URBAN IMPORTANCE AND URBAN SERVICES: AN ECUADORIAN CASE STUDY

Abstract

The objective of the study is to explain the location or distribution patterns of urban services in Pichincha Province, Ecuador. It is hypothesized that these services are located in urban centres according to their level of importance, and the settlements of the province were evaluated in terms of ten different measures or indicators of relative importance. The distribution pattern of each of the fourteen services that cater to the rural areas of the province was compared with each measure, and, using additional background information where necessary, an attempt was made to formulate general principles which might explain the distribution of services in the province. It was found that there was generally a close relationship between urban importance and the location choices that had been made by the various service administrations, but that distribution patterns were affected by urban shadow, by local initiative or apathy, and by in-migration from Quito by people buying suburban homes. It was also found that three of the indicators used, frequency of local markets and of bus departures, and the nature of a centre’s highway link, do not provide any significant explanation beyond that given by the other seven indicators of relative importance. In addition, it was possible to classify the centres of the province into four distinct groups, based on population level and the number of services present.