The transition between the urban and the rural in intermediate Andean cities has been consolidated, presenting a close relationship between socioeconomic dynamics and urban configuration. The peripheral neighborhood of San Cayetano, located in the city of Loja in southwestern Ecuador, presents multiple contradictory scenarios. Located on a hillside, the forms of adaptation to the challenging topography are diverse, fragile, and fragmented, especially because they present a dispersed image due to the proximity to the consolidated center. This study analyzes the spatial phenomena that have led to the integration of this neighborhood into the formal city, identifying recurrent spatial configurations that characterize the spatial fragment as a determinant in the configuration of the Andean periphery. To this end, official data are juxtaposed with on-site visits to identify the urban and architectural patterns of the neighborhood that contribute to defining this characteristic fragmentation of today’s peripheries. These patterns are then examined through mapping and graphic representation. As a consequence, the resulting urban plots are imposed on sloping land, leaving aside the natural characteristics of the terrain, which causes morphological alterations at the level of the natural, urban, and architectural landscape.

中文翻译：

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圣卡耶塔诺地区城乡边缘空间的形成：厄瓜多尔周边城市景观的变迁

安第斯中部城市的城乡转型得到巩固，社会经济动态与城市结构之间呈现出密切的关系。位于厄瓜多尔西南部洛哈市的圣卡耶塔诺周边社区呈现出多种矛盾的场景。位于山坡上，对具有挑战性的地形的适应形式是多样的、脆弱的和碎片化的，特别是因为它们由于靠近统一的中心而呈现出分散的形象。本研究分析了导致该社区融入正式城市的空间现象，确定了经常出现的空间配置，这些配置将空间碎片描述为安第斯山脉外围配置的决定因素。为此，官方数据与现场访问并列，以确定该社区的城市和建筑模式，这些模式有助于定义当今周边地区的这种特征碎片化。然后通过绘图和图形表示来检查这些模式。结果，由此产生的城市地块被强加在倾斜的土地上，而忽略了地形的自然特征，这导致了自然、城市和建筑景观层面的形态变化。