Uso de los parques “La Carolina” y “El Ejido” en función de la clase social

Abstract

La Carolina and El Ejido parks are two large spaces that form part of the city's urban infrastructure and whose designs were conceived for specific uses and functions. According to the Metropolitan Municipality of Quito, the body responsible for the city's territorial planning, these spaces are "wide, safe, publicly accessible and free of charge, and promote cultural and environmental activities for common encounters, intergenerational dialogue and collective enjoyment" (Secretaría General de Planificación, 2014, p.79).

In this sense, the parks are configured as organized scenarios capable of regulating and managing recreation and leisure, this is evident in the internal design of the parks and in their material elements which are strongly linked to the ideas of recreation from the perspective of the municipal administration. However, despite the fact that parks in their internal organization mark the uses and purposes of certain areas, in reality it is the activities and practices of social actors that give meaning to these spaces. 

By virtue of the above, parks are constituted as spaces for socialization and coexistence where diverse actors interact. It is important to point out that the coexistence between these heterogeneous social actors is determined by the spatial configuration of the parks, since the organization of space can be a powerful tool that favors integration and/or segregation dynamics depending on certain conditioning factors, for example, the social class in which the people are located and self-perceived. 

In this context, La Carolina and El Ejido parks are configured as two social microcosms that will allow us to visualize the manifestations of society and its interpretation of urban reality.