Propuesta metodológica para la identificación de amenazas que afectan al paisaje urbano histórico en la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

The vision of conservation of heritage sites has been transformed during these years, with the implementation of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) framework. Which encompasses an integral system that covers different layers and areas.

Due to the susceptibility of this new global approach to conservation of historic centers, this research project seeks as its main objective the proposal of a methodology that allows to identify threats that affect the values that define Cuenca like cultural heritage from the perspective of the HUL.

As part of the methodological proposal, a system of indicators were implemented that allows the identification of threats. In order to verify this methodology, it was applied to a specific area of the Historic Center of Cuenca. This zone derives from the landscape units preliminarily identified in the HUL_C (Historic Urban Landscape Cuenca).

The results of the application of this methodology allowed to identify the most relevant threats in the area of study in a preliminary way. The urbanization and the urban development, together with the economic and social pressures that harm the cities as drivers of development, are the main threats that affect the studied landscape unit.

With this innovative process it was possible to achieve the proposed objectives. However, it is suggested that terms such as vulnerability and risks that affect the HUL are topics of further investigations. In addition, it is proposed that the identification of risks and threats should involve knowledge of professionals from the different disciplines that integrate the layers of the HUL