Due to the importance of the urban system in the metropolitan district of Quito or DMQ, Quito city council asked for financing and technical assistance from the BID- Inter-American Development Bank, so as to be able to consolidate the efforts of the council and the Quito Urban Development Agency or EMDUQ with the growth model included in the territorial development plan for Quito: General Territorial development plan –PGDT and the Equinox plan 21 – Quito Towards 2025. One of the main points for the growth model proposed in these plans is Urban concentration to create a compact city through the strengthening the urban centers.

The technical Coop, tried to put into action the proposals made by the council, following the ‘Program for the strengthening of Quito’s urban centers’ (EC-LI041). The program adds to the effort made by the council over the last few years to improve the quality of life for its citizens, it is focused on the rebirth of the city center, which has an vast amount of cultural and historical heritage. There is also a program for the improvement of the ‘illegally’ built suburbs, which have basic needs that need to be fulfilled.

The above projects were integrated with projects for, new roads, terminals/stations, an ambitious project for the construction of a new airport on the outskirts of the city and the construction of a huge metropolitan park. In this context, the city is registering important levels of public investment and the program for the strengthening of urban centers is a new opportunity to rethink the city in terms of new areas for development through public and private investment.

The main objective of our technical assistance was to sustain the council is the following aspects:

• The definition of a strategy to identify and strengthen system of urban centers.
• The preparation of a specific program for the strengthening of the centers using loans financed by the BID.

As part of the preparation for the program, our consultant identified and categorized the DMQ system of urban centers and based on the criteria outlines in our proposal, selected and developed the feasibility for the processes needed for the development of 3 of the typical urban centers.

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Services Rendered:

• Detailed analysis of Quito city and its larger metropolitian area.
• Identification and prioritization of Quito’s urban centers.
• Definition of a development strategy based on an organization for the different centers.
• Identification and design of a development model for the centers.
• Definition and analysis of the feasibility of a mix of different projects for the development of the centers (institutional, urban, traffic and transport, social and economic)
• Economical evaluation, both financial and environmental, for the outlined projects.

Client:

The Inter-American Development Bank

Consulting Fee:

295.000 U$D

Period:

February - December 2008