Scales of Gentrification in Intermediary Cities: A Challenge for Ecuadorian Territorial Planning

Intermediate cities have specific characteristics due to their size, population, economy, and regional dynamics. The metropolises represent poles of attraction that do not allow the development of the surrounding villages. These poles absorb peripheral accentuations during their boundary expansion processes. Not far from this phenomenon, it is observed that intermediate cities act similarly in front of smaller towns, having a repeated effect than their higher similes. The relationship between villages leads to emigration and population immigration and can be confused with gentrification processes. For this reason, it is necessary to differentiate the original inhabitants of neighborhoods or areas that have been displaced from those who have preferred to change their place of residence by free will. The various study scales are directed towards understanding the phenomenon within a block, neighborhood, sector, city, and territory, with the desire to understand the gentrifying phenomenon’s propagation speed.