Cambios de estilos de vida y los procesos de producción de la vivienda: los nuevos espacios sociales de Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

The concept of a social space is complex, ranging from that based on a long established community interacting in a place, to that based on daily routine and a web of social interactions, to the discontinuous space of flows of the informational age. The configuration and territory of these spaces are dynamic, requiring their constant reaffirmation by their adherents. The processes associated with the production of housing have an important role in the formation of social spaces especially when the state stimulates rapid modernization. In Cuenca, state reforms eroded the base of the economic privileges of the elites, while opening up spaces for the expression of new values by them and other social classes. However, the new estates do not necessarily form social spaces given the considerable effort required of the settler to build the house and the varied rates of consolidation of the neighbours.