Uploaded on 2015-05-20 by MartinCalistoFriant

1) Quito has many important stocks and flows. Some of the most important can be seen in this picture, including density, food, building materials and waste. 2) Density and materials are an important flow especial considering Quito's fast growth rate. It is expected that in 2040 Quito’s population will have increased from 2.3 million to 4 million inhabitants. The bellow picture, taken in a central location in the city, was an agricultural outskirt of the city less than 40 years ago with no paved roads and very low density housing as most of the land was used for farming. Now it has a four lane roads and high rises of over 8 floors (though not so visible in this picture, I took the photograph from a 9 floor building and most other constructions around the area are around that size). The growth of the city means that there is a steady inflow of building materials and especially steel reinforced concrete as it is the most common building material. Another visible flow is that of food. Most food in Quito comes from the rest of the country and there is a very noticeable lack of coherent urban agriculture policy in the municipal government. Considering all the advantages of urban agriculture, in terms of city liveability, greening, sustainability, environmental awareness, wellbeing, city biodiversity, improved diets etc... it is a shame that land development has pushed farms away from Quito and replaced them solemnly by asphalt and concrete. Waste is a flow that is directly visible in the picture, with the municipal truck picking away garbage. While the municipal government does a somewhat decent job of picking out garbage the city lacks a proper sorting and recycling of its waste. Indeed, people do not separate their waste and all is thrown in the same bin, which later lands in landfills without proper recycling or treatment (only 10% of Quito's waste in currently recycled). There is thus a need for an integrated waste management system that effectively reduces, reuses and recycles urban waste. 3) From the above analysis it there are efficient ways to improve the stock and flows of Quito. First of all, urban planning would benefit from a more sustainable agroecological perspective by integrating urban and farming areas more efficiently. The concept of Garden Cities as envisioned by Sir Ebenezer Howard would be a beautiful aspiration for Quito to follow. Building materials also show a predominance of imported products such as steel and concrete. Instead local alternative can be created and designed in order to reduce construction costs while enhancing the economic resilience of the country. Waste management can also be improved substantially. Creating an integrated waste management system could generate much economic wealth from a resource that is now being misused. Household separation of waste and differentiated collection could lead to composting systems that feed back into urban agriculture, as well as the building up of local recycling industries for paper, plastics, glass, metals etc... ![enter image description here][1] [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1432131656629768.jpg