Effects of migration and mobility: mapping spatial transformation in the peri-urban settlements of Cuenca

Abstract

The settlement constellation of parishes or ‘parroquias’ around Cuenca, a medium-size city in the southern highlands of Ecuador, is steadily urbanizing and transforming. Transnational migration forcefully fuels this process. Remittances facilitate development investments in the rural areas of the Azuay province and catalyze economic and social dynamics. Migration strategies and family support intertwine with other social practices on larger spatial scales, including community systems of water distribution and locally owned transportation services. Similarly, the impact of investments from remittances of migrant families transcends household economies. The enlarged building stock in the parroquias offers housing opportunities for national migrants who seek opportunities in Cuenca. This in turn invigorates dynamics in the social and spatial fabrics of the parroquias, especially in their centers. The paper explores the impact of remittances on the spatial transformation of the parroquias, semi-rural villages in the vicinity of Cuenca. It analyses the particular interplay between age-old livelihoods and imaginaries of successful lifestyles. Extended family dynamics, investment and entrepreneurship are key factors in this interplay with the spatially embedded characteristics of the parroquias.