Optimización y validación de la herramienta de evaluación de la sostenibilidad de espacios públicos abiertos (EPAs) aplicado en las riberas de los ríos del casco urbano de la ciudad de Cuenca

Accelerated urban growth and resource consumption has created uncertainty about the sustainable development of cities. Public space benefits the city at social, environmental and economical level, it is also considered one of the key elements of urban sustainability. Thus, having accurate information on the space quality is fundamental to contribute to the improvement of territorial extension process and planning programs. The current research is focused on the development of a standardized tool that allows a quick and reliable evaluation of the public space status. In addition, through the implementation of the instrument using KoBoToolbox, it is expected to generate a baseline about the quality of public open spaces (POS) surrounding the city riverbanks of Cuenca. The instrumentation, validation and reliability analysis produced an instrument that includes items with correlation values of 0.61 to 1. With the generation of a habitability index based on the construction and comparison of 12 indicators related to the evaluation of the riverside POS, it was determined that the relative value of habitability was 0.42 over 1, demonstrating an adequate qualification of the space. The findings suggest that the developed tool allows a reliable and accurate study of the different aspects involved in evaluating the status of the POS. It should be considered that there were elements affected by a high level of subjectivity, whereby the developed instrument did not cover all the global elements of POS evaluation. Thus, the tool and the indicators developed are a starting point for future adjustments and applications according to the specific aims of each study