Planning Support Systems (PSS) comprise a wide variety of geo‐technological tools related to GIS and spatial modeling aimed at addressing land planning processes. This article describes the OpenRules system, a PSS based on a previous system called RULES. Among OpenRules new features are its architecture, based exclusively on free and open source software, and its applicability to all land use types, including rural and urban uses. In addition, OpenRules incorporates an unlimited number of land evaluation factors and a new objective in land use spatial allocation. OpenRules has been programmed in Java and implemented as a module of the free GIS software gvSIG, with full integration between the GIS and the decision support tools. Decision support tools include multicriteria evaluation, multiobjective linear programming and heuristic techniques, which support three basic stages of land use planning processes, namely land suitability evaluation, land use area optimization and land use spatial allocation. The application of OpenRules to the region of La Troncal, Ecuador, demonstrates its capability to generate alternative and coherent solutions through a scientific and justified procedure at low cost in terms of time and resources.

There is a growing awareness in today's society of the importance of architecture and place, but as the cities we live in grow and our lifestyles change, so does the way we use space. This means that the role of the architect is increasingly important. The development of the city and its rapid growth has become a stage to demonstrate the individualism of an architecture biased towards the spectacle and clearly towards real estate. It is important to recognize the good way of doing architecture. This article intends to establish the importance of the place in the work of the architect Javier García Solera, being for him an important condition to project and a result to be achieved with the construction. Through the bibliographical review, the condition of its architecture and the purpose of its design are described, establishing the strategy that is part of the solution, when facing the place and the initial idea of projecting. At the same time, the present study establishes through the bibliographic review, the notion of what the place means, its different scales and perceptions. It is concluded that architecture is the human response to the environment in which we live and what is its impact on the landscape, as an expression of identity and what sensations it provokes in those who inhabit it. With this study the fundamental role of the place is defined, understanding it as a necessary condition for architecture to exist.

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Se ha generado una aplicación móvil para participación ciudadana aplicada a Sistemas de Información Geográfica –SIG- para que la población pueda proporcionar datos específicos sobre zonas que hayan sufrido deslizamientos o propensas a este fenómeno, de manera que los investigadores o tomadores de decisiones puedan contar con datos actualizados y geo localizados de estas zonas. En base a información proporcionada por la Secretaría de Gestión de Riesgos –SGR–  y la experiencia del personal del proyecto, se definieron los perfiles y contenidos de la encuesta implementada a través de la aplicación móvil. Posteriormente se utilizó esta aplicación para levantamiento de información en determinadas áreas de la ciudad de Cuenca en las que se realizaron estudios sobre deslizamiento. Los resultados de la información levantada pueden ser visualizados en la plataforma de Infraestructura de Datos Espaciales de la Universidad de Cuenca –IDE UCuenca–, en diferentes formatos. Adicionalmente, el contenido de la aplicación móvil fue validado por el personal de la SGR.

Fragmented public action and the limitations to coordinate national and local public policies with the involvement of citizens need to generate spaces and mechanisms for citizen participation linked to the planning processes of the different levels of government. In Ecuador (2008), citizen participation is a constitutional right of mandatory compliance for the entities and instruments part of the National Decentralized System of Participatory Planning. This study aims to analyze the normative aspects of the citizen participation system for territorial planning at the national and subnational level its opportunities. It challenges to promote the involvement of citizens in the formulation and updating of territorial planning instruments. To this end, an in-depth reading of national legislation is carried out, contrasted with the methodological guidelines of the official planning guides and information obtained from interviews with those who participate in the planning process. The results show that the structure of the participation model established constitutionally after a decade of operation has been limited to a legal process of mandatory compliance by the different levels of government. Participation spaces have been developed only at consultative and information levels. Then, there are no legitimacy processes of territorial planning instruments, which are necessary to implement normative and methodological adjustments that contribute to a new culture of the public planning to build the future development of the territory and its ordering.