As part of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – Habitat III, held in Quito from October 17 to 20, 2017, the CIUHABITAT International Student Competition: “Challenges of Popular Habitat in the Contemporary Global South” took place. The Universidad de las Américas (UDLA), through its Faculty of Architecture led by urban architect María Alicia Becdach, was awarded first place with the project “ECO ALDEA – ECUADOR” in the category “Architecture and Urbanism for settlements in mangrove ecosystems of the Gulf of Guayaquil.”

HABITAT: proposes an elevated urban system, including social housing and community facilities for informal settlements located in fragile mangrove ecosystems in the Gulf of Guayaquil. The community relies solely on mangrove crab harvesting and lacks basic services. Current sanitary and housing conditions fall below acceptable living standards.