Wetlands’ conservation through a botanical garden as a transitional space between the urban and the rural

Abstract

The following investigation has an analytical-synthetic character and takes as main figure the emergent city of Samborondón. It studies the background information pertinent to the case such as its origin and urban growth. It also examines the model of development to which it has been subject, which ends in the identification of tangible problems within the urban and environmental reality of the city, critically affecting its quality of life and social future. Through the investigation of valid theories for the understanding of the figure of study that ranges from urban sustainability to the conceptualization of one of the most significant ecosystems in Samborondón (the wetland ecosystem), it is possible to expand more in the hypothesis presented. Moreover, the analysis of the theories goes hand in hand with attached methodological tools requiring citizen participation such as surveys and interviews. Finally, the methodological results, the study of analogous cases, and the respective site analysis are key resources for the materialization of the proposed botanical garden model for La Puntilla. These seek to conserve the wetland ecosystem present in agricultural land under the concept of urban ecotone, enhancing the synergy between the community and its surrounding nature.