Planificación urbana y trabajo sexual callejero: regulación del uso del suelo y espacio público en Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

Given the weakness of policies and institutional planning to address the condition of sex work activities carried out in the urban space of the city of Cuenca (Ecuador) from approaches derived from urban studies, this study proposes the development of urban strategies that contribute to the regulation of land use and public space, with an emphasis on street sex work activities carried out in urban territorial intervention areas of the canton. Thus, through a systematic review of the literature and an ethnographic analysis in an urban area of the city, this research explores new approaches to how urban space, the dynamics of state control, and the enjoyment of space influence the conditions of street sex work. Drawing on theoretical references such as the social production of space, biopolitics, and accumulation by dispossession, the study addresses the implications of urban regulation and planning instruments and their effects, on the one hand, on urban life in neighborhoods and, on the other, on land use associated with street sex work. The analysis methodology includes non- participant observation techniques and guided interviews with key actors, whose perceptions are represented through counter-cartographies. The results offer an open discussion on the impact of the practice on the production of space and its tensions with current regulations, as well as a strategic framework for the urban regulation of street sex work activities in the study areas, from a current, inclusive, and non-punitive approach.