El rurbanismo como instrumento para rehabitar el territorio rural

Authors

  • Estefanie Ledezma Martinez Universidad Privada del Valle

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52428/trazos.v1i1.1495

Keywords:

Rurbanismo, Territorio rural, Despoblamiento, Sostenibilidad, Patrimonio

Abstract

The rural world has historically been perceived in diverse ways, often through a romantic or nostalgic lens. Indeed, its landscapes, slow rhythm, and natural and cultural wealth make it an attractive place for those seeking to escape urban noise. However, beyond this idealized image, the countryside today faces a deep habitability crisis and a concerning process of depopulation. In response to this reality, rurbanism emerges as an innovative approach that encourages us to stop seeing the rural as a forgotten periphery and instead recognize it as a living space with identity, history, and enormous potential.

This perspective acknowledges the interrelations between the rural and the urban, proposing a systemic reading of the territory that allows for the understanding of its social, symbolic, geographic, and economic dynamics. It is based on six fundamental principles: improving infrastructure, innovating housing models, ensuring basic services, revaluing rural open spaces, fostering new economies, and protecting natural, architectural, and cultural heritage.

More than a technical proposal, rurbanism is a new territorial sensitivity: a way of rethinking rural living through equity, rootedness, and sustainability. Reimagining the countryside from this perspective not only enables its revitalization but also positions it once again as a driving force of life, culture, and future.

References

• Crosa,Clua, Aquilué. Pesoa. (2023). Enseñar Urbanismo, Apuntes y Experiencias. Barcelona, España: Recolectores Urbanos Editorial.

• Franquesa, J. (2022). RURBANISME o el reequilibri del territori. Barcelona, España.

• Ayaviri-Nina, V. D., Giner-Pérez, J. M., Quispe Fernández, G. M., & Romero Flores, M. L. (2024). Development planning in rural communities in Bolivia: A study in the Department of Oruro. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 13(3), 137–150. https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2024-0070

• García Arias, J. (2024). The urban bias in Latin American avoidable mortality. European Journal of Population. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-024-09716-4

• Leão, R., & Goulao, L. F. (2024). Rural development projects in Latin America: The need to integrate socio-economic, political, and empowerment lenses for sustained impact. Societies, 14(7), 131. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc14070131

• Alderman, J. (2022). Rural Urbanisation in Bolivia: The House as a Mediator of … Bolivian Land & Rural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/blar.13214

• Ledo Espinoza, P. J. (2021). Peri-urbanization in Sacaba, Bolivia: Challenges to the … International Planning Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563475.2020.1839389

• Horn, P. (2018). Indigenous peoples, the city and inclusive urban … Development Policy Review. https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/134275/9/3.%20DPR-Sep-16-1838.R1_Hornjm%20PH%20%5B4349%5D.pdf

• Hope, J. (2021). Extending infrastructural citizenship with political ecology … SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2514848621989611

• UN-Habitat. (2024, September 12). Bolivia launches national urban policy to transform its cities. UN-Habitat News. https://unhabitat.org/news/12-sep-2024/bolivia-launches-national-urban-policy-to-transform-its-cities

• BBVA Research. (2017). Urbanization in Latin America. BBVA Research Report. https://www.bbvaresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Urbanization-in-Latin-America-BBVA-Research.pdf

• Henley College. (2025). Latin American and Caribbean Rural & Urban Studies Group. Henley.ac.uk. https://www.henley.ac.uk/research/centres/latin-american-and-caribbean-rural-urban-studies-group

• UN-Habitat. (2025). Urbanization in Bolivia (Plurinational State of). UN-Habitat Profile. https://unhabitat.org/bolivia-plurinational-state-of

• Humeres, F. J., & Samaniego, H. (2017). Dissecting the spatial structure of cities from human mobility patterns to define functional urban boundaries. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.06713

• de la Puente, P. A., Berdugo Cepeda, J. J., & Pérez Pacheco, M. J. (2022). Systematic review of development literature from Latin America between 2010–2021. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.07504

• Sotomayor-Gómez, B., & Samaniego, H. (2020). City limits in the age of smartphones and urban scaling. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.02978

• Dufour, D. L. (2004). Rural-to-urban migration in Latin America: An update and … Population Research & Policy Review. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15214058/

• Oxford Bibliographies. (2016). Latin American Urbanism, 1850–1950. Oxford Bibliographies. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/abstract/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0008.xml

• Duran Calisto, A. M. (2019). Urbanismo Ecológico en América Latina. Editorial GG / Harvard GSD. https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Maria_Duran_Calisto

• Fals Borda, O. (1961). Peasant Society in the Colombian Andes: A Sociological Study of the Saucio. University of Florida Press. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Fals_Borda

• Halfacree, K. (2007). Trial by space for a ‘radical rural’: Introducing alternative localities, representations and lives. Journal of Rural Studies, 23(2), 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2006.10.002

• Rodríguez-Pose, A., & Hardy, D. (2015). Addressing poverty and inequality in the rural economy from a global perspective. Applied Geography, 61, 11–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.02.001

• FAO. (2018). The future of food and agriculture – Alternative pathways to 2050. FAO. http://www.fao.org/3/I8429EN/i8429en.pdf

• Hoffmann, E. M., Wanninger, L., & Andersson, E. (2023).

Rurbanity: a concept for the interdisciplinary study of rural–urban transformation. Sustainability Science, 18(2), 383–398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01331-2

• Casas-Matiz, E. I., Meneses Báez, A. L., & Ospina-Ortiz, M. (2023).

Nueva ruralidad y política pública en Latinoamérica. Bitácora Urbana Territorial, 33(II), 226–240. https://doi.org/10.15446/bitacora.v33n2.105816

Published

2025-12-30

How to Cite

Ledezma Martinez, E. (2025). El rurbanismo como instrumento para rehabitar el territorio rural. Trazos. Revista De Investigación En Arquitectura, Urbanismo, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.52428/trazos.v1i1.1495

Issue

Section

Artículos