PROPUESTA DE INTERVENCIÓN URBANA ESTRATÉGICA DEL ANTIGUO AEROPUERTO JOSÉ MARÍA VELASCO IBARRA DEL CANTÓN MACARÁ-LOJA. ECUADOR.

Abstract

Macará, bordering province of Loja, has a long history. Controversial events have dominated the history of the province. Because is located between Ecuador and Peru, and serves as a border between the two countries, the territory was heavily bombed during the Cenepa War in 1985. As a result, the military and the government had to intervene, developing an airport that served as conflict equipment. It is crucial to note that the majority of Ecuador's urban territory the urban planning that follows an order that allows growth to have a direction and allows cities to develop in a sustainable and orderly manner. The case of Macara's urban design is not an exception; within it, we find the airport, which was built with the goal of equipping the Ecuadorian territory with an aviation runway for the conflicts that raged at the time. After a few years, the track was given a new purpose, and it transitioned to a semi-commercial use, allowing the canton to have urban equipment that correlated with economic growth. It is at this point when the idea of reopening emerges. The investigations have determined that this action is not credible for political, territorial, and spatial reasons. Following the regulations of Ecuador's aeronautical standards, it was determined that the airport lacked the physical, spatial, and functional requirements to continue operations. It was then that the track was abandoned, an action that has resulted in the populace, seeing that there are no urban facilities to support the population's activities and having easy access to this land, invading this space. Currently, the airport is closed and has become a location for informal activities within it, giving the city a bad image. Macará is a gateway to Peru’s neighboring country, and this place has the potential to be a powerful economic engine. It is for this reason that this proposal seeks to revitalize and encourage investment, with this being the first step in ensuring that Loja emphasizes and highlights the historic events that the country has to offer. As a result, in this project, a list of proposals has been developed within the confines of the current land, without regard for the current use, with the goal of preserving the historic culture of the cantón. The presence of a memorial center serves the purpose of remembering, preserving, and understanding cultural identity. Among the goals of the project are to provide a solution to the problems of vacant land, to provide a central space, and to improve the city's image through the use of vegetation that creates comfortable spaces for the proposed park's users.