the appearance of certain architectural typologies. In this sense, the study of users of public space allows us to understand their needs and diagnose future urban interventions. Cuenca was declared as Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO. "El Barranco" which is the edge of the Historical Center of Cuenca and a major connector with the new planning area, is an elementary setting for social relations. Objective. Determine the influence of the quality of public space on pedestrians’ behavior patterns. Methodology. The research was quantitative, descriptive in nature, carrying out each study point of observations of pedestrian dynamics for two weeks and using a data collection form, surveys were applied to 240 users who frequent the stairways and 3337 forms were obtained. Results. Through the study of five strategic points of "El Barranco", it was determined that the quality of its public space is not good enough and this has provoked that the use of its stairways is mostly devoted for everyday activities rather than social ones. There is very little motivation to develop social activities. It was also found that the age group, nationality, and ethnicity influence on the behavior patterns of pedestrians. Of all the pedestrians who pass through the study points, it was determined that only 20% carry out social activities, 24% optional activities and 56% only use them as connection points to their daily activities.