Rescue of Historical Natural Elements: Urban Design for the Recovery of “El Censo” Ravine in Quito, Ecuador

Quito has a wealth of natural elements that over time have been consolidated as an important part of the city's landscape, however, they are in a progressive deterioration due to the lack of awareness of all urban stakeholders. The El Censo ravine is one of the most important natural elements in the city center since it has a historical value related to productive economic activities, however, it is in constant deterioration. This research has two objectives: the first, to diagnose the current state of the ravine by applying the habitability index of the public space (qualitative and quantitative research approach) and the second, to propose an urban design project that seeks to rescue this natural space (exploratory research approach). As a result, it is found that the design of an active border of the ravine can become a dynamic and connecting element of the neighborhoods in the area, in addition to conserving biological diversity, encouraging the conversion of communities and reusing historical infrastructure to rescue the urban image of the area. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.