Revaluation of the City and Its Resources: An Academic Methodology for Adaptation to Changes in Urban Land

The architectural project is at the center of the design studios at Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador's School of Architecture. This teaching methodology integrates transversal tools that strengthen the concepts of social and technical sustainability. Therefore, the architectural project can be a way to learn, investigate and analyze potential solutions to problems found at various scales of the territory, from the neighborhood to the city. The current development of cities is focused on finding, through the architectural project, tools that can adapt to changes on urban land due to present and future development. This article presents a teaching methodology based on Project-Based Learning, which reflects on Quito’s public space, seeks to contribute to the knowledge of the city, to explore leading ways to good practices for teachers and future professionals and to contribute to that city’s urban renewal. The methodology presented here is divided into four moments (conceptual, analytical, strategic, and proactive) and three territorial scales (large, which entails a zonal analysis; medium, that leads to the analysis of the neighborhood; and small, which includes the analysis of the project’s site). This methodology allows for flexibility during the design process and triggers conversations around a more prosperous city which revalues its resources.