From an academic initiative, and based on certain spatial and functional concerns regarding the city-university campus-city relations, an exercise was proposed with students in the City Studies course with the objective of making a real proposal to improve the aforementioned relations. This proposal, which took shape after an urban analysis of the area, materialized in a project that proposes on the one hand the pacification of vehicular traffic in the sector, the incorporation of infrastructure for alternative mobility, and on the other hand, the connection with very important elements of the context that appeared isolated by their lack of physical linkage. All this with the conviction of contributing to the construction of a mobility pyramid where the pedestrian is the most important.

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Among some of the specific problems observed during the field study and to which we tried to respond, we can mention the following: accidents between pedestrians and motor vehicles linked to the omnipotence of the latter, non-existence of bicycle circulation spaces in the campus area (and lack of continuity with other nearby bicycle paths), lack of hierarchy and clarity in the different crosswalks and accesses to the campus, issues linked to potential health safety problems (micro-traffic) in areas with excessive parked vehicles near the campus, disconnection with the Botanical Garden of Cuenca and with the Yanuncay River.

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Thus, being aware of the economic amounts, the political and social processes and the time needed to respond in a 'traditional' way with a comprehensive urban project, and the immediate need to respond to a specific problem, it was decided to respond through tactical urbanism: an approach that can be executed quickly, economically and reversibly to allow an evaluation, an eventual correction, improvement or adaptation and ultimately become a definitive project that takes place in the long term in the overall infrastructure of the city (being aware that such actions should not replace, but complement the comprehensive planning of the city).

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Among the different actions of the project, one of the most important in terms of future impact is the existing parking lot in front of the campus, which appeared as a physical and mental barrier with the Yanuncay River, where the number of parking lots was reduced to create a 'plaza' for different activities, including a future pavilion for resting and exhibitions created by students of the University. This public space is conceived as an extension of a 'single platform' that seeks not only to guarantee crosswalk, but also to be the first step for a total spatial reconquest and a more direct link between the community and the incredible geography of this natural water axis.

 

It is important to mention that this project was developed and implemented thanks to the willingness, openness, work and commitment of different actors such as academia (with different faculties), local government, the community and private enterprise.