Widespread urbanization and its impact on the development of children in the Ecuadorian Amazon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v68i.100970Keywords:
planetary urbanization, indigenous children, socio-spatial inequality, territorial rights, amazonian contextsAbstract
Extended urbanization is understood as a phenomenon that impacts both physically and symbolically on the territory and society, expanding urban practices into
territories that were previously alien to these processes. The focus is on parishes such as San Francisco de Chinimbimi, in Morona Santiago, where the majority of the population are children. In this context, the socio-spatial characteristics that favor or limit children’s development are explored, showing how spaces in the Amazon are configured as marginalized in terms of infrastructure, meaning, and daily life. The objective is to establish
strategies for inclusion in public policies that favor the integral development of children in indigenous territories. With a qualitative descriptive approach, quantitative data from the parish are analyzed, and survey and interview responses from the population are interpreted. The results show that the precariousness of the educational infrastructure and basic services generates a constant search for modernization. Thus, children are confronted with divided realities between tradition and the challenges of a changing environment. Although the advance of capital impacts these territories, local struggles and the vindication of children’s rights allow us to question the narratives of urbanization.
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