Mobility of care around a municipal daily care center in Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

Historically, there has been an inequality in mobility conditions between men and women, which derives mainly from their gender roles in society. Generally, women are responsible for caregiving activities, such as caring for children. In this context, studying the mobility of care in different areas is vital. To reflect on this issue, the environment around the 27 Febrero Municipal Child Development Center in the city of Cuenca-Ecuador was used as a case study. Four instruments were applied: Case-type surveys to parents, open-source tools for the micro-scale evaluation of eMAPS environments, non-participant direct observation, and semi-structured interviews. It was found that, although the quality of the urban environment influences the mobility conditions for caregiving when traveling to and from the educational center, other factors are more relevant, such as the means of transportation used and personal safety.