UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) The politics of public construction in a globalized world Espinosa Andrade, J.A. Link to publication

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1 UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) The politics of public construction in a globalized world Espinosa Andrade, J.A. Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Espinosa Andrade, J. A. (2018). The politics of public construction in a globalized world: Imagining urban space in Ecuador General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam ( Download date: 20 Jun 2018

2 The Politics of Public Construction in a Globalized World: Imagining Urban Space in Ecuador Julia Alejandra Espinosa Andrade PhD Dissertation, Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis University of Amsterdam

3 Cover artwork: Escher, M.C (1955) Convex and concave [Lithography, modified] x 33.5 cm. Retrieved from

4 The Politics of Public Construction in a Globalized World: Imagining Urban Space in Ecuador ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. dr. ir. K.I.J. Maex ten overstaan van een door het College voor Promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Agnietenkapel op donderdag 28 juni 2018, te 10:00 uur door Julia Alejandra Espinosa Andrade geboren te Quito, Ecuador

5 Promotiecommissie: Promotor: prof. dr. C.P. Lindner, Universiteit van Amsterdam Copromotor: prof dr. E. Peeren, Universiteit van Amsterdam Overige leden: dr. A. Carrión, National Institute for Advanced Studies prof. dr. E.J. van Alphen, Universiteit Leiden prof. dr. R.K. Jaffe, Universiteit van Amsterdam prof. dr. ir. B.J. de Kloet, Universiteit van Amsterdam dr. ir. C.J. Klaufus, Universiteit van Amsterdam Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen This research was financed by the National Secretariat for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ecuador.

6 Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction: Imagining urban space in Ecuador 1 Urban planning and urban studies in Ecuador 6 Modernity-development-globalization and spatial imaginaries 18 Methodology 30 Chapter outline 33 Chapter 1 Globalizing Quito: The (new) Mariscal Sucre International Airport Introduction 37 Airports in global, national and local contexts 38 The old Quito airport as a lived space 41 The new Mariscal Sucre Airport as conceived space 51 The new Mariscal Sucre Airport as commodified non-place 56 Conclusions 65 Chapter 2 The techno-fantastic transformation of space: Yachay, the first Ecuadorian city of knowledge Introduction 69 Yachay Imagined 70 Zonification, modernity and control 79 Yachay Realized 90 Conclusions 102 v

7 Chapter 3 Millennium Communities: The space and architecture of extractivism Introduction 107 Political discourse and development 108 Violence and the modernity/coloniality legacy 115 The production of the uncanny and new dynamics of the use of space 127 Conclusions 135 Chapter 4 The Ice Cream, the Tuna and the Chair: (Un)conventional monuments and multitemporal identities Introduction 139 Monuments, Identity Formation and Public Spaces 141 More than ice cream 150 To be is to produce: the monument to the Tuna (and its can) 161 The Manteña Chair: The power of the ancestors 169 Conclusions 178 Conclusion 181 Works Cited 187 Annexes 207 Summary 216 Samenvatting 222 vi

8 Acknowledgments Many people were, in a direct or indirect way, involved in the realization of this study. I want to thank all of them for sharing with me, in a sincere and honest way, their opinions, feelings and ideas about the different topics addressed. I want to start by thanking some extraordinary people who, in different ways and circumstances of life, have opened my eyes and inspired me to realize the present study. My mother Dolores Andrade and my sister Natalia, both extremely talented artists, for showing me every day the power of creativity; my father Alfonso for his profound commitment to the development of Ecuadorian higher education (and for providing invaluable information and insights for this research); and my brother Santiago, for encouraging me, with his own example, to start a PhD. Thanks also to my Ecuadorian sisters of heart, Andrea Küstermann, Andrea Falconí, María José Armendaris, Lorena George and Maria Elisa Espinosa, for always being there for me. In Chile, I want to thank Adriana Kaulino, Eduardo Llanos, Carlos Covarrubias, María José Mera and Gladys Cordero for incredible classes and insightful conversations combining psychology, music and poetry. From Colombia, Florentino Agreda deserves my admiration and gratitude for showing me that other worlds are possible. In Ecuador, thanks to my studies and work at the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales I have had the privilege of meeting Santiago Ortiz, Otto Colpari, Edgar Alvarez and Mauricio López, comrades from the Escuela de Gestión Pública, and Grettel Navas and Carolina Sánchez, brilliant scholars and friends. Pablo Ospina, friend and consummate researcher from the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, became a model to follow in both academic and personal terms. Very special acknowledgments go to Santiago Ortiz and his wife Margarita Velasco, a wonderful couple and both extraordinary professionals. Santiago with his brilliant political and social analyses of Ecuador and Latin America, and Margarita with her sharp reflections about public policies are a continuing source of inspiration; I feel very honored to have worked with them and to have them as friends. The perceptions and thoughts of all these people have shaped not only the core of this research, but also the way in which I have constructed my own imagined world. Next, I want to thank the ASCA community, which provided me with a wonderful environment to work and to meet extraordinary people who made the solitary undertaking of the PhD a joyful and pleasant journey: Selçuk Balamir, Enis Dinç, Nadia Desscher, Penn Ip, Blandine Joret, Nicole Kandioler, Tijmen Klous (who generously took the time vii

9 to edit my manuscript), Nur Ozgenalp, Niall Martin, Lara Mazurski, Jeffrey Pijpers, Rik Spanjers, Mikki Stelder, Margaret Tali, Birkan Tas, Vesna Vravnik and Thijs Witty; and also the new generation, Andrés Caicedo, Linda Constantina Xheza, Aris Emmanouloudis and Juan David Montoya. Because of these inspiring people the ASCA seminars became stimulating spaces to enrich and develop my research ideas, and the PC Hoofthuis office became a warm place where there was always someone to chat with. I am very grateful to Eloe Kingma, managing director of ASCA, for her tremendous kindness and promptness in resolving any administrative problems and for helping me convert simple letters into official documents ready to be sent to Ecuador, certifying that my presence in Amsterdam was real and not a product of my imagination. I also want to thank the members of the ASCA Cities Project: Pedram Dibazar and Judith Naeff, who, with their energy and fascinating topics of research became a motivation to not give up; Miriam Meißner, who was the first to give me a warm smile when I arrived at ASCA and who, together with her partner Federico Savini, played a crucial role in my life by introducing me to the man who would become my husband; Uzma Ansari, my precious friend with whom I spent uncountable hours talking about life, Islamism and love. Many thanks also to Peyman Amiri for his ability to combine sweet smiles with ironic humor, to tía Tina Bastajian for being the way she is, sincere and generous, to my parce Bernardo Caicedo and his Colombian sweets, which helped me to defeat winter times, to Simon Ferdinand for being always willing to have a nice conversation (and a glass of beer), to Moosje Goosen for her example of strength, to my beautiful Geli Mademli for her exemplary kindness and grace, and to Irene Villaescusa for always having the door of her house open to welcome us. I hope you will all remain treasured friends despite the distance. I found extraordinary friends-colleagues-neighbors at CEDLA: Juan Pablo Hidalgo, Karolein van Teijlingen and Lucía Galarza became my little Ecuador in Amsterdam. I hope they know how much I appreciate their friendship. Another amazing friend is Cristina Bastidas with her enormous heart; when we met working on the Caribbean Islands, I did not imagine that we would become adventure partners and that she would became an emotional pillar in Amsterdam. I know that we will continue sharing wonderful experiences together. Most crucially I want to thank both my supervisors, Christoph Lindner and Esther Peeren, both consummate professionals and extraordinary people. Without knowing about my previous work or academic experience, Christoph accepted with enthusiasm my viii

10 first and still very rough project ideas. His extensive experience and knowledge about urban dynamics and the latest trends in urban studies were visible in each comment and keen opinion he offered about my work. I feel extremely honored to have had him as a supervisor. My work would not have come to an end without Esther and her magical powers. I will remain eternally grateful to her, for her patience and the time she spent correcting and embellishing each paragraph of my manuscript until the very last minute, and for her ability to point out the very essence of the ideas I presented to her. I owe this and my future work to the Ecuadorian citizens, who, through the National Secretariat for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ecuador, financed this research. Special thanks go to the innumerable people who participated directly in the research, through conversations that took place in different places, from a canoe on the Cuyabeno river to fancy offices in Quito, by way of Salcedo, Manta, Lago Agrio and Urcuquí. Finally, I want to thank my husband Mathieu, the most generous, handsome, adventurous and trustworthy man in the world, who, with his patience and always funny stories, provided the best possible environment to finalize this work. Lastly, I want to dedicate this work to my lovely daughter Anaïs, the newest and brightest light of my life. Maybe one day she will read these pages and know a little bit more about Ecuador through the eyes of her mother. I hope reading my work will inspire her to one day construct her own imagined world and to pursue and succeed at her own challenges. ix