'Human-nature': The shaping of the urban ecosystem in spontaneous settlements of Quito, Ecuador

The study of urban ecosystems is an increasing area of both academic interest and practical concern in a world where most of the population will soon live in cities. This research explores the relationships between urban residents, their neighborhood space and landscape and vegetation transformation in a cluster of spontaneous, unplanned neighborhoods (barrios) at the city edge of Quito, Ecuador. The analysis was conducted within a landscape ecological framework utilizing GIS technology, and examines landscape structure, change and function at macro-, meso- and micro-scales. Both social and biophysical variables are considered.; The focus neighborhoods were found to have many structural features common to urban areas everywhere, including patch shape, patch distribution and boundary types. In the more consolidated part of the sector, some differences in lot size, lot slope and total vegetative cover existed among distinct barrios, although there was more variability within neighborhoods than among them.; Most significant landscape and vegetation variability was attributable to a gradient of disturbance regimes associated with different urban land use/landscape element types (including private occupied lots, private vacant lots, public common spaces, the street network, and a stream drainage ravine) and their relative stage of urban development. These element types are distributed throughout the sector without regard to socio-political neighborhood boundaries, and share similar characteristics and dynamic processes regardless of their location.; Causal mechanisms producing landscape change at all scales were explored to explain the different vegetation patterns; while macro-scale forces seem most important in driving urbanization in general and in imposing a standard urban form on the landscape, micro-scale choices and human intent at the individual scale are most significant in producing variability in the matrix of private occupied lots. In contrast, meso-scale differences in barrio organizational or social characteristics at the neighborhood scale did not manifest themselves in distinct landscape outcomes.; Finally, the structure and dynamism of the landscape of the barrios were linked to biophysical and social functions played by urban vegetation and other landscape features. These are described qualitatively and quantitatively, along with implications and recommendations for developing a more sustainable urban environment.