Unpacking the Ecuadorian spatial planning law: policy mobilities in Latin America between transnational agency and path-dependent logics

Global urban development frameworks landing in Latin America: Insights from Ecuador and Bolivia

“…Whereas in both cases the global urban development frameworks, given their rather neutral nature, acted as a “coalition magnet” (Silvestre & Jajamovich, 2021), their introduction in the two countries is producing rather differential outcomes, following path‐dependent processes that were enabled and shaped by those peculiar institutional patterns that are frequently “silenced” in processes of policy mobilities (Montero & Baiocchi, 2021). In Ecuador the process of institutionalization has proceeded incrementally, and the National Urban Agenda has contributed to legitimizing and consolidating a set of institutional reforms and urban development processes that were already taking place in the country, with progressive decentralization and the national spatial governance and planning reform (through the LOOTUGS) (Blanc, 2022). The setting up of several urban labs and the involvement of the local governments—alongside academia and civil society—since the very beginning of the process have contributed to legitimizing the Ecuadorian National Urban Agenda and to smoothing its implementation vis‐à‐vis all the actors involved.…”

“…In 2008 the country approved a new political Constitution based on the Buen Vivir paradigm and acknowledging the right to the city, among other human rights. In 2016, the “urban revolution” led to the enactment of the country’s first spatial planning law—the so‐called LOOTUGS ( Ley orgánica de ordenamiento territorial, uso y gestión de suelo ) (Blanc, 2022; República del Ecuador, 2016) and, in the same year, the country hosted the Habitat III Conference on Sustainable Urban Development that paved the way for the approval of the United Nations’ New Urban Agenda (UN, 2017). These subsequent steps contributed to the progressive intertwining of the fulfilment of the right to the city promoted by both the Constitution (Art.…”

“…In this sense, the Agenda Hábitat Sostenible del Ecuador 2036 contributed to legitimizing a path that had been already embarked upon. In so doing, it constitutes the most recent step towards the recognition of the role that local governments should play in urban development issues, as acknowledged by the legal and institutional changes introduced since the 2000s (Blanc, 2022; Vivanco Cruz & Cordero, 2019).…”

“…Esa es la razón por la cual proponemos una revolución urbana.' (SENPLADES, 2013) 4 A similar fate has befallen the Buen Vivir paradigm, which has been framed as a "discursive tool and co-opted term" (Walsh, 2010, p. 20) based on postcolonial conditions of development (Radcliffe, 2012) and progressively emptied of significance (Blanc, 2022).…”

Fast-track institutionalization: The opening of urban planning best practice agencies in Mexico City

“…Over approximately the last 20 years, an increasing amount of literature has been exploring the uptake of urban planning 'best practices' in diverse cities around the globe (Bidordinova, 2021;Blake et al, 2021;Bok, 2020;Bulkeley, 2006;Moore, 2013), including within Latin America (Angotti and Irazábal, 2017;Blanc, 2022;Lederman, 2020;Whitney et al, 2020). Policy mobility has been one approach used to understand the increasing intensification of best practice uptake.…”