La regularización de asentamientos informales en el cantón Riobamba, Ecuador: instrumento desvinculado del ordenamiento territorial

Abstract

Urban growth in Ecuador is spreading over rural land, generally without planning. This phenomenon is defined by speculation on the value of land, illegal land trafficking and irregular subdivision - due to non-compliance with, or ignorance of, regulations. The canton of Riobamba is characterized by the presence of informal settlements that have existed for several decades, which has caused legal insecurity with respect to land ownership and/or tenure, in addition to the lack of support services and infrastructure. This situation highlights the disconnection between land use planning and governmental spheres, which is what this article is interested in. Four qualitative strategies were used for the research: information was collected through participant observation, questionnaires were applied to key officials, a focus group was developed with intermediate officials and 48 intentional interviews were carried out. Among the main results, it stands out that, for high-level officials, the main goal is land regularization, under a political vision of the territory. Intermediate officials lack knowledge on the subject, which is, in itself, a major problem. The inhabitants offered information about how informality was configured; it was possible to notice a strong organizational level that could be used for the implementation of comprehensive public policies. The main conclusion is that the regularization of informal settlements, in practice, is implemented as if it were a public policy that is isolated from planning instruments.