Retrofitting the (Post) Industrial Metropolis

RETROFITTING THE (POST) INDUSTRIAL METROPOLIS HOUSING AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN REGION AND THE BAJIO REGION. Edited by Diane Davis, Jose Castillo and Adriana Chavez

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HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing.

Edited by Professor Diane Davis, Jose Castillo and Adriana Chávez.

Book Design Adriana Chávez Copy Editing Margaret Scott This book is published with the support of INFONAVIT and the Loeb Fellowship Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. This publication is a result of the work carried out in the Option Studio Course “Retrofitting the (post) Industrial Metropolis: Housing and Economic Growth in Mexico City Metropolitan Area and the Bajío Region.”

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

SCOPE

This publication presents a range of essays and research projects developed during Spring 2014 at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Under the guidance of professors Diane Davis and Jose Castillo, 12 students explored housing complexities, challenges and opportunities in Mexico. The interdisciplinary studio focused on two sites: Celaya and Tlalnepantla.

Both served as a basis for exploring and rethinking social housing production from an urban, social, economic and political perspective. The work presented in this publication was supported by INFONAVIT, the National Workers’ Housing Authority in Mexico.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.

OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................3

2.

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................7 RETHINKING HOUSING........................................................................................8 Diane Davis and Jose Castillo A.

ALL HOUSING IS LOCAL...UNLESS IT’S NATIONAL..........................12 Jim Stockard B.

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ESSAYS...............................................................................................................................13 CITIES IN LATIN AMERICA ...........................................................19 Diane Davis A.

RESTRUCTURING THE URBAN FORM OF MEXICAN CITIES.......................................................................................29 Nupoor Monani B.

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL HOUSING AS CATALYST FOR URBAN REGIONS IN MEXICO................................................37 Adriana Chávez and Nélida Escobedo.

C.

CUPA VS UNIDAD MODELO ......................................................45 Pablo Landa D.

VIEWING CUPA....................................................................................55 Alexandra Lange E.

4.

COURSE FRAMEWORK............................................................................................58

5.

STUDENTS AND LOEB FELLOWS.....................................................................60

6.

HOUSING INNOVATION IN HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE...............................................................68 A. B.

7.

200 YEARS OF EVOLUTION.........................................................72 20 YEARS OF INNOVATION..........................................................78

STUDIO TRIP AND FIELD RESEARCH............................................................82

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

CONTENTS

8.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS.....................................124

9.

CASE STUDIES: CELAYA AND TLALNEPANTLA....................................129

10.

CELAYA...........................................................................................................................129

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A.

OVERVIEW..............................................................................................130

B

FIELD RESEARCH............................................................................. 146

TLALNEPANTLA.........................................................................................................152 A. OVERVIEW..............................................................................................154 B.

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FIELD RESEARCH............................................................................ 164

PROPOSALS.................................................................................................................170 0.1.

HOUSING’S ROLE IN REGIONAL DENSIFICATION.......172 Dimitris Venizelos and Ellen Nicholson

0.2. THE

COLLECTIVE: RETHINKING THE SOCIAL LOGIC OF HOUSING...................................................192 Carly Augustine and Hayrettin Gunc

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0.3.

HOUSING POLICIES FOR A NEW URBANITY.................216 Nupoor Monani and David Ginsberg

0.4.

LAND READJUSTMENT IN HOUSING SUPPLY..........248 Jennifer Lee and Hamed Bukhamseen

0.5.

HOUSING AND SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISE.............280 PG Smit and Adrienne Mathews

0.6.

LEVERAGING HOUSING TO PRODUCE SUSTAINABLE URBANISM......................................................306 Hanru Wu and Tong Wu

CONCLUDING REMARKS....................................................................................333 THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HOUSING AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT....................................................334 Diane Davis and Jose Castillo

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CONTRIBUTORS........................................................................................................337

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HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

INTRODUCTION

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RETHINKING HOUSING

BY DIANE DAVIS AND JOSE CASTILLO

D. Davis; Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism. J. Castillo; Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University.

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INFONAVIT is the federal agency responsible for the supply of home mortgages made available to workers across the country. Inherent to this work is the administrative imperative to address the challenges of producing sustainable urban housing nationwide, particularly as the country faces grave challenges of urban sprawl.

In the past several decades Mexico’s national authorities have deployed a range of policies and incentives to help meet the housing needs of a growing population in a rapidly urbanizing country. Primary among these tactics has been the reliance on private housing developers to supply much of the new housing built in recent years, including the bulk of affordable or “social” housing.

As incomes rise, and in the context of the Mexican economy’s steady liberalization, private housing developers have supplied much of the new housing built in the last decade or so, including the bulk of affordable housing. The spatial consequences of these trends are significant, insofar as much of this new housing has been built in the urban periphery where land costs are low, thus contributing to sprawl.

Complicating the picture, these are often the areas that have the least infrastructure and services, particularly adequate transportation, which means that housing consumers are asked to trade-off affordability for accessibility. In the face of this

dilemma, the demand for much of the recently built housing has started to decline, as consumers find it harder to carry mortgages and also absorb the costs of commuting.

Such conditions not only create problems for developers, who find themselves with over-supplied and undervalued housing. Residents too find their situation increasingly precarious, as housing valuzzes decline (often in the face of high rates of abandonment). Local authorities, for their part, face fiscal constraints in providing sufficient infrastructure so as to integrate these newly settled areas into the urban fabric.

In each case, the isolation of already peripheral residential developments is thus reinforced. All these conditions require a rethinking of housing policy, and the need to connect questions of housing supply and affordability to location as well as to the larger goals of densification, job creation and economic growth.

The severity of this situation required a rethinking of housing policy and demonstrates the need to connect housing supply and affordability directly to location and accessibility.

This studio sought to generate new ideas for fostering sustainable urbanism through the lens of housing. . It asked questions about what can and should be done to re-densify or retrofit urban areas and produce new housing in booming cities and regions, while also engaging the real world,

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

local context of urban policy-making through urban planning and design interventions in which housing is a key component.

INTRODUCTION

development and sustainable housing in mid-size cities and booming regions.

TLALNEPANTLA Through the National Development Plan, starting in 2013 the federal government stated broad new goals of densification for metropolitan regions across the country. In response to their new policy orientation, this studio sent students to two different sites in order to generate new ideas for meeting goals of densification and fostering sustainable urbanism through the lens of housing specifically, identifying a clear role for INFONAVIT as a key partner in facilitating sustainable urban housing across Mexico.

Immediately adjacent to the Federal District (Distrito Federal), Tlalnepantla de Baz was a prime site for industrial development in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area between 1950 and 1980. Located just north of Mexico City’s main urban core, Tlalnepantla is one of the 60 suburban municipalities in the State of Mexico, which, along with 16 boroughs in Distrito Federal proper, constitute the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (MACM, Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México).

The studio focused on two regions with distinct yet interconnected housing dynamics: the Mexico City Metropolitan Area and the Bajío Region, in the State of Guanajuato.

Within these two regions, the focus is on the municipality of Tlalnepantla in the State of Mexico and the city of Celaya in Guanajuato.

In 2010, the 85.4 square kilometers of territory held a total population of 664,000 residents. The unique jurisdictional boundary is dissected by the Gustavo A. Madero neighborhood.

While the West side of Tlalnepantla holds the vast majority of the population (approximately 98%), the East side hosts just over ten thousand people. The transient population is estimated at approximately 835,000 individuals.

The pairing of the two regions offered a comprehensive insight into how different housing policies; strategies and designs may impact different territories over time. The comparison additionally allowed insight into how questions of de-industrialization and re-densification in large metropolitan areas are connected to the counterparts of new industrial

During the last decade, the municipality of Tlalnepantla has been losing population at an annual rate of -0.8%. However, with more than 155 residents per hectare, the municipality still boasts one of the highest population densities in the region. Given its industrial history, Tlalnepantla represents approximately 10.8% of the State of México’s GDP

COURSE SITES

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and is the second most important industrial zone in the MACM. Over 2,000 firms, 20 thousand economic units, and 49 industrial sectors or branches are settled within its boundaries, making Tlalnepantla a major employment hub, offering a wide array of both blue and whitecollar jobs for the metropolitan population and 12% of employment in the State of Mexico (INEGI Census, 2010; CONAPO, 2012). In more recent years, the economic re-structuring of the city has charted a future for Tlalnepantla beyond its industrial past.

Recent massive public transportation projects such as the Suburban Train, the Metrobus (Bus Rapid Transit) or the nearby Rosario Transportation Hub give this area a strong foundation for densification. With a population of approximately 665,000 inhabitants and an urban character marked by large post-industrial sites, Tlalnepantla offers an interesting prospect for unique housing strategies and innovative densification projects in the Mexico City region.

CELAYA Celaya, a city of 468,000 inhabitants, is emblematic of mid-size cities across the country. The Bajío Region, which comprises a network of cities that include Celaya, Irapuato, Silao and León, has become an agro-industrial center and home to large-scale global investments in the automobile, logistics and technology industries.

In 2012, ground was broken for the

new Honda Auto manufacturing plant in Celaya, one of several automobile factories located in the region. The Region owes its popularity in part to a strategic location along two rail lines (north-south and east-west) that ultimately connect to critical global export markets.

Additionally, plans for a regional passenger train to connect the corridor from Celaya to León have been in discussion for many years.

This proposal, along with a number of recent large-scale investments and job-producing industries in the region, signals the need for Celaya to carefully calibrate the relationship between jobs and housing. By working in these two distinct municipalities, the studio explored the complexities of the intertwining of federal housing policies with state and local agendas along with the larger scale dynamics of investment, industrial development and job creation.

COURSE PEDAGOGY AND GUIDING QUESTIONS This studio course was rooted in the desire to help INFONAVIT explore new policy incentives, geared toward municipalities and developers, to generate more sustainable cities.

Given INFONAVIT’s role as a mortgage finance agency, students were encouraged to think about the spatial, social and political conditions under which municipalities, developers and other local actors might be willing to work together for densification aims.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Student work was geared toward concrete yet innovative proposals bridging housing construction, design, location and policy. The studio course primarily aimed to motivate students to broaden their understanding of sustainability. Students considered the ways in which sustainability aims are linked not merely to efforts to bring housing back from the periphery to the center of a city, but also depend on connectivities among myriad social and economic activities that make neighborhoods robust, desirable as well as accessible.

In order to help achieve these aims, the studio began with a series of exploratory exercises, prompting students to research and visualize how housing production and supply has historically been linked to processes of industrialization. These exercises served as a foundation upon which students continued to explore the relationship between home, work and mobility. Following a period of research and a studio trip to Mexico, students were offered the following questions as general guides for their final projects:

0.1. How can the specific knowledge generated by a focus on two very different regions and cities be used to generate recommendations to INFONAVIT about future mortgage policies so as to achieve national densification goals?

0.2. How can knowledge generated from the housing market constraints and possibilities in a specific locale be used to generate more general policy

INTRODUCTION

mandates with respect to the location, financing, and nature of social housing so as to achieve densification aims?

0.3. How could or should differences in economic context (de-industrialization versus re-industrialization) be accommodated in a single set of policy recommendations?

0.4. How can local authorities be incentivized to work with developers in ways that both accommodate local variations in conditions and comply with national densification aims?

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ALL HOUSING IS LOCAL....

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

INTRODUCTION

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UNLESS IS NATIONAL

BY JIM STOCKARD Loeb Fellowship Curator and Affordable Housing Expert

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During the studio trip to Mexico, one of our most important visits was to the offices of Infonavit, the nation’s gigantic housing and lending agency.

We heard from a number of the Infonavit’s leaders as well as several important stakeholders in the housing industry. While the fundamental actors and activities in the housing delivery system of Mexico are much like those of the United States, there are also some critical differences. And it is in those differences where I believe the US may have some lessons to learn from our neighbors to the south.

is eligible to collect 70% of the total development cost from Infonavit once the project is 50% complete. When a worker who is a member of Infonavit is ready to buy a home, they can draw on their account to purchase a home in a complex approved by Infonavit. Some of the money they use will be from their account and will constitute their equity (think downpayment) in the house. The rest of it will be in the form of a loan. Their monthly payments are deducted from their paycheck and sent directly to Infonavit.

Infonavit is unlike any agency in the US. It is, at once, the most important player in the social security system, the largest issuer of mortgages in the nation (by far) and the largest financer for residential real estate. Think of it as the Social Security Administration, HUD, the Bank of America and your local bank all rolled into one. And now it is taking on a role we do not have in the US – that of a national land use regulator. Mind you, Infonavit is not sure they really have this role, but I think it’s clear they do possess it. And I think that is a good thing.

There is a full housing delivery system outside of Infonavit in Mexico. There are developers who do not choose to be approved by Infonavit. There are lenders who offer financing on private terms. There are workers in the informal economy (a lot of them) who are not members of Infonavit.

The agency does not approve highend residences. So this is not the single-payer version of housing supply.

But . . .Infonavit issues 75% of all the mortgages in Mexico. One developer told us that in his developments, 90% of the mortgages are held by Infonavit, 8% are some other type of lender and 2% are paid for in cash. Last year the agency issued 677,000 mortgages. It is the third largest mortgage agency in the world with over 4000 workers.

In a word the financial community likes, this agency has an enormous amount of leverage.

Here’s the way the system works in broad outlines. Every worker in the formal Mexican economy pays Infonavit 5% of their wages. The money is bookkept in an account for them. Elsewhere in the massive agency, Infonavit is reviewing and approving proposals for residential developments. When a development is approved as to location, design, and final sales price, the company

Upon taking office two years ago, the new President of Mexico promulgated a policy to be implemented by

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Infonavit. Henceforth the agency would not issue project approvals for developments outside of a tightly drawn urban boundary around each of the nation’s large cities. As an indication of the power of such a declaration, consider the following data.

In 2012, prior to the policy being announced, 70% of all units submitted for Infonavit approval were outside the territory eventually included within the boundaries. In 2013 after the policy had been announced, but before it was put into effect, 70% of the units submitted for approval were inside the boundaries. Clearly an agency with this kind of reach has the capacity to impact the pattern of land use across the nation. What else might they influence?

They have begun a new “green mortgage program”. But it is broad and sophisticated. They are paying more attention, for example, to location and all its implications than to triple glazed windows. They have also begun to create a rental housing program. Again, they have thought this out carefully and are doing it for sound reasons and with the active participation of landlords as well as potential renter groups.

What can we learn from this agency and its new programs. Several things, I think, but I want to suggest one that provides important learning for the United States. It is taking a fresh look at the relationship between local and national roles in the housing delivery

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system. Infonavit officials indicated one of their primary issues was that local zoning ordinances and planning strategies do not always promote what they think of as good urban policy.

They stated strongly they believe one size does not fit all. But they confess to real frustration when mid-sized and large cities allow sprawling low-density districts that create negative impacts on the environment, energy supplies, traffic congestion, economic stability and infrastructure systems.

We can note that all those systems are regional and national in their reach, and therefore beyond the concern of most local officials. It is inherently difficult to ask local political leaders to respond to regional or national needs when they are elected by exclusively local voters.

But it is essential that such needs be considered. So what is the appropriate role for local officials in planning for new housing? And what is the appropriate role for national officials? Infonavit is sticking it’s toe in the water of this discussion with its new policy on development locations.

The impact of that new policy can be seen in the data above. This seems to me an inherently wise and strategically significant step.

Note that with this policy Infonavit has not said anything about all housing looking the same. They have not said anything about density or bedroom mix.

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They have not said anything about the range of prices for the housing.

(They do deal with these issues in other policies but their statements are broad and allow for a large range of options for developers.) This is not a one size its all policy. What they have said is that it makes great sense for our nation (and the planet) for growth to occur in this way and not that way. And for that to happen, it must happen in each city and town across the country.

Is there any reason why this would not make sense for the US? Do we not have all the same issues? Would not our cities and our country benefit in many ways from such policies?

Do not our local politicians have the same problems thinking regionally and nationally because they are elected by local voters? So why not here?

It is true that it would take more agencies and organizations to make this happen – we have no single actor as all-encompassing as Infonavit.

But if the secondary mortgage market (whatever succeeds FNMA and FHLMC) were to issue policies similar to those of Infonavit, that would go a long way toward focusing development.

Many lenders would begin to change their policies and developers would change where they look for land.

And if HUD were to issue similar policy statements with regard to the use of CDBG funds and Section 8 vouchers, that would have an impact. And if states were asked to facilitate the development of urban growth boundaries that served the interests of the various environmental, infrastructure and economic regions of the state, that would take us another step in the right direction.

I do not argue that Infonavit is a perfect agency. It has had problems I the past. And we saw several Infonavit-approved developments that left much to be desired. But planners, and even some politicians in the US have often wondered aloud why developing nations around the world could not learn from our mistakes instead of insisting on making those same mistakes themselves. I would argue that our visit to Mexico showed us we can ask the same question about ourselves after seeing the intelligent and progressive steps Infonavit has taken to create a more sustainable built environment just across our border.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

ESSAYS

ESSAYS

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HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

ESSAYS

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CITIES IN LATIN AMERICA A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

BY DIANE DAVIS AND NORA LIBERTUN DE DUREN

D. Davis; Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism Harvard University. N. Libertun; Ph.D in Urban Development, MIT

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This is a revised version of a longer essay co-authored with Nora Libertun de Duren and prepared for the Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd edition) online.

Over the latter half of the twentieth century, urban Latin America has transformed in ways that have produced new social, spatial, and economic concerns. In the period from 1950-1980, when national economies were guided by centralized decision-making regimes and when industrialization was the macroeconomic policy of choice, Latin American cities were known for high rates of migrant absorption, over-urbanization, and nationalstate domination of local politics and decision-making. In such conditions, urban growth concentrated in a few large cities, reinforcing conditions of primacy and growing demands for urban servicing in a few large locales, often the capital city, in ways that met the infrastructural demands of an industrial economy primed for national economic growth. By the 1990s the political, economic, and governance context of urbanization had changed.

De-centralization policies that flourished in the period from 19802000 helped scale political decisionmaking down to smaller jurisdictions, giving local authorities more sway in urban servicing and policy-making but also increasing municipal pressures to generate public sector revenues to finance local urban development.

Since 2000, with economic globalization fueling more open consumer and investment markets, cities have become sites

for real estate development and high-end services, with these transformations occurring in the context of a shrinking industrial economy and rising un- and underemployment. Today, Latin America’s largest cities are modern and economically dynamic metropolises with architecturally iconic high rises and gated communities that could rival those seen in any major city of North America or Europe. Many also have institutionalized a wide array of democratic structures and local governance institutions that reach down to the level of the neighborhood and change the political dynamics of urban growth and servicing. These transformations have generated some positive gains, but they also have produced new social problems including greater privatization of servicing, deeper income inequality, structural unemployment, persistent informality, and accelerating violence, all of which hold the potential to negatively affect urban quality of life.

1950 - 1980: INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND URBANIZATION The explosive growth of Latin American cities during the latter half of the twentieth century brought serious problems of overurbanization, leading to overcrowding, poor infrastructure, and economic inefficiency. Capital cities or other major commercial and industrial centers hosted many of these problems, primarily because they were magnets for both rural migrants and foreign investors linked into global

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

into global circuits of capital (Timberlake 1985). Over-urbanization was a particularly daunting challenge in those countries where strong states forcefully directed national investments in urbanization-led industrialization, thus further disadvantaging agriculture and pushing peasants into cities (Roberts 1978). Owing to these policies, cities like Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, S達o Paulo, and Lima grew at unprecedented rates over the 1960s and 1970s, leading to national urbanization rates of close to 50 percent in some cases, with certain mega-cities doubling or tripling in size within the course of several decades.

The explosive growth of Latin American cities during the latter half of the twentieth century brought serious problems of overurbanization, leading to overcrowding, poor infrastructure, and economic inefficiency. Capital cities or other major commercial and industrial centers hosted many of these problems, primarily because they were magnets for both rural migrants and foreign investors linked into global circuits of capital (Timberlake 1985).

Over-urbanization was a particularly daunting challenge in those countries where strong states forcefully directed national investments in urbanization-led industrialization, thus further disadvantaging agriculture and pushing peasants into cities (Roberts 1978). Owing to these policies, cities like Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, S達o Paulo, and Lima grew at unprecedented rates over the

ESSAYS

1960s and 1970s, leading to national urbanization rates of close to 50 percent in some cases, with certain mega-cities doubling or tripling in size within the course of several decades.

With such astounding population growth rates, governing authorities were forced to confront rapidly shifting social and economic priorities, new populations, and emergent political problems that threatened to undermine both local and national political stability, primarily because many of the largest cities in Latin America also tended to host the national governing institutions guiding urban and economic development (Davis 1994). Among the most significant concerns were shifting employment opportunities (Roberts 1978), housing scarcities (Eckstein 1977), unequal social policy provision (Gilbert & Ward 1985), and informal land tenure, including squatting (Fernandes & Varley 1989) as well as socioeconomic and spatial marginality (Perlman 1976). Because those Latin American states responsible for these patterns of urbanizationled industrialization often tended to exhibit authoritarian tendencies, this wide array of urban service and employment scarcities tended to fuel political contention (Portes & Walton 1976), with urban mobilization against the state during the 1970s and 1980s further fueled by direct labor repression, squatter bulldozing, and other citizen abuses associated with unrestrained state power.

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By the late 1980s macroeconomic changes brought new global pressures on national economies that negatively affected urban livelihoods and the overall ambience in cities.

With national industry less competitive in a context of increasing globalization, Latin American cities suffered from steadily increasing income inequality and greater industrial unemployment, albeit masked by the burgeoning growth of informality (Satterwaite 1989), a condition that still dominates the social and spatial landscapes of many of Latin America’s largest cities.

Urban and economic failures called into question the state’s legitimacy and fed an explosion of urban social movements during this same period of time. Over the late 1980s and into the 1990s Latin American cities became sites for organized political opposition, with urban social movements leading the call for democracy, accountability, and greater governmental responsiveness to citizen claims for both political inclusion and more equitable urban servicing. As these activities hastened the fall of authoritarian regimes, the governments that took their place sought alternative development models and practices, both urban and national. The embrace of a more neoliberal approach to economy and governance brought a commitment to strengthening urban markets and to decentralized democracy at the local level. These changes not only shifted the politics of urban policymaking to the locality. They also brought new opportunities for local authorities

to marshal foreign investment into development of infrastructure for the service sector, rather than industry, which had been a key concern of national states, thus transforming the face and physical character of Latin American cities.

1980 - 2000: URBANIZATION, INCOME INEQUALITY, AND THE POLITICS OF INFORMALITY The neoliberal commitment to state downsizing over the 1980s and 1990s and problems with global competitiveness led to a decline in both urban industrial employment and public sector job growth, two trends that changed the nature of the Latin American city by pushing more residents into the informal sector and thus reducing the state’s fiscal capacity. Because more open market policies also privileged the consumption patterns of urban middle classes, many Latin American cities saw an ever widening income gap between the rich and the poor during this same period of time. While in the past inequalities between rural and urban areas commanded significant attention because they drove rural migration and contributed to problems of over-urbanization, in the context of neo-liberalization intra-urban social and income inequalities began to emerge as a principal source of tension. Urban inequalities were soon reflected by significant changes in urban land use, such as the rise of suburban communities and the reorganization of urban space to favor foreign investment in upscale financial

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

centers, commercial development complexes, and gated communities (Libertun 2007). Latin American cities began to host degrees of urban sprawl unimaginable in the past, with their extension in space owed not merely to population growth and the decline of agriculture but also to the growing neoliberal embrace of formal property rights and newfound public–private sector support for real estate development as a main driver of the urban economy.

These trends contributed to more social and spatial inequality, with the poorest populations located on the areas of the city where critical services like transportation, water, and electricity were lacking. All these transformations led to accelerating citizen claims on the newly democratic regimes that governed most Latin American cities (Roberts 1995).

With the informal settlements that in the initial decades of rapid industrialization served as the basis for political claim-making coming under threat by real estate developers, and with labor organizations declining in political strength, the question of urban citizenship re-emerged as a central concern. By the early 2000s many cities across Latin America began to follow Brazil’s lead in offering new venues for the exercise of urban citizenship via participation in planning and budgeting processes (Baiocchi 2005), considered a much more democratic means for making decisions about urban servicing and infrastructure than were employed in prior periods when centralized

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states and party structures dominated urban politics through clientelistic relationships. But along with the new political freedoms and mechanisms for participation and inclusion that accompanied the return of electoral democracy to cities of Latin America, many urban citizens faced an erosion of their social and civil rights, finding themselves facing new forms of vulnerability related to transformations in the urban quality of life (Evans 2002, Auyero and Swistun 2009). Among the poor, such vulnerabilities were often parlayed into forms of “insurgent” citizenship intended to challenge the persistence of social and spatial discrimination (Holston 2008).

Criminality and fear have become the watchwords of the Latin American urban experience. Panic about intensifying crime waves has prompted the upper classes to wall themselves off from the city in gated communities and to turn to high-tech surveillance, private security forces, and other more “revanchist” actions against the urban poor – who are perceived to be the source of much urban crime. The walling of the city is not purely physical; “fortified enclaves” have furthered the demise of public street life, itself already threatened by crime, even as ever more urban residents are calling for harsher social control of low-income populations no matter their location (Caldeira 2000).

In most Latin American cities police powers have increased in recent years so as to confront urban criminality, with the growing popularity of “zero

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tolerance” policing just one example of the means through which local authorities seek to spatially regulate or control the urban population.

At the same time, major cities like Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires had embraced their role as command and control nodes in a globalizing economy, and started build a more upscale urban environment to signify their new global city status. To be sure, despite new definitions of what would make a city “global,” connections between Latin American cities and the global economy have been a historical constant (Davis 2005). But their nature and form have changed with today’s trends.

2000 - 2010 : NEW SOCIAL AND SPATIAL CHALLENGES IN THE CONTEXT OF GROWTH Transformations of the global economic order during the 1990s and early 2000s brought new forms of affluence to many Latin American economies, particularly those favoured by increases in the international prices of basic commodities (Bértola, 2012). While the Latin America region diverges deeply in terms of development models and political regime-types, ranging from the extreme populism of Venezuela to the more liberal approach of Chile, almost all of its countries have registered an increase in the number of middle class households and a decrease in the number of poor (Ferreira, 2013). This is partly due to the fact that the majority of

households are urban (80%) and that rates of rural-urban migration have declined, allowing governments to make headway in catching up with the demand for basic urban services (Libertun, 2013).

As middle classes increase in numbers, the forms and nature of urban claim-making are in flux.

Demands for market-based housing and better public services are on the rise. Social protests for more extensive and responsive urban services have been documented in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina (Lustig, 2012) countries where the growth of the middle classes has been most evident. Many national governments have made progress towards increasing the access to housing ownership for all, promoting the private production of affordable housing units (Bouillon 2012).

However, as the peripheries of Brazilian, Colombian, Chilean, and Mexican cities host massive new housing subdivisions built by developers seeking low-cost land (Monkkonen, P. 2012), the vacancy rate in these new developments keep climbing as many urban residents value housing location more than housing ownership. This fact has called into question the historical disconnect between urban infrastructural investment and housing provision. A commitment to building denser cities is now on the national agenda in Colombia, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico, among others, and both local and national authorities are

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seeking new ways of reducing sprawl while also responding to citizens’ demands for a better quality of life. These new trends suggest that longstanding urbanization patterns may finally be in reversal. During the 1980s, urban policies failed to counter the regional and political imbalance that mega cities created.

This was because cities like Mexico DF, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Lima often amounted for more than a third of their country’s population, thus exerting enormous pressure on national politics (Davis 1994). The call for decentralizing population and curbing megacity growth in the 19990s was supported as a way to redistribute development as well as political power. And although LAC countries are still marked by a high primacy, the last decade had seen the growth of the middle -size Latin American city, absorbing the bulk of urban growth today (UN_DESA, 2013).

These spatial transformations have created a more balanced economic and social geography, but they also have transferred responsibility for the provision of urban services to a myriad of smaller municipalities (Campbell 2012), who are not well equipped to provide regulatory oversight and are still fiscally depending on the transferences of higher levels of government (Bonet 2013). As a consequence, many local authorities sign deals with private developers to build housing in exchange for tax revenues or the provision of infrastructural services.

These bargains help buttress

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municipal budgets, but they also increase sprawl. In response, federal authorities increasingly seek new strategies to contain sprawl.

Urban density has also become a policy goal because of environmental concerns. While population growth in Latin America has stabilized to an average annual rate of 2.1%, urban areas keep expanding at 2-3 times that rate (Angel 2005), with much of that attributable to the growth of the urban middle classes, who consumes more land than the poor (Brueckner 2001). Population growth has not just produced a larger urban footprint. In combination with more expendable income it has increased aggregate demand for water, electricity, automobiles, and other consumption items that reinforce environmental degradation. Recent geo-thermal shifts associated with climate change have intensified environmental concerns, particularly for poor residents of informal settlements most likely to locate in environmentally vulnerable areas (Hardoy, 2009).

2010 AND BEYOND: CITIES AT RISK? The growing awareness of environmental degradation has landed on the urban policy docket just as authorities have been battling the challenges of urban violence, another major source of risk. Not surprisingly, these problems have been greatest in the most socially and economically marginal urban settlements, where exposure to environmental ills and chronic poverty have combined with

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state neglect to produce no-man’s lands where lawlessness reigns (Davis 2010). In such settings, citizens have been more likely to become involved in illegal and illicit activities, or to be absorbed into their sociospatial orbits by local mafias involved in criminal networks (Denyer Willis 2014). Such actors tend to seek out abandoned housing developments and other urban locations where many of the problems noted above are most evident.

With violence an increasing fact of urban life in Latin America, there is increased commitment to “spatial regulation” and to separation of populations, oftenseen in the restructuring of urban transportation routes, often in the form of highspeed roads which form “fortified networks” that facilitate automobile mobility for the elite and impede it for poor urban residents who cannot afford private vehicles (Rodgers 2004).The further sociospatial segregation of the urban built environment through either policing or transportation policies has, along with targeted real estate developments geared toward the very rich, created a large number of “fractured” cities.

Paradoxically, the dualities of formal/ informal, organized/chaotic, and governed/lawless made visible by both socio-spatial divisions and the glaring proximity of wealth and poverty in the Latin American city have further contributed to the crisis of crime and violence in the region today (Koonings & Kruijt 2007).

With different groups vying for the power and authority to impose their own formal or informal structures of governance in local communities – whether in the form of territorial battles among drug factions in cities like Rio de Janeiro (Arias 2006) or through vigilante justice in Cochabamba and cities throughout Mexico (Goldstein 2004) – Latin American cities have become among the world’s most violent.

This sad fact stands in contrast to a wide array of gains in other domains that have accrued during the last several decades. The transition to neoliberalism and free-market economies brought Latin American cities new opportunities to transform themselves into global players and to keep their economies growing through urban investments even in the face of declining industrial firm competitiveness. The new commitment to densification and environmental sustainability also holds promise. But if these newer projects remain only spatial, without attention to questions of sociospatial inequality, social exclusion, and environmental vulnerability, violence will continue and future plans to better urban quality of life will continue to be at risk.

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REFERENCES • Angel S, Sheppard SC and Civco DL (2005) The Dynamics of Global Urban Expansion. Washington, D.C.: Transport and Urban Development Department, The World Bank.

• Arias, E. (2006) Drugs and Democracy in Rio de Janeiro: Trafficking, Social Networks and Public Security. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

• Auyero, J. & Swiston, D. (2009) Flammable: Environmental Suffering in an Argentine Shantytown. Oxford University Press.

• Baiocchi, G. (2005) Militants and Citizens: The Politics of Participatory Democracy in Porto Alegre.

Stanford University Press, Stanford.

• Bértola, B and Ocampo, J. (2012) The Economic Development of Latin America since Independence. Oxford University Press: UK • Bonet J, De la Cruz R and Fretes V (2013) “Más ingresos propios para el desarrollo local” in Corbacho A, Fretes V and Lora E (eds.) Recaudar no basta. Los impuestos como instrumento de desarrollo. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.

• Bouillon, C. (2012) Room for Development: Housing markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Washington DC: Inter-American Development Bank • Brueckner, J. K. (2001) “Urban Sprawl: Lessons from Urban Economics,” Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, pp. 65-97 • Caldeira, T. (2000) City of Walls: Crime, Segregation and Citizenship in São Paulo. University of California Press, Berkeley.

• Campbell T (2012) Beyond Smart Cities: How Cities Network, Learn and Innovate. London: Routledge.

• Davis, D. (1994) Urban Leviathan: Mexico City in the Twentieth Century. Temple University Press, Philadelphia.

• Davis, D. (2005) Cities in Global Context: A Brief Intellectual History. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (29) (1): 92–109.

• Davis, D. (2010) Irregular Armed Forces, Shifting Patterns of Commitment, and Fragmented Sovereignty in the Developing World. Theory and Society (39) (3): 397-413.

• Denyer-Willis, G. (2015) The Killing Consensus: Police, Organized Crime, and the Regulation of Life and Death in Urban Brazil. University of California Press, Berkeley.

• Eckstein, S. (1977) The Poverty of Revolution: The State and the Urban Poor in Mexico. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

• Evans, P. (2002) Livable Cities: Struggles for Livelihood and Sustainability. University of California Press, Berkeley.

• Fernandes, E. & Varley, A. (1989) Illegal Cities: Law and Urban Change in Developing Countries. Zed Books, London.

• Ferrerira, F; Messima, J. ; Rigolini, J.; Lopez-Calva, L.; Lugo, M. and Vakis, R. (2013) Economic Mobility and the Rise of the Latin American Middle Class

Washington DC: World Bank.

• Gilbert, A. & Ward, P. (1985) Housing, the State, and the Poor: Policy and Practice in Three Latin American Cities. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

• Goldstein, D. (2004) The Spectacular City: Violence and Performance in Urban Bolivia. Duke University Press, Durham, NC. • Hardoy, J. and Pandiella, G (2009) Urban Poverty and Vulnerability to Climate Change in Latin America. Environment & Urbanization (21) 203-224 • Holston, J. (2008) Insurgent Citizenship: Disjunctions of Democracy and Modernity in Brazil.

Princeton University Press, Princeton.

• Koonings, K. & Kruijt, D. (Eds.) (2007) Fractured Cities: Social Exclusion, Urban Violence and Contested Urban Spaces in Latin America. Zed Books, London.

• Libertun de Duren, N. (2007) “Gated Communities as a Municipal Development Strategy.” Housing Policy Debate (18) (3), 607-626 • Libertun de Duren, N, and Fretes-Cibils, V. (2013) Urban Development and Housing Sector Framework Document Washington DC: InterAmerican Development Bank • Lustig, N.; Mizala, A.; and Silva, G. (2012) “Basta YA! Chilean Students Say ‘Enough’” In The Occupy Handbook. Ed. J. Bryne. Back bay, MA: Little Brown & Company • Monkkonen, P. (2012) “Housing Finance Reform and Increasing Socioeconomic Segregation in Mexico” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 36(4): 757-772.

• Perlman, J. (1976) The Myth of Marginality: Urban Poverty and Politics in Rio de Janeiro. University of California Press, Berkeley.

• Perlman, J. (2010) Favela: Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro. Oxford University Press, New York.

• Portes, A. & Walton, J. (1976) Urban Latin America: The Political Condition from Above and Below.

University of Texas Press, Austin.

• Roberts, B. (1978) Cities of Peasants: The Political Economy of Urbanization in the Third World.

Edward Arnold, London.

• Roberts, B. (1995) The Making of Citizens. Edward Arnold, London.

• Rodgers, D. (2004) “Disembedding” the City: Crime, Insecurity and Spatial Organization in Managua, Nicaragua. Environment and Urbanization (16) (2): 113–23.

• Satterwaite, D. (1989) Squatter Citizen: Life in the Urban World. Earthscan, London.

• Timberlake, M. (1985) Urbanization in the World Economy. Academic Press, Orlando, FL. • UN-DESA (2013) World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision. Available at http://esa.un.org/unup/ unup/ (accessed on 24 July 2013).

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RESTRUCTU RING THE URBAN FORM OF MEXICAN CITIES THE INTERSECTION OF URBAN DESIGN AND HOUSING POLICY

NUPOOR MONANI Master in Architecture and Urban Design, Harvard University ‘15

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With 78% of the total population in Mexico urbanized, Mexico City today is the second largest urban agglomeration in the western hemisphere (after Sao Paulo, but before New York-Newark). The 1950s and 1960s witnessed unprecedented rates of urbanization, with the population doubling over the course of two decades with an annual growth rate of about 5%, the highest in the City’s history.1 At the same time, a paradigm shift occurred in the production of housing to accommodate this growth and in-migration. Architects like Mario Pani, Luis Barragan, and Enrique del Moral began to address ideas of community living through design while also addressing the rapid shift in urban scale and density. While some projects like the Conjunto Urbano Presidente Alemán (CUPA) by Pani were successful, there nonetheless remained a lack of planning efforts on the part of the federal government to cope with the growing demand for housing.

Today, the growth of the city has extended beyond the limits of the Federal District to 59 municipalities of the state of Mexico, albeit with an annual rate of growth in the metropolitan area that is much lower than that of other large urban agglomerations in Mexico, a phenomenon most likely attributable to the policy of decentralization.2 The growth rate decreased from 1. INEGI, Census report – 1960, http://www.inegi.org. mx/ 2 Wendel Cox, “The Evolving Urban Form: The Valley of Mexico” in New Geography, retrieved from: http:// www.newgeography.com/content/002088-theevolving-urban-form-the-valley-mexico (2011)

about 5% in 1960s to almost 1% in 2010 and the net migration rate of the Federal District from 1995 to 2000 was negative. This could be understood as an unintended consequence of the efforts of government and quasi-government institutions such as SEDATU, INFONAVIT and CONAVI in their attempt to regulate the expanding urban fabric by employing a mix of housing development strategies for housing construction, mortgages, and density regulation.

The sheer quantity of housing required every year has translated into vast discrepancies between what these agencies intended to do and the reality on ground. Over time it has been observed that most of these policies formulated at the federal level lack articulation at the finer grain of the city and the ability to gauge a nuanced reading of emerging urban patterns across the country.

Though the paragraphs above describe the unmitigated urban sprawl in Mexico City, this urban character has begun to characterize other large and medium sized cities in Mexico as well, each dedicating the urban core to employment and producing housing developments in the urban periphery.

This paper is an attempt to examine the urban form resulting from recent federal policies for workers’ housing in Mexico, and is a further investigation into the research conducted as a basis for the studio project.3 3. STU 0150400, Retrofitting the (Post) Industrial Metropolis: Housing and Economic Growth in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area and the Bajio Region, Spring 2014, instructors: Jose Castillo, Diane Davis, project team: David Ginsberg (MUP ’14), Nupoor Monani (MAUD ’15)

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SPATIALIZING POLICY: ANALYZING PATTERNS OF URBAN GROWTH FOLLOWING HOUSING

for development and realties on the ground has begun to foster new forms of informality.

The demand for housing middle to low income families in Mexico is met by the private sector, with a majority of these families utilizing mortgages distributed by INFONAVIT (Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores), the federal institute for workers’ housing.

INFONAVIT was created in 1972 as a response to the growing demand for affordable housing and was initially directly involved in the construction of workers’ housing. The agency has since undergone several significant policy shifts and is now primarily responsible for underwriting and distributing mortgages to workers employed in the formal sector.

Despite state efforts to provide housing, the gap between the goals for development and realties on the ground has begun to foster new forms of informality. Around the same time as formal housing developments were being built by the state in Mexico City in the 1960s, Cuidad Neza home to over 400,000 immigrants and as the city grew further, residents continued to move outwards in search of an urban life. The effects of this urban sprawl are felt by residents of Tlalnepantla, on the border of the Federal District, where growth manifests as conspicuously large developments in the urban periphery comprised of repetitious arrays of single story single-family units.

The agency receives 5% of all formal workers’ monthly salaries and provides a series of housing mortgage products for purchasing, remodeling or constructing homes, with over two thirds of its funds utilized for making down payments on home purchases on an annual basis. One in five residents is eligible for an INFONAVIT mortgage and 75% of eligible workers utilize the INFONAVIT credit, meaning that each year there will be about 2.6 million new INFONAVIT homes in Mexico with one mortgage originated approximately every 22 seconds.1 Despite state efforts to provide housing, the gap between the goals

Developments have proliferated in areas that fall outside the transport and infrastructure grid of the Federal District but still serve as dormitory communities for residents that work in the Federal District. In 2007, developments with more than 100 homes represented 35% of total registered developments, while by 2012 the market share was 58%. 2 Market forces determine housing typology and to achieve economies of scale, development follows the highways and infrastructure already laid out for industry and is frequently built on cheap and available land outside the city.

1. Urban Population as % of total from World Bank Data for 2012

2 BVVA Bancomer, Real Estate Outlook, Mexico, BVVA Research, January 2013

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In Celaya, the urbanized area has nearly doubled in the last 20 years and is anticipated to grow to 1.5 times by 2030 with the construction of a new Honda manufacturing plant in 2013.

reverse the course of sprawl and subsequent home abandonment, shifting subsidies to promote development of apartments in cities instead of single-family homes in more remote towns.

This phenomenon has been sustained in large part due to the location of land reserves held by private sector construction companies in peripheral areas, as well as the conditions fostered by the housing support programs of INFONAVIT and CONAVI (Comisión Nacional de Vivienda – the national housing commission responsible for coordinating housing production and to ensure that the objectives and goals of Infonvavit are met.)1 With the urban periphery of Mexico’s cities continuing to expand, there also persists an inverse issue of housing abandonment. Abandoned homes, prevalent throughout the country, are the unintended consequence of INFONAVIT’s policies that helped back mortgages and provide subsidies for low-income homes on cheap land, sometimes hours outside the city.

EVOLVING POLICY RESPONSES: FROM CORRECTIVE TO PREVENTIVE

These great distances and the general inadequacy of these monotonous housing units to integrate into the surrounding urban fabric has prompted many residents leaving their homes, and repossessions have more than doubled in 2013 to 43,853 for Mexico. 2 Federal agencies are now trying to 1. Translated from: Target - About us, CONAVI, http:// www.conavi.gob.mx/quienes-somos 2 Jonathan Levin, Mexico’s 400,000 Abandoned Homes Draw Venture Capital, Bloomberg, May 21, 2013, retrieved from: http://www.bloomberg.com/ news/2013-05-21/mexico-s-400-000-abandonedhomes-draw-venture-capital.html

Out of recognition that housing is a primary determinant of urban growth in Mexico, federal level agencies are aiming to guide urban development by more closely associating housing policies with the production of space. Attempts by INFONAVIT and CONAVIT to guide new development have included a tighter underwriting process, considering not only the demographic and economic characteristics of borrowers, but also various features of urban living such as location, public services, infrastructure, and amenities. The “Esta es tu Casa” (This is Your Home) program offers one example. The subsidy program was formulated in 2007, administered by CONAVI with the goal to facilitate housing access for low income Mexicans and is available to INFONAVIT eligible low-income workers who have no home.3 Immediately gaining popularity among residents and developers alike, between 2008 and 2011 it was noted that one out of every six homes

3. Workers employed in the formal sector earning less than 5 GMW (minimum monthly wages)

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financed in the country in recent years has received subsidies.1 In 2012, significant changes were made in the operating rules of the subsidy program to incentivize better-located and connected housing. Based on a point system, four dimensions were graded: location, services, housing density and competitiveness. In location, the most important dimension, the objective was to promote construction in the inner urban areas. Based on the identification of the areas of economic activity in terms of employment, concentric zones of development were identified based on access to water, electricity and public amenities2 – the intra-urban zone (U1), a second contour (U2). The third zone (U3) defined a radius or “buffer” of between 400 and 800 meters3 from the second contour to extend the scope of coverage of the area potentially subject to subsidies.

The subsidy program has been well received and popular with residents and developers alike since its inception. However, the intention to achieve strategic urban development and incentivize densification within the city center (U1) has not been as successful.

1. Close to 100,000 subsidies were granted annually through this program to support housing acquisition (90% of these for new homes) considering that at a national level the volume of mortgage loans is of around 600,000 jobs per year (Source: BVVA Bancomer Research) 2. U1 was defined as areas that had at least 70% of the housing with water and drainage services,U2 was defined as areas with a secondary school nearby 3. Depending on the size of the municipality (in terms of population)

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The extension of the subsidy program to include U3 meant that poorly connected peripheral lands, which is primarily where land reserves of larger developers were (and continue to be) located, would also merit at least a partial subsidy. 4 The city continues to grow as it has historically, with new developments prioritizing proximity only with highways laid out for industry. Although CONAVI’s policies stipulate that the contours be redrawn annually, the process of doing so, as described above, is reactive to new development rather than actively directing future construction towards areas zoned and planned to absorb higher densities.

In this respect, the anticipated growth has also been incongruent with Celaya’s local density and zoning plan for 2035 with a lot of the areas zoned for the lowest density falling within U1 and receiving the highest subsidy. The static contours do not successfully mitigate sprawl and new development continues to be guided by cheaper land and lower development costs in the periphery that make it easier to achieve economies of scale.

The points5 are awarded for being in 4. It is also important to note that when 70% of the housing units of the development fell within the higher-valued area, the remaining 30% of the complex would receive the same treatment; a second case, when 80% of the homes in the development fell within the expanded area of “buffer”, the entire complex could benefit with the same treatment.

5. The program subsidizes 10% – 30% of the price of the home depending on a scorecard of a maximum of 1000 points that ranks projects based on location in the contours, housing density and size, proximity to schools and sustainability of the housing environment.

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a favorable location when compared to the cost of land in infill sites and construction costs of building vertically, the subsidy doesn’t help to align this effective cost to that in a peri-urban zone. In the case of Celaya specifically, the size of land parcels that could be used as potential infill developments are not large enough to enable development that is sufficiently dense so as to make the current subsidy structure viable.

Beyond the financial considerations of the existing subsidy model, it has also been unintentionally incentivizing expansion in peripheral urban areas, significantly adding to the infrastructure burden of the city.

The type of housing development this proliferates is typical of fringe developments in Mexico, comprised of single story, single-family homes repeated in parallel rows unconnected

to the surrounding urban fabric. It bears noting that the population without access to an INFONAVIT credit far exceeds those who do have access by nature of their employment in the formal sector. In spite of this gap, the two groups have similar incomes and spending on expenses, particularly housing. It might therefore be considered that this segment of the population offers a vast potential for mortgage loans over the next few years.1 To plan for this anticipated growth, INFONAVIT AND CONAVI policies will need to be heavily restructured to incentivize sustainable urban development and thoughtful urban design practices among the diverse actors involved in city building.

1. Among those that could acquire housing and in addition need it, only 17% could be attended exclusively by the commercial banks. The remaining 83% of the cases would require the support of the federal government (BVVA Bancomer, Real Estate Outlook, Mexico, BVVA Research, January 2013)

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THE ROLE OF SOCIAL HOUSING AS CATALYST FOR URBAN REGIONS IN MEXICO ADRIANA CHÁVEZ AND NELIDA ESCOBEDO Research Associates, Harvard University

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For the past 20 years, Mexican cities have experienced accelerated urbanization as a result of economic, social, and political changes at the national and global scale. Between 1993 and 2010, the population living in metropolitan areas increased by 32.3 million. The Mexican population is largely concentrated in 59 metropolitan areas, home to 63.8 million people and 367 local governments known as municipalities.1 Such continuous urban growth has largely followed a horizontal model of unregulated and unplanned growth.

Though Mexican cities and metropolitan regions have diverse configurations across the country, they share common challenges such inadequate housing and infrastructure provision, growing social inequality, and environmental degradation. These dynamic and challenging conditions pose new questions on how best to guide urban development in Mexico in order to promote quality of life and also ensure long-term sustainability.

Similarly, Monterrey’s urban surface grew 4.95 times, while its population grew 1.98 times. Guadalajara presents a similar trend with territorial growth of 3.82 times, while the population grew 1.98 times. The case of the PueblaTlaxcala metro region exemplifies a particularly extreme case, where the urban surface grew 12.40 times while the population only grew by 2.40 times.2 These expansion patterns can be explained in part by housing policies that for many decades financed large-scale social housing regardless of location or connection with transportation systems, services, and jobs.

Unsurprisingly, Mexican cities have followed a fragmented and peripheral pattern of growth. This fragmentation has led to high rates of housing abandonment, violence in neighborhoods, and significant financial burdens on local municipalities that are unable to provide adequate infrastructure services.

As was alluded to previously, Mexico’s urban development has been characterized by territorial urban expansion in excess of the population growth rate. This pattern remains consistent across cities and metropolitan regions. For example, between 1980 and 2000, Mexico City’s Metropolitan Region grew 3.57 times (in land coverage) while its population grew by 1.42 times.

For example, the cost of delivering water or transport infrastructure to a vast horizontal urban grid is immense and logically produces inequality gaps in provision and quality of service for municipalities already struggling with solvency. Currently, 11% of households in Mexico do not have access to water, 7% lack sewage systems, and 5% have no electricity provision.3

1. Secretaria de Desarrollo Social, Consejo Nacional de Población & Instituto Nacional de Geografía y Estadística. Delimitación de las zonas metropolitanas de México 2010. P.14-15

2. Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad, Indice de Competitividad Urbana 2014.

3. Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad, Indice de Competitividad Urbana 2014.

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With houses located far from job centers and inaccessible to transportation systems, homeowners began to abandon their houses to seek more centrally located accommodations. In 2010, almost 5 million houses were abandoned, representing 14% of the country’s total housing supply.1 Given these complex challenges, the need for a clear and central role for housing in urban development becomes essential.

Through sustainable integration of transportation, water and public space access, waste management, job creation, and social engagement, housing can become a major driver and guide for urban development.

To overcome the country’s current housing deficit and meet projected housing needs, an estimated 10.8 million housing solutions are needed over the next 20 years.2 In this equation, one of the most important key players to consider is INFONAVIT (Instituto del Fondo Nacional para la Vivienda de los Trabajadores - National Institute for Workers Housing Fund), as it is the main financing institution for housing in Mexico.

Housing provision in Mexico has historically been a national development priority, realized through housing and mortgages for workers in the private and public sectors who are 1. Instituto Nacional de Geografía y Estadística, XIII, Censo General de Poblacion y Vivienda, 2010.

2. Centro de Investigación y Documentación de la Casa A.C.,Estado Actual de la Vivienda en México 2013.

DEFINING THE ROLE OF HOUSING

eligible for pension benefits.

Following decentralization trends in the 1980s, the federal government’s role in housing production was largely limited to financing (rather than development or design) through institutions such as INFONAVIT and FOVISSSTE (Fondo de la Vivienda del Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado - Housing Fund of the Institute of Security and Social Services for the Workers of the State), for private and public sector workers respectively.

With a primarily financial function, these institutions were charged with providing homes for millions of Mexicans but were insufficiently prepared to consider the urban development implications of largescale construction. Thus, in the intervening decades, thousands of houses were built at great distances from urban and economic centers. As has been emphasized previously, this distance has significantly increased infrastructure network costs, posed environmental threats, expanded land speculation, and caused significant rates of housing abandonment.

In an effort to reverse this situation, new federal legislation, programs, and policies have been devised to align housing provision with sustainable and integrated urban development.

One such effort is the recent creation of the federal agency SEDATU (Secretary of Agrarian, Territorial, and Urban Development), now charged with coordinating policies and programs regarding territorial and

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urban administration, including housing and infrastructure provision.

Though these efforts are laudable, significant need for coordinated and effective urban development remain a challenge, particularly at the local level. According to SEDESOL1 , only 36% of Mexico’s municipalities have an urban development plan, indicating the uncertainty application of federal initiatives. Although INFONAVIT’s primary role is to offer homeownership financing, the institution also aims to coordinate across federal agencies to implement strategic policies for integrated urban development.

1. Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad, Vivienda para Desarrollar Ciudades. Indice de Competitividad Municipal en Materia de Vivienda, 2011.

Cities in the Neo-Volcanic Axis by Victor Rico.

INFONAVIT’s unique role in bridging private and public spheres is critical to rethinking current housing policies and reorienting future urban development. Central to this rethinking is the need for improved coordination amongst municipalities, institutions, and developers in order to transform social housing delivery across the country and effectively densify Mexico’s metropolitan areas.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

A STRATEGIC RETHINKING OF CURRENT SOCIAL HOUSING PRACTICES MUST GO BEYOND FINANCING STRATEGIES AND INSTEAD RECONCEIVE OF SOCIAL HOUSING AS A KEY LEVER TO ACHIEVING INTEGRATED URBAN DEVELOPMENT. STRATEGIC COORDINATION ACROSS SCALES OF GOVERNANCE WILL ENABLE A BROAD RANGE OF ACTORS, WHETHER GOVERNMENTS, MUNICIPALITIES, OR DEVELOPERS, TO PARTNER MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH INFONAVIT AND UTILIZE SOCIAL HOUSING TO ANSWER THE URBAN CHALLENGES FACING MEXICO TODAY, ENSURING ACCESS TO HOUSING, SERVICES, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

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ESSAYS

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COMPARING CUPA VS UNIDAD MODELO

BY PABLO LANDA Ph.D in Anthropology, Princeton University

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Histories of twentieth century architecture in Mexico often celebrate Centro Urbano Presidente Alemán (CUPA), dedicated in 1949 and designed by architect Mario Pani, as a pioneering work—it was the first statebuilt multi-family housing complex (multifamiliar) in Latin America.1 The project, built for bureaucrats by the country’s federal government, has 1080 apartments, a kindergarten, shops, a swimming pool, and large gardens in a rectangular superblock.

The CUPA’s main building is a zigzagging, fourteen-story structure in concrete and brick that closely resembles housing proposed by Le Corbusier. Two other tall buildings and six three-story structures complete the complex.

Notably, Unidad Modelo, another Mexico City project from the late forties2 designed by a team led

by Pani—and which included José Luis Cuevas, Félix Sánchez Baylón and Carlos B. Zetina3 —is rarely identified as a seminal work in the history of housing and architecture in Mexico. This is likely due to Unidad Modelo’s less striking image. CUPA is a monolith that rose in a newly urbanized region. When dedicated, it was surrounded by a few houses, farms and open land. By contrast, Unidad Modelo is an assemblage of single-family houses and three-story apartment buildings around cul-de1. See, for example, Graciela de Garay. Modernidad habitada: Multifamiliar Miguel Alemán, Ciudad de México, 1949-1999. Ciudad de México: Instituto Mora, 2004; and, Manuel Larrosa. Mario Pani, arquitecto de su época. Ciudad de México: UNAM, 1985.

2. The project’s first block was dedicated in 1949.

Others were built throughout the fifties.

sacs and pedestrian walkways. CUPA modernity; Unidad Modelo was, from was an assertive proclamation of the outset, a neighborhood among others.

Today, CUPA is evoked as evidence of a brilliant period in the history of housing and architecture and, as its presence in popular films and television attests4, it has become an 3. The authorship of Unidad Modelo has been the subject of some speculation. The availability of photographs and reproductions of architectural drawings in Pani’s archive at the Tec de Monterrey suggests, as Pani claims in an interview (Mauricio Gómez Mayorga. “El problema de la habitación en México: Realidad de su solución. Una conversación con el arquitecto Mario Pani,” in Arquitectura no. 27, april 1949) that he headed the team responsible for the project. Drawings published with the interview are signed by Taller de Urbanismo, Pani’s planning firm (integrated at the time by José Luis Cuevas, Domingo García Ramos and Homero Martínez de Hoyos, among others), and by BIISA, Banco Internacional Inmobiliario S.A., which financed and built the project. In 1952, Pani published the design for Unidad Modelo’s unbuilt ten-story housing buildings, conceived by Félix Sánchez Baylón and Carlos B. Zetina (“Multifamiliar tipo para la Unidad Modelo no. 9,” in Arquitectura no. 37, March 1952).

It is not unlikely that these architects, who had a prominent role in housing policy in the mid-twentieth century, participated in Unidad Modelo’s design from the beginning. However, Enrique de Anda’s suggestion that Unidad Modelo’s “paternity” should be attributed to “Sánchez’s team” and not to Pani because the project is much unlike CUPA and other works by him (see, Enrique X. de Anda Alanís.

Vivienda colectiva de la modernidad en México: los multifamiliares durante el periodo presidencial de Miguel Alemán (1946-1952). Mexico City: UNAM, 2008, pp. 227-331), is questionable both because it contradicts the main source the architecture historian cites, and because it ignores the many similarities of Unidad Modelo to Pani’s later works, including a project by the same name in Guadalajara, Unidad Santa Fe and Unidad Cantinflas.

4. Since dedication, CUPA has been often featured in film (see, Lourdes Roca. “Representaciones de la ciudad moderna: el “Multi” y sus imaginarios,” in op. cit. De Garay. Modernidad habitada). In recent years, the project had a prominent role in the soap opera Mientras Haya Vida (2007). Part of the show’s plot revolves around the plan to demolish the complex by a real estate mogul, which is eventually frustrated, asserting CUPA’s status as a meaningful building in Mexican history and as home to hundreds of middle class families (see, Pablo Landa. Mario Pani, arquitectura en proceso. Monterrey: Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, 2014, pp. 14-17, 82).

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icon of Mexico City. CUPA is home to a growing population of artists, architects and intellectuals, and is studied by architecture students in Mexican and foreign universities.

Unidad Modelo, on the other hand, is largely unknown and has been barely discussed among academics. In this text, I discuss some of the virtues of this project and suggest that it offers a more realistic and desirable model for contemporary social housing than the triumphalist CUPA.

DIVERSITY. Unidad Modelo is located at the intersection of Río Churubusco and Calzada de la Viga, in Iztapalapa, a region on the southeast of Mexico City. The complex consists of five blocks contained by these freeways and by internal avenues with wooded medians articulated by two roundabouts. Streets within blocks are retornos (cul-de-sacs). A pedestrian circulation system, with narrow walkways between houses, connects retornos, commercial areas, and a network of gardens and plazas.

The block on the north end of the complex was the first to be built—it was dedicated in 1949—and it follows the original plan most closely. It includes two house types: one-story units with slanted roofs, and two-story contiguous units. Some lots were sold for people to build houses in their own taste. Additional housing is organized into seven three-story apartment buildings similar to the low-rises in CUPA, but with more elaborate designs—they have protruding staircases with slanted concrete

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brise-soleils, and geometrically complex footprints. Houses and buildings are made of brick and raw concrete. Some façades include decorative stone surfaces.

Block 1 has a central square in front of an elementary school. Today, the plaza is covered in cement, with basketball courts and parking areas. East and west of this plaza are secondary common areas surrounded by shops that serve people who live nearby. On the east, common areas take the form of small, connected parks in front of apartment buildings. These areas have dense gardens with sixty-yearold trees. Although they do not include apartment buildings, other blocks are laid out in similar fashion. Avenues between the blocks concentrate commercial areas that serve the larger community.

Whereas in CUPA common areas are amorphous—they have the shape of what is left after buildings are placed on the land—in Unidad Modelo they are a series of connected spaces with specific qualities. In CUPA all units are alike1; in Unidad Modelo they are different not only because of the project’s various typologies, but also because of their location with relation to common areas.

1. CUPA has five different apartment types. Their differences, however, do not respond, as they do in Unidad Modelo, to the needs of different types of families (op. cit. Gómez Mayorga, p. 72), but to their position within the complex—that is, whether they are located in a corner or a building’s main body, above or below a hallway, or within a structure with one or two bays (see, Mario Pani. “Centro Urbano ‘Presidente Alemán’,” in Arquitectura, no. 30, February 1950).

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Modelo’s spaces lend themselves to be used in different ways and by different groups of people. Thus, for example, children play in enclosed gardens by buildings, where they can be easily supervised, while adolescents venture outside their immediate surroundings and gather around commercial areas on internal avenues.

Moreover, the spatial configuration of Unidad Modelo offers a framework for the organization of neighbors. In Block 1, meetings relevant to all people are held in the central plaza. Neighbors are also organized by building and by retorno. Many have built gates to limit access to entryways and rooftops (used for washing and drying clothes), and to control entry of cars from main avenues and reserve parking by their houses. Others have come together to care for common gardens and keep walkways clean. The project’s form facilitates the political organization of residents on different tiers: by retorno, building or common area, by block and as Unidad Modelo.

HOUSING AND PLANNING. CUPA was conceived as a statement. By Pani’s1 account, he was asked to design a complex with 200 singlefamily houses, and responded by proposing high-rises in the same plot of land that would accommodate over five times as many people. His clients were not quick to accept his design—there were no precedents for buildings of this sort in Mexico, and the construction industry had no 1. See, Larrosa, op. cit. pp. 27-29.

experience on such large structures.

Pani offered various guarantees and eventually convinced Esteban García de Alva, director of Pensiones Civiles para el Retiro2 to move forward with his project. When completed, CUPA led to other commissions for Pani; he had demonstrated the feasibility and convenience of building large-scale housing complexes with tall buildings.

In the Centro Urbano Presidente Juárez, dedicated in 1952, Pani was given greater leeway and the resulting project was less dense, with more housing types and more amenities and decorative elements—including many murals by Carlos Mérida— facilitated by a bigger construction budget.3 On the other hand, Unidad Modelo was, from the beginning, part of a comprehensive social housing and urban development program conceived by Pani’s Taller de Urbanismo (Planning Workshop). The Taller proposed the construction of twenty-two projects with mixed uses southeast of Mexico City for the growing population of workers and bureaucrats. The country’s capital had a significant housing deficit—neither government agencies nor private developers (discouraged by frozen rents) had built new units in decades,

2. “Civil pensions for retirement” was a federal social security agency for bureaucrats. In 1959 it became the Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado (Services and Social Security Institute for State Workers; ISSSTE).

3. CUPA has 1080 apartments in a four-hectare plot, while Centro Urbano Juárez had 984 in 25 hectares.

CUPA’s buildings occupy 20% of the land, while Juárez occupies 7% (Landa, op. cit., p.80).

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and tenements (vecindades)1 were overcrowded. New housing projects would improve living conditions for thousands and orchestrate the orderly growth of a part of the city that had recently started being populated.2 All complexes by Cuevas and Pani share characteristics with Unidad Modelo, which was the only one built out of the twenty-two proposed projects: they are organized into blocks enclosed by broad freeways that integrate a variety of uses and housing types, they have enclosed common areas at their core, and have pedestrian circulations with a logic independent from that of streets for cars. These qualities clearly differentiate them from the CUPA and other complexes inspired 1. Vecindades are subdivided houses where access to apartments, often one room, is through a common court. In the mid-twentieth century, they housed approximately a quarter of Mexico City’s population (Felipe Correa and Carlos Garciavelez Alfaro. Mexico City, Between Geometry and Geography. Applied Research and Design Publishing, 2014, p. 214). Anthropologist Oscar Lewis conducted some of the research on the basis of which he developed the culture of poverty hypothesis in vecindades in Mexico City, which he rendered in English as “tenements” (see, for example, Oscar Lewis. “The Culture of the Vecindad in Mexico City: Two Case Studies,” in Anthropological Essays. New York: Random House, 1970 [1958]).

2. The upper class in Mexico City started moving to new developments west of the center, along Paseo de la Reforma, starting in the late nineteenth-century. The poor, mostly recent arrivals, concentrated north and east of the center. Working and lower middle class families, for their part, settled south of the center. This trend was perhaps inaugurated by the construction of the city’s first social housing neighborhoods in the Balbuena region in the nineteen-thirties (see, La vivienda comunitaria en México. Mexico City: Infonavit, 1988, p. 276). For Pani, the southeast of the city was ideal for housing projects because it was, unlike other areas, free from developments by land and real estate speculators and well connected to the city’s core through existing avenues (Gómez Mayorga op. cit. p. 71).

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on the works of Le Corbusier built in the twentieth century throughout the world. In fact, they anticipate the conclusions of CIAM 8, which, under the leadership of Josep Lluis Sert, proposed an alternative to the Athens Charter based on the design of city centers with diverse uses, and attention to diverse scales and their correspondence to urban communities.3 The blueprints of Cuevas and Pani’s projects show how they would relate to the existing street layout and urban fabric. They occupy areas between avenues that had already been laid out—some of them would be widened— and at times envelop preexisting residential areas to integrate them to the new developments and give their residents access to services offered in new schools, health facilities and other public buildings. In the rhetoric of the time, Cuevas and Pani were offering and answer to “the problem of housing.”4 They were, however, doing more than that: they advanced housing projects as the foundation of planning. Their clear limits, central plazas, and the presence of basic services in each would contribute to

3. Josep Lluís Sert et. al. CIAM 8, The Heart of the City. New York: Pellegrini and Cudahy, 1952.

4. The phrase “el problema de la vivienda” is a trope in conversations among architects and policy makers for most of the twentieth century in Mexico (see, for example, op. cit. Gómez Mayorga 1949, and Félix Sánchez B. “Las conferencias de mesa redonda sobre el problema de habitación popular,” in Arquitectura no. 32, October 1950).

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1. Aerial photograph of CUPA, 1949. Historic Archive Compañía Mexicana Aerofoto

make them into “urban cells”1 within a larger organism.

GENEALOGIES. CUPA is part of a rich history in public housing. Its main building closely resembles the slabs in Le Corbusier’s Ville Radieuse (1924).

Also, as in many of Le Corbusier’s projects, most apartments in the complex have two stories. This minimizes circulations; there are corridors only every three stories.

1. Pani and his associates in the Taller de Urbanismo believed cities could grow indefinitely on the basis of well-defined “urban cells,” which would contain nuclei with common spaces and public buildings surrounded by housing and with clear outer limits.

Cells would minimize displacements, as people would do most of their daily activities locally. When going to other cells, they would use high-speed avenues and public transportation (see Pani’s statements quoted in, Salvador Elizondo. “Mario Pani, arquitecto,” in Louise Noelle, complier. Mario Pani.

Mexico City: UNAM, p. 27).

As in a nineteen-thirties design

by D. Niedhardt for Zagreb—which Pani published in Arquitectura,2 the magazine he directed—corridors are not enclosed, but in the building’s façade. In this way they double as balconies or, as the Smithsons would call them a decade later, “streets in the air.”

After CUPA, Pani designed other projects composed mostly of housing slabs, with continuous open areas at ground level. Among them is the Juárez complex, and the Tlatelolco (1964) Lindavista-Vallejo (1965) and Kennedy (1965) projects. Other architects designed similar projects in 2. “Edificio tipo en el proyecto de extensión de la ciudad de Zagreb,” in Arquitectura, no. 2, April 1939.

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1. 2 Abr 1957 Unidad Modelo y Cacama Aerofoto 13225 Property of ICA Foundation

Mexico City; among them are Loma Hermosa (1964) and Lomas de Sotelo (1967) by Enrique and Agustín Landa.

A number of complexes by Infonavit and Banobras from the 1970s follow a similar model. Unidad Modelo, for its part, has precedents in early works

by José Luis Cuevas, such as the city of Zacatepec (1937) in the state of Morelos, where the houses of a sugar mill’s workers are arranged in contiguous rows around pedestrian walkways.

This work might have been an interpretation of vecindades.1 After Unidad Modelo, Pani designed 1. Pablo Landa Ruiloba. “Ideas e influencias que dieron forma a la Unidad Santa Fe” in, Onnis Luque.

USFDF. Tácticas de apropiación, Unidad Santa Fe. Mexico City: Ediciones Acapulco, 2013, pp. 122.

other works that share many of its characteristics. For example, Unidad Santa Fe (1957) combines single-family houses with apartment buildings and is organized around a central plaza surrounded by public buildings, including a health clinic, a theater, and a social security center. Access to houses is through pedestrian walkways that go from a street for cars to an enclosed garden. Projects in this tradition by other architects include Unidad Independencia (1960), by Alejandro Prieto and José María Gutiérrez, and La Esmeralda (1974) by Gustavo Eichelmann and Gonzalo Gómez Palacio. Both combine apartment buildings and houses and have articulate pedestrian circulations.

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1. Aerial photograph of CUPA, 2015. Google Earth.

Slab complexes are perhaps more economic than mixed ones, as their designs involve a limited repertoire of housing types. While more elaborate and therefore more expensive, mixed projects tend to have common areas with greater spatial quality.

Each of their spaces has a unique character; with different uses, they serve different purposes. Further, as enclosures, they shelter communities and invite people to linger.

Mixed projects blend easily with the urban fabric, while slab projects, with their amorphous common areas and unconnected towers, set themselves apart from their surroundings. CUPA was built in two years, was designed by one architect, and was born an

icon. Unidad Modelo was designed by a number of architects and planners, was built over many years, and is a neighborhood whose virtues are known best by its residents. Among Unidad Modelo’s architects are its neighbors; some of them built their own houses and others modified the ones they were assigned, building additional rooms and stories, and transforming façades. While CUPA is now considered a monument and residents are encouraged to respect its “architectural integrity,” Unidad Modelo’s less heroic design has welcomed and continues to welcome appropriation—its less linear trajectory remains open to contingency and to the work of time.

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1. Aerial view of Unidad Modelo, 2015. Google Earth

TODAY, AS ARCHITECTS ARE INVITED TO CONCEIVE HOUSING ALTERNATIVES

BY INFONAVIT, THEY MIGHT DO WELL TO WORK WITHIN THE TRADITION OF UNIDAD MODELO. MONUMENTAL PROJECTS THAT PHOTOGRAPH WELL AND REMAIN UNCHANGED OVER TIME ARE OFTEN MORE SUCCESSFUL AS POLITICAL STATEMENTS THAN AS URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS.

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VIEWING CUPA

CENTRO URBANO PRESIDENTE ALEMÁN

BY ALEXANDRA LANGE Architecture and Design Critic

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Visiting two Barragan houses was a dream, but the Harvard Graduate School of Design studio with which I traveled to Mexico this spring was exploring different mechanisms for low-income housing. We looked at a number of examples of mass housing, the earliest being the Centro Urbano Presidente Aleman (known as CUPA, coo-pa), designed by Mario Pani and built in 1949. The complex includes six thirteen-story towers, zig-zags rather than slabs, as well as six three-story rectangular buildings and a variety of recreational buildings and open spaces. For those versed in modern architecture, the Corbusian precedents are obvious: bi-level apartments, outdoor streets in the sky, the combination of low- and high-

rise, and the buildings a redent. Here are towers in the park, but in Mexico City the park (thanks to the climate) is lush and green, the flower boxes along those open passages are full, and the idea of a public sitting room thirteen stories up doesn’t seem like such a terrible prospect. The exterior language is inflected toward a Mexican vernacular, the concrete frame roughly textured, with infill panels of brick. In the strip windows overlooking the passages, one could see lace curtains and religious icons.

As with so many early modernist developments, in Latin America as well as Europe, the complex’s longtime residents had made it their own.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

By all accounts CUPA has been the rare stable example of such mass housing in the region; considered “gargantuan” when it was built to house 5000 people on land designated for 200 singlefamily houses, it now looks far more reasonable. Stable because residents have stayed by choice, stable because it survived the earthquake of 1985, which destroyed a number of the slabs at Pani’s later, more massive, more troubled Conjunto Urbano Nonoalco Tlatelolco. Justin McGuirk starts his new book, Radical Cities, in Tlatelolco, completed in 1964, and describes it thusly: “Tlatelolco took the modernist idea of social housing to its logical, many would say absurd, conclusion. If, in the mid twentieth century, the city of the future would

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comprise rows of megablocks sitting in parks and gardens, then the future looked like Tlatelolco.”

It was interesting to see the complex turned into a modern graphic, as at the laundromat on its first floor, as well as to see it remodeled, by one architect-in-residence, into a true representation of International Style decor, with a George Nelson clock and a Marimekko apron. The one complaint we heard on our (admittedly short) visit was that, at certain times of day, you couldn’t take the elevators: the unionized operators did not want to stagger their breaks. So we walked up the outdoor staircases. For more reading in English, there is Adam Kaasa’s Appearing In or Out of Time and the February 2003 A+U.

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COURSE FRAMEWORK

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

The studio focused on two regions with distinct yet interconnected housing dynamics: the Mexico City Metropolitan Area and the Bajío Region, in the State of Guanajuato.

Within these two regions, the focus is on the municipality of Tlalnepantla in the State of Mexico and the city of Celaya in Guanajuato.

The pairing of the two regions offered a comprehensive insight into how different housing policies; strategies and designs may impact different territories over time. The comparison additionally allowed insight into how questions of de-industrialization and re-densification in large metropolitan areas are connected to the counterparts of new industrial development and sustainable housing in mid-size cities and booming regions.

TLALNEPANTLA Immediately adjacent to the Federal District (Distrito Federal), Tlalnepantla de Baz was a prime site for industrial development in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area between 1950 and 1980. In more recent years, the economic re-structuring of the city

COURSE FRAMEWORK

has charted a future for Tlalnepantla beyond its industrial past. Recent massive public transportation projects such as the Suburban Train, the Metrobus (Bus Rapid Transit) or the nearby Rosario Transportation Hub give this area a strong foundation for densification. With a population of approximately 665,000 inhabitants and an urban character marked by large post-industrial sites, Tlalnepantla offers an interesting prospect for unique housing strategies and innovative densification projects in the Mexico City region.

CELAYA Celaya, a city of 468,000 inhabitants, is emblematic of mid-size cities across the country. The Bajío Region, which comprises a network of cities that include Celaya, Irapuato, Silao and León, has become an agro-industrial center and home to large-scale global investments in the automobile, logistics and technology industries.

The Region owes its popularity in part to a strategic location along two rail lines (north-south and east-west) that ultimately connect to critical global export markets.

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STUDENTS AND LOEB FELLOWS The group was composed by a group of 12 international students from Architecture, Urban Design, Landscape and Urban Design and Urban Planning. Projects were developed in groups of 2 and a total of 6 proposals were presented between Tlalnepantla and Celaya. The Loeb Fellowship also accompanied the studio. A broad spectrum of accomplished design practitioners, from architects and landscape architects to journalists, public artists and affordable housing developers. Students, professors and fellows had the opportunity to travel, discuss and share with them different ideas and perspectives about housing; leading to productive and thoughtful dialogues and experiences.

Professors DIANE DAVIS Professor of Urbanism and Development, JOSE CASTILLO Professor of Urban Design and Planning Teacher Assistant ADRIANA CHĂ VEZ Master in Urbanism, Landscape and Ecology and Master in Architecture.

Loeb Fellowship JIM STOCKARD Loeb Fellowship Curator and Affordable Housing Expert.

SALLY YOUNG Loeb Fellowship Program Coordinator.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

STUDENTS AND FELLOWS

Students DIMITRIS VENIZELOS Master in Architecture and Urban Design, ‘15.

ELLEN NICHOLSON Master in Urban Planning, ‘14.

CARLY AUGUSTINE Master in Architecture II, ‘15.

HAYRETTIN GUNC Master in Architecture and Urban Design, ‘15.

NUPOOR MONANI Master in Architecture and Urban Design, ‘15.

DAVID GINSBERG Master in Urban Planning, ‘14.

JENNIFER LEE Master in Urban Planning, ‘14.

HAMED BUKHAMSEEN Master in Architecture and Urban Design, ‘15.

PG SMIT Master in Architecture and Urban Design, ‘15.

ADRIENNE MATHEWS Master in Urban Planning, ‘14.

HANRU WU Master in Architecture and Urban Design, ‘14.

TONG WU Master in Architecture and Urban Design, ‘14.

Loeb Fellows, ‘14.

BAYE ADOFO-WILSON Co-founder, Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District MATT NOHN Specialist in Public Policy, International Affairs and Urban Planning.

ANGELYN CHANDLER Landscape Architect and Senior Manager, NYC Parks.

ARANA HANKIN Director of Atlantic Yards Project, NYC. HELEN LOCHHEAD Executive Director, Place Development at Sydney Harbour.

ELI SPEVAK Founder Orange Splot LLC ALEXIA TORRES-FLEMING Co-Founder Bronx River Alliance ALEXANDRA LANGE Architecture and Design Critic, NYC.

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ADRIENNE MATHEWS HELEN LOCHHEAD CARLY AUGUSTINE DAVID GINGSBERG HANRU WU JENNIFER LEE NUPOOR MONANI TONG WU HAYRETTIN GUNC HAMED BUKHAMSEEN DIMITRIS VENIZELOS PG SMIT ADRIANA CHAVEZ JOSE CASTILLO DIANE DAVIS JIM STOCKARD SALLY YOUNG ELI SPEVAK ALEXANDRA LANGE ELLEN NICHOLSON ANGELYN CHANDLER BAYE ADOFO-WILSON

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HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

STUDENTS

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DIANE DAVIS JOSE CASTILLO CARLY AUGUSTINE HANRU WU TONG WU JENNIFER LEE HAMED BUKHAMSEEN ELLEN NICHOLSON PG SMIT DIMITRIS VENIZELOS HAYRETTIN GUNC DAVID GINGSBERG NUPOOR MONANI ADRIENNE MATHEWS

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HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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TONG WU ADRIENNE MATHEWS ADRIANA CHAVEZ PG SMIT DIMITRIS VENIZELOS ELLEN NICHOLSON HAYRETTIN GUNC NUPOOR MONANI HAMED BUKHAMSEEN CARLY AUGUSTINE JENNIFER LEE

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HOUSING INNOVATION IN HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

During Spring 2014, Professors Jose Castillo and Diane Davis held the Design Studio “Retrofitting the (post) Industrial Metropolis: Housing and Economic Growth in Mexico City Metropolitan Area and the Bajío Region” within the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Across 8 weeks, multiple exercises, reflections, ideas, conversations and design proposals were developed with an interdisciplinary team of architects, urban designers, landscape architects and urban planners.

The Studio was divided in two parts: First, students researched housing policy and development globally.

Second, following the site visit, students focused on housing policy

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and development strategies for the specific conditions presented by Celaya and Tlalnepantla.

The initial housing research focused on the history and evolution of housing with particular attention to significant housing transformations throughout the past two centuries. At the same time, the studio research also explored the ways in which housing innovation has unfolded in the past two decades. These two timeframes created the preliminary platform for understanding a broad array of innovative housing approaches over time. The studio’s final research document contains the most relevant examples and case studies to be taken into consideration.

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200 YEARS OF EVOLUTION AND 20 YEARS OF INNOVATION IN HOUSING

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200 YEARS OF EVOLUTION.

20 YEARS OF INNOVATION.

To build upon this historical analysis, the studio specifically explored the relationship between housing and spaces of production within a 200year timeframe between 1814 and 2014.

Through a focus on the years following the Industrial Revolution, the analysis considered the changing relationship between housing and spaces of production and the particular policies and designs that shaped them the last two centuries.

Recent case studies on housing innovation were explored in order to address and encourage the reimagination of housing and urban development challenges. The research focused on innovation across a broad spectrum including: land regulation, housing finance and policy, institutional coordination, or urban design and architectural design. The research focused specifically on the current challenges facing the housing field given the approaches and innovations that have emerged in the past two decades across the globe.

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200 YEARS OF EVOLUTION IN HOUSING

CONCEPTUAL 1900s- Hotel room, Worldwide 1902- Garden City Theory 1917 - Une Cite Industrielle, France 1920- The Linear City Model 1924- La Ville Radieuse, Paris, France 1930- Ferme Radieuse et Village Cooperatif 1961- Habraken Supports 2000s- Mobile, Multilocational Worker, Worldwide 2010- McDonald’s Restaurants- Worldwide NORTH AMERICA 1830- Boarding Houses, Lowell, USA 1836- Houston, Texas, USA 1868- Riverside, Illinois, USA 1890s- Single Room Occupancy, USA 1930- Levittown, New York USA 1880- Pullman Company Town, Illinois, USA 1880- Street Car Suburb, Boston, USA 1932- Broadacre City, USA 1934- TVA Housing, Tennessee, USA 1937- Greenbelt, Maryland, USA 1954- Pruitt Igoe, St. Louis, USA 1960- Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York, USA 1962- The Factory, New York, USA 1970- SoHo Artist Lofts, New York, USA 1997- Hibernia Oil Platform, Canada 1998- Hope VI, USA 2010- Oil Industry Workers, North Dakota, USA 2011- Live Near Your Work Program, Washington DC, USA 2012- Tech Co-Living, 1San Francisco, USA 2014 - Prison Labor, USA 2016- Google/Facebook HQ, California, USA

LATIN AMERICA 1520-1917- Hacienda, Mexico 1950- Brasilia Quadra, Brazil 1965- Integrated Zoning and Transit, Curitiba, Brazil 1965 – Previ-Lima, Peru 2007 - Tower of David, Caracas, Venezuela MIDDLE EAST 1905- Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt 1940s- Oil Urbanism, Arabian Peninsula 1948- Kibbutz, Israel 1949- Dheisheh Refugee Camp, West Bank, Palestine 1970s-Zabbaleen, Cairo, Egypt AFRICA 1971 - Mens Hostel of Alexandra, Johannesburg, South Africa

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EUROPE

ASIA

1000-today- Monastic buildings: Abbay de Cluny, France 1800- Wine Trail Villages: Vasa Koilaniouรก, Cyprus 1849- Familistere de Guise, France 1859- Cerda Block, Barcelona, Spain 1860- BASF Company Housing, Germany 1888 - Port Sunlight, England 1900- Brentham Garden Suburb, London, England 1923- Gut Garkau, Germany 1923- Swedish Cooperative Housing, Sweden 1926- Frankfurt Kitchen, Germany 1929- Romerstadt, Frankfurt, Germany 1930- Karl Marx Hof, Vienna, Austria 1951- Tuscolano, Rome, Italy 1969 -The Byker Redevelopment Project, Newcastle, England 1977- Quinta da Malagueira, Portugal 1987- Internationale Bauausstellung, Berlin, Germany 1996- Borneo-Sporenburg, Amsterdam, Netherlands 2011- Tour Bois le Pretre, Paris, France

1800- The Lilong typology, Shanghai, China 1887- Hashima Island, Japan 1900- Chawls, Mumbai, India 1900- Davari Slums, India 1933- Urban Renewal Ring, Shanghai, China 1950s- Danwei Space(Work Unit), China 1956- Chandigarh Plan, India 1961- Helix City, Tokyo, Japan 1994 - NEXT21, Osaka, Japan 2001- One City, Nine Towns, Shanghai, China 2008- Jianwai Soho, Beijing, China 2010- Kang Ba Shi, Ordors, China 2015- Songdo-dong, South Korea BEFORE 1800-1849 1850-1899 1900-1949 1950-TODAY

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HOTEL ROOM, GLOBAL 21ST CENTURY

GARDEN CITY THEORY, 1902

HOTEL ROOM, GLOBAL 21ST CENTURY

THE LINEAR CITY 1892/1920

VILLE RADIEUSE, 1924

FERME RADIEUSE ET VILLAGE COOPERATIF - 1930S

HABRAKEN SUPPORTS, 1961

MOBILE, MULTILOCATIONAL WORKER, WORLD 21ST CENTURY

MCDONALD’S RESTUARANTS, WORLDWIDE 2010S

MILL BOARDING HOUSES, LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTES, 1830S-1860

HOUSTON, TEXAS 1837

RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS, 1868

SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY, USA EARLY 20TH CENTURY

LEVITTOWN, NEW YORK 1930S

THE TOWN OF PULLMAN, IL 1880

STREET CAR SUBURBS, BOSTON 1990S

BROADACRE CITY, USA, 1932

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (TVA) HOUSING, NORRIS TN 1934-48

GREENBELT, MARYLAND, USA, 1937

PRUITT IGEO, ST. LOUIS MISSOURI, 1954

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WHITE FLIGHT IN GRAND CONCOURSE, BRONX NY 1960S

THE FACTORY, NEW YORK, 1962-84

ARTIST LOFTS, SOHO NYC 1970S

HIBERNIA OIL PLATFORM, CANADA, 1997

HOPE VI, USA 1998-2010

OIL INDUSTRY WORKERS, NORTH DAKOTA 2010

LIVE NEAR YOUR WORK PILOT, WASHINGTON DC, 2011-PRESENT

CO-LIVING SPACES, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA 2012

PRISONS, USA 2014

FACEBOOK & GOOGLE, SILICON VALLEY 2016+

BRASILIA QUADRAS, BRAZIL 1950S

THE TOWER OF DAVID, CARACAS, VENEZUELA 2007

INTEGRATED ZONING AND TRANSIT, CURITIBA, BRAZIL, 1965-PRESENT

HACIENDA, MEXICO, 1520-1917

HELIOPOLIS, CAIRO, EGYPT, 1905

ARABIAN GULF CITIES OIL URBANISM, ARAB BULF, 1940S-50S

KIBBUTZ, ISRAEL 1948

DHEISHEH REFUGEE CAMP, WEST BANK 1949

ZABBALEEN, CAIRO, EYGPT, 1970S

MEN’S HOSTEL, ALEXANDRA JOHANNESBURG 1971

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THE TYPOLOGY OF MONASTIC BUILDINGS, TRADITIONAL WINE TRAIL VILLAGES EUROPE, 1000-2014 CASE STUDY, LIMASSOL-CYPRUS

LE FAMILISTÈRE, GUISE 1849

CERDA BLOCK, BARCELONA, SPAIN, 1859 - PRESENT

BASF HOUSING, LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY, 1860-PRESENT

PORT SUNLIGHT, ENGLAND 1888

BRENTHAM GARDEN SUBURB, LONDON 1990S

GUT GARKAU, GERMANY, 1923-1926

SWEDISH CO-OP HOUSING, 1923

FRANKFURT KITCHEN, FRANKFURT 1926 RÖMERSTADT, FRANKFURT, 1928

KARL MARX HOF, VIENNA, 1930

TUSCOLANO, ROME, ITALY, 1951-1959

THE BYKER REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT, NEWCASTLE, 1969-1982

QUINTA DA MALAGUEIRA SOCIAL HOUSING EVORA, PORTUGAL 1977

INTERNATIONALE BAUAUSSTELLUNG, W. BERLIN, GERMANY, 1987

BORNEO-SPORENBURG, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, 1996

TRANSFORMATION OF TOUR BOIS LE PRÊTRE, PARIS 2011

THE LILONG NEIGHBORHOOD TYPOLOGY, HASHIMA ISLAND, JAPAN, 1887-1974 SHANGHAI

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

CHAWLS, MUMBAI, EARLY 1990S

DHARAVI SLUMS, INDIA 1900S

CHANDIGARH PLAN, PUNJAB, INDIA, 1956 HELIX CITY, TOKYO, 1961

JIANWAI SOHO, BEIJING, CHINA, 2008

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“BOTTOM-UP” URBAN RENEWAL-TIAN ZIFANG, SHANGHAI 1933-2008

DANWEI ( WORK UNITE), CHINA, 1950S-1970S

NEXT 21, OSAKA , JAPAN 1994

ONE CITY, NINE TOWNS INITIATIVE, SHANGHAI, 2001

THE “GHOST TOWN”-KANG BA SHI,ORDOS PREVI, LIMA, PERU. 1965 2010

SONGDO, INCHEON 2015

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20 YEARS OF INNOVATION IN HOUSING

CONCEPTUAL 1990- Tower in the Park Typology, Worldwide NORTH AMERICA 1986- LIHTC, USA 2000- US Employer Assisted Housing, USA 2000- Wellington, Colorado, USA 2008- AirBnB, USA 2010- Choice Neighborhoods, USA 2011- Casa Familiar, California, USA 2011- Secondary Units, USA 2012- Via Verde, New York, USA 2013- Arbor House Rooftop Farming, New York, USA 2013- Microapartments, Boston, USA 2014- State mortgage refinancing, California, USA

LATIN AMERICA 1958- La Permuta, Cuba 1992- Subdivisions, El Salvador 2003- Redondinhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil 2001 - Quinta Monroy, Chile 2001- Terra Nova, Brazil 2004 - Cano Martin Pena Land Trust, Puerto Rico AFRICA 2000 - La Voute Nubienne, Burkina Faso

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EUROPE

ASIA

1960- Antiparochi quid-pro-quo, Athens, Greece 1995-Silodam, Netherlands 1996- Kop van Zuid, Rotterdam, Netherlands 1999- Living Wild, Netherlands 2000- EUROPE 2020 Directives, Europe 2001- Malmo Housing, Sweden 2003- BedZED Pavilion, London, England 2005- EuraLille and TGV network, France 2008- Mountain Dwellings, Copenhagen, Denmark 2011- Plus Large Scale Housing Retrofit, Paris, France 2017- Packington Estate, London, England

1950s- Land Readjustment, Seoul, South Korea 1992- CMP Scheme, Manila, Philippines 2000s - Mass Customized Low Carbon Housing 2008- City Egg, Beijing, China 2009 - Incremental Housing strategy, India

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TOWER IN THE PARK - PROVOCATIONS FOR AN ALTERNATIVE

LEGO TOWERS, COPENHAGEN, 2007, (PRO- AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN A MIXED-USE POSAL) BIG - BJARKE INGELS GROUP BUILDING IN MANHATTAN.

EMPLOYER ASSISTED HOUSING (EAH), USA 2000

WELLINGTON - MASTERPLAN

WELLINGTON

AIRBNB.COM

AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, WRT DESIGN

LIVING ROOMS AT THE BORDER

LIVING ROOMS AT THE BORDER VARIOUS TYPOLOGIES

SECONDARY UNITS, USA 2011

VIA VERDE, NEW YORK 2012

ARBOR HOUSE - ROOFTOP FARMING

MICRO-APARTMENTS IN BOSTON

GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF LA PERMUTA FORECLOSED PROPERTIES, RICHMOND, CA

SUBDIVISON FOR PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EL SALVADOR

REDONDIHNOS

QUINTA MONROY

TERRA NOVA

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ASSOCIATION LA VOUTE NUBIENNE/ NUBIAN VAULT ASSOCIATION

ANTIPAROCHI - FLATS FOR LAND SYSTEM SILODAM

KOP VAN ZUID

LIVING WILD (HET WILDE WOMEN)

EUROPE 2020|DIRECTIVES 2001/77/EC , NET ZERO CITY - BO01 2002/91/EC, 2004/8/EC AND APPLICATIONS

BEDZED

MASS CUSTOMIZED LOW-TO-ZERO CARBON HOUSING

INCREMENTAL HOUSING STRATEGY IN SLUMS IN CITY OF PUNE

MIXED INCOME COMMUNITY-PACKINGTON ESTATE REGENERATION

LAND READJUSTMENTS IN SEOUL

THE PHILIPPINE ‘COMMUNITY MORTGAGE TRANSIT-TERMINALS:EURALILLEV PROGRAMME’

LINKED HYBRID, BEIJING, 2009

CITY EGG

PLUS; LARGE HOUSING PROJECTS: TOUR BOIS LE PRÊTRE

CANO MARIN LAND TRUST

MOUNTAIN DWELLINGS

EUROPE TRANSFORMED, OMA

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STUDIO TRIP AND FIELD RESEARCH

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Under the guidance of Professors Jose Castillo and Diane Davis and Teaching Assistant Adriana Chรกvez, the studio group toured the State of Mexico over the course of 10 days. The studio trip was held in collaboration with the Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Professors, Loeb fellows and Masters students from the GSD visited the two sites located in Celaya and Tlalnepantla and also had the opportunity to meet with government officials, academics, and INFONAVIT leadership. The group confronted issues surrounding housing provision, urban growth regulation, and local politics and coordination, all given the overarching federal aims for densification and sustainable urban development.

FIELD TRIP

The group also visited emblematic housing complexes such as Tlatelolco, CUPA or Unidad Rosario to provide a tangible understanding of the contemporary Mexican urban landscape. These discussions and site visits served as a platform for developing a deeper understanding of complex urban development challenges, particularly in industrial and post-industrial areas. In light of the central problematic posed by the studio course, the trip focused on the changing dynamics of the industrial (or post-industrial) city and served as a critical bridge between general initial research and the development of more specific and creative solutions toward densification and sustainable development.

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FIELD TRIP

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Mexico City. Studio Trip 2014.

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Jose Castillo in Tlalnepantla

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Meeting with Tlalnepantla Government Officials

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Meeting with Celaya Government Officials.

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Meeting at Infonavit with Carlos Zedillo and Harvard Graduate School of Design Students and Loeb Fellows

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Tlalnepantla Site Visit

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Ciudadela Plaza, Mexico City / Professors Jose Castillo and Diane Davis

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FIELD TRIP

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Celaya

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Social Housing in Celaya

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Social Housing in Celaya

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Social Housing in Celaya: El Rehilete Housing Complex.

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Social Housing in Celaya: El Rehilete Housing Complex.

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Social Housing in Celaya

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Housing in Celaya: Formal / informal divide.

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Social Housing in Celaya: El Rehilete Housing Complex.

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Social Housing in Celaya: El Rehilete Housing Complex.

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Social Housing in Celaya: El Rehilete Housing Complex.

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Housing in Celaya, Formal / informal Divide

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Social Housing in Celaya: El Rehilete Housing Complex.

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Social Housing in Celaya: El Rehilete Housing Complex.

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Public Space by Mathias Goeritz in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional Adolfo L贸pez Mateos

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Social Housing in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional Adolfo L贸pez Mateos

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Social Housing in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional A.L贸pez Mateos

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Social Housing in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional El Rosario

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Social Housing in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional El Rosario

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Social Housing in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional El Rosario

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Social Housing in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional El Rosario

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Social Housing in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional El Rosario

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Social Housing in Tlalnepantla: Unidad Habitacional El Rosario

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS

Is there any financing mechanism perhaps like the green mortgage that Infonavit would consider to incentivize infill development?

IS THERE A FINANCING MECHANISM (LIKE THAT OF THE “GREEN MORTGAGE”) THAT INFONAVIT WOULD CONSIDER TO INCENTIVIZE INFILL DEVELOPMENT?

IS THERE ANY EVALUATION OF DEMAND IN SPECIFIC SITES/ LOCALITIES BEFORE APPROVING DEVELOPMENT? Is there any evaluation of demand in specific sites/localities before approving development?

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Within a denser (mid-high rise) urban environment there will inevitably be a need to have mixed-use. Is there room to create financing mechanisms for hybrid development?

Keeping in mind the industrial growth, does Infonavit have strategy in different types of tenure systems (ex. Rental housing) in order to accommodate the rising population in ities like Celaya?

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WITHIN A DENSER (MID-HIGH RISE) URBAN ENVIRONMENT THERE WILL INEVITABLY BE A NEED TO HAVE MIXED-USE. IS THERE ROOM TO CREATE FINANCING MECHANISMS FOR HYBRID DEVELOPMENT? KEEPING IN MIND THE INDUSTRIAL GROWTH, DOES INFONAVIT HAVE A STRATEGY FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF TENURE SYSTEMS (SUCH AS RENTAL HOUSING) IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE RISING POPULATION IN CITIES LIKE CELAYA? INSTEAD OF JUST HOUSING MEXICANS, HOW CAN INFONAVIT CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES FOR MEXICANS?

Instead of just housing Mexicans, how can Infonavit contribute to developing communities for Mexicans?

126

In order to achieve a better urban and neighborhood environment, does Infonavit have a strategy/intention of providing incentives to developer instead of buyers?

Instead of a single, rigid policy, is it possible to address the uniqueness of each region in Mexico when developing a strategy?

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IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE A BETTER URBAN AND NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENTS, DOES INFONAVIT HAVE A STRATEGY/INTENTION OF PROVIDING INCENTIVES TO DEVELOPERS INSTEAD OF BUYERS?

INSTEAD OF A SINGLE NATIONAL POLICY, IS IT POSSIBLE TO ADDRESS THE UNIQUENESS OF EACH REGION IN MEXICO WHEN DEVELOPING A STRATEGY? COULD THERE BE A WAY TO PROMOTE MID-HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENTS AS OPPOSED TO SINGLE-FAMILY UNITS?

Could there be a way to promote mid-high rise developments as opposed to single-family units?

WHAT DOES “STREET LIFE” MEAN WITHIN A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT? What does cultural street life mean within a housing community?

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IS THERE A POSSIBILITY TO INTRODUCE HETEROGENEITY IN CLUSTER DEVELOPMENTS AS OPPOSED TO A SINGLE STRATEGY/ DEVELOPER FOR THE WHOLE SITE? Is there a possibility to introduce heterogeneity in cluster developments as opposed to a single strategy/developer for the whole site?

Land readjustment techniques (land trust, land value capture, etc) have been used to create community and modernize the infrastructure within the urban boundary.

Could Infonavit strategically target certain spaces for pilot projects?

e a hierarchy among the different local, state, and federal agencies in allocating housing? If so, is pace for better collaboration among actors?

LAND READJUSTMENT TECHNIQUES (LAND TRUST, LAND VALUE CAPTURE, ETC) HAVE BEEN USED TO CREATE COMMUNITY AND MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN AN URBAN BOUNDARY. COULD INFONAVIT STRATEGICALLY TARGET CERTAIN SPACES FOR PILOT PROJECTS?

IS THERE A HIERARCHY AMONG THE DIFFERENT LOCAL, STATE, REGIONAL, AND FEDERAL AGENCIES IN ALLOCATING HOUSING? IF SO, IS THERE A SPACE FOR BETTER COLLABORATION AMONG ACTORS?

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CELAYA

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INDUSTRALIZATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE BAJIO REGION

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QUERÉTARO

CELAYA

MÉXICO CITY

URBAN AREAS

TRAIN LINES

WATER BODIES

HIGHWAYS + PORTS

MANUFACTURING

Map: Adriana Chávez MDESS: ULE and M.Arch II ‘14

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THE BAJÍO REGION ACCOUNTS FOR 50% OF AUTOMOVILE PRODUCTION IN MEXICO.

25%

THE BAJÍO REGION IS A LEADING REGION IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY IN MEXICO.

#1

TOURIST CENTERS OF SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO AND QUERETARO SAW GROWTH IN 2012.

#3

MEXICO IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE 25% OF NORTH AMERICAN AUTO PRODUCTION BY 2020. CURRENTLY, MEXICO PRODUCES 18%.

MEXICO WAS RANKED AS THE #1 MOST COST COMPETITIVE COUNTRY FOR AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, ACCORDING TO A STUDY BY KPMG.

THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN MEXICO IS THE 5TH. LARGEST SOURCE OF REVENUE, IS EXPECTED TO RISE TO #3 BY 2018.

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#4

$8/HR

#1

300%

#3

106,000

MEXICO IS #4 WORLDWIDE IN AUTO EXPORTS. IT IS THE 8TH. LARGEST CARMAKING NATION, AND IT IS LIKELY TO BE THE 7TH. SOON.

MEXICO HAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ENGINEERING GRADUATES IN THE AMERICAS, WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO ITS COMPETITIVE NATURE AS A MANUFACTURING, ENGINEERING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER.

THE BAJIO REGION IS THE 3RD. MOST POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATION IN MEXICO (AFTER QUINTANA ROO AND DF).

MEXICAN AUTOWORKERS EARN ABOUT $8 AN HOUR, COMPANIED WITH THE US AVERAGE OF $37. HOWEVER, MEXICO IS NOT COMPLETELY SOLELY ON LOW WAGES, THE COUNTRY IS ALSO DEVELOPING A GOOD SUPPLY CHAIN AND GOOD TECHNICAL WORKFORCE. MEXICAN LABOR COSTS ARE HIGHER THAN CHINA (THE WORLD’S LARGEST CAR EXPORTER), BUT THE OVERALL COST OF DOING BUSSINESS AND EXPORTING PRODUCTS IS LOWER.

AEROSPACE EXPORTS FROM MEXICO ARE EXPECTED TO MULTIPLY ROUGHLY 300% BETWEEN 2011-2020, FROM $4.3 BILLION TO OVER $12 BILLION.

106,000 JOBS (28,000 DIRECT, 78,000 INDIRECT) ARE EXPECTED TO RESULT $8.6 BILLION PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE OVER THE NEXT 3 YEARS.

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

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Map: Victor Rico. MAUD’14.

Thesis: Neovolcanic Orders

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URBAN GRID

RAILWAY

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139

THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE BAJIO REGION With a strategic location at the center of the country, the Bajío region is currently experiencing a rapid transformation, due in large part to industrial economic growth. The Bajío region, where the city of Celaya resides, has become an important economic corridor, connecting the Mexico City Metropolitan Area with the cities of Queretaro or Guanajuato.

The region boasts a diverse landscape from the ports of Veracruz on the Atlantic Ocean to the Lázaro Cádernas Port on the Pacific coast. Connected not only by highway infrastructure, but also by rail and air infrastructure, the region has begun to host advanced manufacturing industries including automobile and aerospace manufacturing. The region houses 50% of the automobile production in Mexico and is expected to produce 25% of American auto production by 2020. The region has additionally been ranked as the “No. 1 cost competitive” country for aerospace manufacturing in the Western Hemisphere. This growth has led to significant land transformation with the conversion of agricultural areas to industrial production and rapid urbanization and urban expansion in the region’s

cities. Celaya has witnessed these same growth processes and serves as an apt case study for analyzing the dynamism of contemporary urban Mexico.

SITUATING CELAYA: THE ISSUE OF GROWTH AND HOUSING Celaya is a city of nearly 527,000 people and 4,700 urbanized hectares in the Bajío Region of Central Mexico.

Celaya played a key battlefield role in the Mexican Revolution in 1915 and since that time has experienced accelerated growth by virtue its prime location in the industrial belt of the growing Bajio Region.

The region is now a hub of auto manufacturing in Mexico includes the states of Guanajuato, Querétaro, Aguascalientes and Jalisco. In the past twenty years Celaya’s core urbanized area has nearly doubled, sprawling outwards from the historic center and following regional systems of road infrastructure.

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BY NUPOOR MONANI GROWTH RATE AND EXPANSION PATTERNS Celaya is located at the strategic intersection of the north-south and east-west routes of the Ferromex freight rail line that connects five major Mexican cities and five cities along the border with the United States, a significant factor in the city’s economic growth. In 2013, the city of Celaya acquired land for a new Honda manufacturing plant outside of the city’s urbanized area, yet nearly 25% of its size. While directly creating 2,000 new jobs this is also anticipated to have an enormous impact on the city’s population growth over the next 15 years – projected to increase by 15,100 every year amounting to a 43% total population increase by 2030.

The demand for housing low to middle income families that will follow this economic growth will be met by the private sector, with a majority of these families utilizing mortgages distributed by INFONAVIT. At its inception in 1972, INFONAVIT was directly involved in the construction of workers’ housing but since that time has undergone several significant policy shifts and is now primarily being responsible for underwriting and delivering mortgages to workers employed in the formal sector. The agency collects 5% of all formal workers’ monthly salaries and provides a series of housing mortgage products for purchasing, remodeling or constructing homes, with over two thirds of its funds utilized for making down payments on home purchases on an annual basis. One in five Celaya residents is eligible for an INFONAVIT mortgage and approximately 75% of eligible1 workers utilize the credit. Given these patterns, Celaya is expected to host an additional 21,531 INFONAVIT homes per year for the next 15 years.

1. Calculated on the basis of 2010 Census data from INEGI (http://www. inegi.org.mx/ 2. BVVA Bancomer, Real Estate Outlook, Mexico, BVVA Research, January 2013.

It bears noting that the population without access to an INFONAVIT credit far exceeds those who do have access by nature of their employment in the formal sector. In spite of this gap, the two groups have similar incomes and spending on expenses, particularly housing. It might therefore be considered that this segment of the population offers a vast potential for mortgage loans over the next few years. Among those households in need of housing, only 17% could be attended exclusively by the commercial banks. The remaining 83% of cases would require the support of the federal government.2 1. 1 1. 2

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The spatial impacts of this anticipated growth have already begun to manifest as conspicuously large developments in the urban periphery comprised of single story single-family units. In 2007, developments with more than 100 homes represented 35% of total registered developments, while by 2012 the market share was 58%.1 Market forces determine housing typology and to achieve economies of scale, development follows the highways and infrastructure systems (already laid out for industry) and is built on cheap and available land outside the city. This phenomenon has been sustained due to the location of the land reserves of private sector construction companies as well as the conditions established in the housing support programs of INFONAVIT and CONAVI (Comisión Nacional de Vivienda), the national housing commission responsible for coordinating housing production and to ensure that the objectives and goals of INFONAVIT are met.2 Nationally, growth in construction has been centered to a great extent on small and medium-size cities like Celaya, located in metropolitan areas. The 2008 economic crisis led national homebuilders to adopt more conservative strategies and strengthen their market share in the low-income segment of the population, where they have a secure buyer through the public sector housing agencies and support from federal government subsidies. This strategy reveals the reality that the housing deficit remains high across the country.

As the urban periphery of Celaya continues to expand beyond the urban boundary, housing abandonment presents itself as an inverse challenge.

Abandoned homes, prevalent across Mexico, are the unintended result of INFONAVIT’s policies that helped back mortgages and provide subsidies for low-income homes on cheap and peripheral land. Many residents have left and repossessions have more than doubled in 2013 to 43,853 for Mexico.3 In response, federal agencies are now trying to reverse course on the sprawl and subsequent home abandonment, shifting subsidies to promote development of apartments in urban areas rather than single family homes in remote developments. Recent amendments to the “Esta es tu Casa” (This is your Home) program offer one such example of a subsidy program initiated by CONAVI and restructured significantly to respond to increasing urban sprawl.

1. 1 1. 2 1. 3

1. BVVA Bancomer, Real Estate Outlook, Mexico, BVVA Research, January 2013.

2. Translated from: Target - About us, CONAVI, http:// www.conavi.gob. mx/quienessomos.

3. Jonathan Levin, Mexico’s 400,000 Abandoned Homes Draw Venture Capital, Bloomberg, May 21, 2013, retrieved from: http://www. bloomberg.com/ news/2013-05-21/ mexico-s-400000-abandonedhomes-drawventure-capital. html.

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PROJECTED GROWTH IN THE BAJIO REGION DIMITRIS VENIZELOS AND ELLEN NICHOLSON

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2015

2020

2025

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MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN AREA AND THE BAJIO REGION.

+ IRAPUATO

QUERETARO CELAYA

MORELIA

Transmission Line Highway Roads Train Line Urban Area Water Body Agricultural Land +

Airport

Map: Adriana Chávez MDESS: ULE and M.Arch II ‘14

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HIDALGO

TLALNEPANTLA

+ + TOLUCA MEXICO CITY

CUERNAVACA

146

Celaya City Center, Main Plaza

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Urban Environment in Celaya

New Honda Plant in Celaya

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Celaya, Urban Density

Dispersed Urban Fabric in Celaya’s Periphery

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Logistic Landscape in the Bajío Region

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Train Line in Celaya, the Bajío Region

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TLALNEPANTLA

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(POST) INDUSTRALIZATION IN THE VALLEY OF MEXICO

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TLALNEPANTLA IN THE CONTEXT OF MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN AREA Map: Adriana Chávez MDESS: ULE and M.Arch II ‘14

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TLALNEPANTLA

Map: Adriana Chávez MDESS: ULE and M.Arch II ‘14

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BY SOFÍA VIGURI TLALNEPANTLA OVERVIEW

Located just north of Mexico City’s main urban core, Tlalnepantla is one of the 60 suburban municipalities in the State of Mexico, which, along with 16 boroughs in Distrito Federal proper, constitute the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (MACM, Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México).

In 2010, the 85.4 square kilometers of territory held a total population of 664,000 residents. The unique jurisdictional boundary is dissected by the Gustavo A. Madero neighborhood.

While the West side of Tlalnepantla holds the vast majority of the population (approximately 98%), the East side hosts just over ten thousand people. The transient population is estimated at approximately 835,000 individuals.

During the last decade, the municipality of Tlalnepantla has been losing population at an annual rate of -0.8%. However, with more than 155 residents per hectare, the municipality still boasts one of the highest population densities in the region. Given its industrial history, Tlalnepantla represents approximately 10.8% of the State of México’s GDP and is the second most important industrial zone in the MACM. Over 2,000 firms, 20 thousand economic units, and 49 industrial sectors or branches are settled within its boundaries, making Tlalnepantla a

major employment hub, offering a wide array of both blue and whitecollar jobs for the metropolitan population and 12% of employment in the State of Mexico (INEGI Census, 2010; CONAPO, 2012).

In Tlalnepantla, the urban area occupies 81.5% of the territory; Sierra de Guadalupe constitutes most of the rest. Though there are no territorial reserves currently, the municipality has 9 hectares of vacant land. There is pressure to grow towards zones of ecological conservation, which already host informal settlements. Informal settlements are also found elsewhere in downtown Tlalnepantla (“El Triángulo” and “Benito Juárez Centro”).

Tlalnepantla is comprised of numerous territorial subdivisions including: 13 sectors or boroughs, 19 towns, 96 neighborhoods, 71 residential developments (fraccionamientos), 62 residential complexes (unidades habitacionales) and 16 industrial developments.

CURRENT URBAN POLICY “A city that we are constructing with the trust of investors that are already supporting great projects that will change the life of Tlalnepantla.”

– Pablo Basáñez García (Muncipal President), 2014.

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Tlalnepantla’s vision for 2020 sets the objective of developing the “city” on the basis of culture, tourism, industry promotion and support for education.

Tlalnepantla currently allocates three foundations for development: (from Bando Municipal, 2014) 1. Tlalnepantla Solidaria – Solidary Tlalnepantla: inclusion, education, and equity.

2. Tlalnepantla Progresista – Progressoriented Tlalnepantla: competitive, green, with social, metropolitan and technological identity.

3. Tlalnepantla Protegida – Protected Tlalnepantla: safe and protected city, with a road culture that is respectful to the rights and obligations of citizens.

The city branding strategy seeks to project Tlalnepantla as a commercial and strategically located city, forming the basis of a “Technopolis” for knowledge management.

LAND PRICE VS RESIDENTS’ INCOME The city is highly urbanized; only around 3.36% of the municipality’s total area is vacant, equal to around 334.35 hectares. These vacant parcels are zoned for the following uses: 44.5% is zoned for residential use, 3.5% for commercial use, 13.6% for public facilities, 31.5% for mixed industrial use, and 6.9% for light industrial use.

Consequently, an abundant supply of cheap, peripheral land is not available for affordable housing development, and most new developments will probably be in the form of infill. High land costs have been identified as

a barrier for the production of lowincome housing in intraurban areas.

For example, the 2008 Municipal Urban Development Plan of Tlalnepantla recognized that although the causes of emigration from the city are diverse, one of the reasons was the scarce territorial reserve available for the construction of new housing.

As of 2010, 43.6% of the population in Tlalnepantla earns less than 2 VSM (or 4,090 pesos/month), and 31.2% of the population earns between 2 - 5 VSM (4,090 - 10225 pesos) per month. In comparison, the national average salary in 2013 was 2.5 VSM (around 5,112 pesos, or $390 USD in 2014 exchange rate conversions).

Nationally, it is estimated that there will be a housing deficit of 20.2 million units over the next twenty years, with over 60% of the demand concentrated in consumers earning less than 5.5 VSM ($860 USD/month). As a result, the low salaries of the residents of Tlalnepantla de Baz will affect the housing demand and equilibrium in the city. Increasing the housing supply with exclusively expensive units would fail to directly address the housing demand of most of the city’s residents.

The dilemma arises when land and construction costs drive up the sales price of new intraurban homes.

According to online real estate comparisons, intraurban, vacant parcels in Tlalnepantla range from around 5,000 – 7,000 pesos per square meter, depending on the condition, location and surrounding amenities.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Moreover, online real estate comparisons demonstrated that local prices for condominiums supported income levels of 13 - 26 VSM (26,585 - 53,170 pesos), emphasizing that higher quality units (with higher sale prices) are needed to cover the high land costs. As more units are built, high land costs can be distributed over the total number of units, thereby decreasing the cost of each unit. According to the 2008 Municipal Urban Development Plan of Tlalnepantla, around 27% of the total land area of Tlalnepantla is occupied by housing. Social housing (costing $275,000-395,000 pesos) occupies the most surface area.

UNDERSTANDING URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS AND HOUSING SCENARIOS IN TLALNEPANTLA Housing projects are proposed in two main contexts: 1. As part of mixed use development; not necessarily with the view of providing affordable housing, but more as the creation of a market for new retail and transportation projects.

These integrated projects are either carried out exclusively by the private sector, or through public-private partnerships with concessions of approximately 30 years.

2. Funds for renovation of housing in the lowest income levels, whether this housing has been developed by a private company or through selfconstruction.

There is a push for deindustrialization and positioning of Tlalnepantla as

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a service-oriented economy, with cultural tourist attractions. Although located in the outskirts of Mexico City, in the larger metropolitan context Tlalnepantla is also situated near “dormitory towns” in the North (particularly Zumpango). In spite of heavy investment in new transportation alternatives in the region (which reflect improved but insufficient coordination with the Federal District), most of Tlalnepantla outside of the downtown is still dominated by bus routes, whether full-capacity buses, medium capacity buses (microbuses) or vans (combis).

Congestion, wide roadways, narrow sidewalks, extensive pedestrian bridges and poor lighting compound the challenges of these transportation modes, creating an unfriendly and insecure environment for residents and workers. Though police presence is observable in downtown Tlalnepantla, this is not the case in the surrounding industrial and residential areas and housing complexes seem particularly unsafe.

MAJOR URBANIZATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. In light of Tlalnepantla’s transformation, major infrastructure projects have been realized during the last decade. The most representative are related to transport infrastructure such as the Suburban Train and the Metrobus Line 3. These ongoing developments emphasize Tlalnepantla’s growth and the need for urban development policies to align with growth in Mexico’s City Metropolitan Region.

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HOUSING: RECENT PROJECTS AND SCRIPTURES GRANTED

crime, particularly in the Tlalnepantla portion with less vigilance. Neighbors often complain that the Azcapotzalco portion is better served.

In the period from 2001 to 2012, four housing projects were developed in Tlalnepantla, totaling 3,577 housing units and housing

TRANSPORTATION: SUBURBAN RAILROAD BUENAVISTA- CUAUTITLÁN.

approximately 16 thousand beneficiaries.

The first and largest of these development

The railroad has been part of Tlalnepantla’s

projects, “El Risco,” was constructed by the

landscape since 1888, when the National

developer Consorcio de Ingeniería Integral

Railroad was inaugurated and established

S.A. de C.V. in 2005 with a total of 2387

its first scale for passengers and freight in

housing units. Subsequent projects were

Tlalnepantla. Over a century later in 2008,

developed by Archetonic S.A. de C.V. (“Natura”),

the suburban railroad from Buenavista to

Quifer Mexicana S.A. de C.V. (“Residencial

Cuautitlán became a pioneering project to

Prima Lux”), and Eduardo Mustri Sidauy y

bring back to life this mode of transportation;

Copropietarios (“Puerta Plalnepantla”), in 2006,

two of its 7 stations are located in Tlalnepantla,

2009 and 2010 respectively.

connecting it to the Mexico City subway and BRT lines. The tariff varies according to

HOUSING: UNIDAD HABITACIONAL EL ROSARIO

distance from 6.5 to 15 pesos ($0.5 to $1.3 USD in 2014).

This USD 670 million-project was carried out

Although the “El Rosario” housing complex

in partnership with the Spanish company

was built in 1975, it exemplifies deterioration

Construcción Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (80%

of social housing projects lacking in proper

private investment, 20% from the State of

maintenance and public safety arrangements.

Mexico’s government). Initial projections

The housing development is an important

expected 320,000 passengers on a daily

reference for understanding the relationship

basis; in 2013 the train was serving only

between Tlalnepantla and Azcapotzalco, the

134,000 passengers a day. The company

Mexico City borough immediately southeast

attributes this shortage to the failure of the

of Tlalnepantla. 70% of the complex is

State of Mexico government to reorganize

located in Azcapotzalco and the remainder in

microbuses (medium capacity buses) into a

Tlalnepantla.

feeding network that would provide passenger

With 350 hectares, 8 thousand housing units,

flows to make this transportation financially

and approximately 40 thousand residents,

sustainable (with a minimum of 190,000 riders

El Rosario is one of the largest housing

per day). Consequently, the Spanish company

complexes in Latin America. The original

has now sued the government; as mitigation

concept was developed by the renowned

measures, BANOBRAS has restructured its

architect Teodoro González de León, jointly

debt and the railway concession has been

with Pedro Ramírez Vázquez. The concept

extended from 30 to 45 years of operation.

envisioned pedestrian pathways and lakes for

The expansion to Huehuetoca – which would

recreation that were eventually transformed

connect important housing complexes in

into more housing units or parking lots. The

Cuautitlán Izcalli, Tepotzotlán and Zumpango–

complex has been characterized as one of

has been postponed until further notice.

the most problematic developments in the metro area, as it severely stricken by water shortages and high rates of violence and

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TRANSPORTATION: METROBÚS LINE 3 This 17-km BRT line was inaugurated in

TRANSPORTATION: MEXIBÚS

February 2011 and connects the eastern portion of Tlalnepantla with La Raza, the

Construction to begin in 2014, connecting

commercial part of Downtown (in the

Indios Verdes, Tlalnepantla and Ecatepec.

Cuahtémoc borough) and employment hubs in Benito Juárez. It also includes connection with the suburban rail in Buenavista, Metrobús lines 2 and 4, as well as lines 6, B, 3, 2, 1 and

TRANSPORTATION AND ECOLOGY: PLAN TO INTUBATE LOS REMEDIOS RIVER

9 of the subway (Metro). Ridership amounts to 140 passengers a day and the journey

Los Remedios River receives runoff from

takes approximately 45 minutes to travel

the Sierra de Guadalupe, receives flows

the line from beginning to end.18 Another

from Tlalnepantla and San Javier rivers, and

project with an impact for the western side of

discharges in the Great Channel km 9. The

Tlalnepantla is the first stage of Line 5 Río de

National Water Commission (CONAGUA)

los Remedios to Eje 3 Oriente, in Downtown.

has been planning to intubate this river

TRANSPORTATION, RETAIL AND HOUSING: CETRAM EL ROSARIO

thus a massive source of pollution. Sewage

because it is considered an open sewer and overflows have impacted other boroughs and municipalities that share its flow.

CETRAMs are multimodal transfer stations and the most

HOUSING: SUPPORT FOR IMPROVEMENTS AND ENLARGEMENT

modern among them incorporate commercial spaces that replace the informal

During Basañez’ administration, Tlalnepantla

retail on the sidewalks near subway and

has signed a series of covenants with private

bus stations. CETRAM El Rosario, located

companies (such as Elementia, Panelmond,

on the border between Azcapotzalco and

Pintex, Onis Vida, Te Creemos, FinAmigo)

Tlalnepantla, was inaugurated in 2013, has

establishing “strategic partnerships” to

200,000 thousand daily users, houses 32

assist lower income households with home

transit companies and operates 10,000

improvements and enlargements. Through

thousand daily services. The development

these agreements, private enterprises

has a private 30 year concession given

commit to provide credits, construction

to Grupo Carso’s companies and includes

materials and consultation services at below

big retail stores such as Soriana and a

market rate or through subsidized payments.

cinema. According to DMU with financial

The elaboration of plans for the municipality

data from Carso Group in 2011, this

will subsidize housing units and involve

investment generated a land appreciation

hiring architecture and engineering interns

of approximately 30% in its immediate

from various universities for the task. The

surroundings. The chemical industry once

program has already reached 9,000 families

located in these surroundings is now being

and expects to reach a total of 50 thousand

displaced as Grupo Carso is looking to

housing units by the end of Basañez’

develop residential housing, whether in vacant

administration.

lands or through redensification, with plans for mixed.

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View from Tlalnepantla

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Industry, Housing and the Suburban Train in Tlalnepantla

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Industries Tlalnepantla

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Industries, Tlalnepantla

San Rafeael Suburban Train Station, Tlalnepantla

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Suburban Train, Tlalnepantla

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PROPOSALS

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

0.1. HOUSING’S ROLE IN REGIONAL DENSIFICATION Dimitris Venizelos and Ellen Nicholson

0.2. THE COLLECTIVE: RETHINKING THE SOCIAL LOGIC OF HOUSING Carly Augustine and Hayrettin Gunc

0.3. HOUSING POLICIES FOR A NEW URBANITY Nupoor Monani and David Gingsberg

0.4. LAND READJUSTMENT IN HOUSING SUPPLY Jennifer Lee and Hamed Bukhamseen

0.5. HOUSING AND SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISE PG Smit and Adrienne Mathews

06. LEVERAGING HOUSING TO PRODUCE SUSTAINABLE URBANISM Hanru Wu and Tong Wu

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01 HOUSING’S ROLE IN REGIONAL DENSIFICATION

DIMITRIS VENIZELOS & ELLEN NICHOLSON Master in Architecture and Urban Design & Master in Urban Planning

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Celaya is located in the Bajio Region, a steadily growing manufacturing hub in central Mexico. The Bajio Region is a strategically located “economic engine”; thus, it is important for the economic health of the region and the country that each “piece” (or city) within the region runs smoothly, both separately and in tandem. Regional realization is well embedded in terms of economy; the area accounts for 50% of automotive production in Mexico, it is a leading region in the aerospace industry and it is growing as a tourist destination. The cities of the Bajio Region are located in a very close proximity to each other and share the same urban structure; developed along the freight train lines of FerroMex and Kansas City, each one hosts a considerably sized manufacturing plant on the fringe of the urban area.

Celaya is an example of this urban type, hosting the intersection of the two freight lines located in the heart of its urban area, and having recently acquired a new Honda Factory in the southern part of the city. In terms of everyday life, people’s live-work patterns involve mobility from city to city, and everyday needs are satisfied through shared regional services and functions. Our project, using Celaya as a starting point, proposes a successful regional housing development, building on already established success in terms of economy and production.

In Celaya, as in many other Mexican cities, the incredible addition of

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housing since 2000 has resulted in a sprawling development pattern that is not sustainable; while the population of cities has grown by about 2 times since 2000, the urban fabric has grown about 6 times.

Especially when it comes to affordable housing, suburban or even ex-urban developments have been the rule, despite the new national housing policy that aims to development of central urban areas. As a result, the current development patterns for affordable housing have only caused more sprawl and have made the everyday life of workers very difficult.

One way of addressing sprawl is to densify centrally in order to increase proximity of everyday destinations in the city. However, taking into consideration the current centrifugal development practices, as well as the need for reduction of commuting time and constrain of the sprawling urban area, we choose to address the need for housing though the lens of accessibility instead of proximity.

Our proposal is supported by recent discussion regarding a suburban train through this region. In the case of Celaya, there is a unique opportunity regarding the proposed train line; the city has already stated intentions to move the industrial train lines, which would open an existing right of way through a central part of the city. We suggest that the city capitalize on this opportunity to redirect the train, and build housing in three locations with direct proximity to this train line.

These locations are neither in the city center, nor in the ex-urban area.

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Regardless of their proximity to the center, the proposed locations are relatively big pieces of undeveloped urban land in well-integrated and accessible parts of the city, and in direct proximity to the aforementioned future transit corridor.

Our proposal is an effort to constrain sprawl by densifying within the existing urban land through increasing the overall accessibility and integration of the out-of-center urban fabric, thus reducing commuting time and improving live-work patterns.

At the same time, the proposed development enables current mobility

between the cities of the region and works proactively in terms of facilitating future closer and more direct collaboration between the many growing cities of the region, through the future realization of the suburban train.

Location selection and development scheme are replicable in other cities of the Bajio that share Celaya’s urban type. The long term aspiration should be to plan regional housing policy, instead of city-wide housing policy, a practice that will result to economic benefits for the region and that will improve living standards for people at all economic levels.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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THE CITIES OF THE BAJIO REGION SHARE THE SAME URBAN STRUCTURE; developed along the freight train lines of FerroMex and Kansas City, each one hosts a considerably sized manufacturing plant on the fringe of the urban area. Development scheme is therefore replicable and allows for the realization of regional housing policy.

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THE BAJIO REGION IS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE. Regional realization is well embedded in terms of economy.

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

GROWTH IN CELAYA: HISTORIC AND PROJECTED Historic growth of Celaya has resulted in a sprawling development pattern. Despite the new national housing policy that aims to development of central urban areas, projected development patterns for affordable housing is most likely to cause more sprawl if the same pattern is followed.

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178

MISMATCH OF PROJECTED GROWTH AND OVERALL ACCESSIBILITY/CONNECTIVITY.

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REGIONAL MOBILITY & CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to affordable housing, suburban or even ex-urban developments with very bad connectivity to the rest of the city, have been the rule. As a result, everyday lives of workers have become very difficult.

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8 AM

12 PM Although current development patterns do not take this into account, everyday life is already structured on a regional level.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

4 PM

8 PM

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EXISTING

PROPOSED

THE PROPOSED TRAIN AND DEVELOPMENT WOULD IMPROVE LIVE-WORK CONNECTIONS ACROSS THE BAJIO REGION.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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MOBILITY AND CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN CELAYA AND HONDA PLANT.

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CURRENT CONNECTIVITY AND INTEGRATION

INCREASED CONNECTIVITY AND INTEGRATION (With the implementation of suburban train).

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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Densification Accesibility

Accesibility

THIS PROPOSAL SUGGESTS DENSITY BASED ON ACCESSIBILITY RATHER THAN PROXIMITY

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

THE THREE PROPOSED HOUSING LOCATIONS in Celaya are neither in the city center nor in the ex-urban area, are relatively big pieces of undeveloped urban land in well-integrated and accessible parts of the city, and are in direct proximity to the aforementioned future transit corridor.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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Possible phasing of three housing developments in Celaya.

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DESIGN PROCESS

SELECTION OF LOCATION BASED ON ACCESIBILITY Site in close proximity to anticipated transportation node

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Each new housing development would be relatively dense, and designed to incorporate a diversity of income types and unit typologies.

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FUTURE REGIONAL DENSIFICATION

2025 A regional housing policy, rather than a city-wide housing policy, would allow Infonavit to allocate mortgages on a regional basis.

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TOYOTA MAZDA

SILAO

SALAMANCA SCALE 1:25 000

GENERAL MOTORS

SALAMANCA

SILAO

SCALE 1:25 000

INDUSTRIAL CITY

IRAPUATO

IRAPUATO SCALE 1:25 000

Location selection and development scheme are replicable in other cities of the Bajio that share Celaya’s urban type.

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02 THE COLLECTIVE: RETHINKING THE SOCIAL LOGIC OF HOUSING HAYRETTIN GUNC & CARLY AUGUSTINE Master in Architecture and Urban Design & Master in Architecture II

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Rapid urbanization has pressured housing developers to build in remote areas where lower land prices maximize affordability. Such decisions often produce a trade-off between housing affordability and urbanism, with the latter defined as a connection between housing and the daily activities and needs of residents.

In response to a crisis in the housing sector produced by the peripheral location of affordable housing, Mexico’s National Housing Authorities are rethinking their housing policy frameworks. This project advances their aims by questioning and then recasting connections between housing typologies, affordability, location as well as the larger goals of densification, so as to use housing to create a more integrated urbanism.

We believe the challenge for housing developers and cities alike is in providing livable residential spaces which offer cohesion and a sense of community, yet at the same time provides for the extensive desires for individuation. This seemingly inevitable opposition can be negotiated with that of ‘collective’ – spaces that are neither strictly public nor strictly private, but both simultaneously. This idea can range from the public spaces that are used for private activity, to the private spaces that allow for public use and the whole spectrum in between. The task for designers and policy makers is to challenge the current definitions of public and private spaces to negotiate the relationships between the two to lend to new interactions

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and programming of spaces.

In terms of housing, a typological shift from the conventional housing development to a greater collective living environment can serve as a model to help mediate between and stitch together the home, the development and the urban fabric of the city. A successful housing project must confront the challenges of both social cohesion and integration. This project addresses ideas of creating a public atmosphere without disrupting the privacy of the residents while considering how the larger integration of a housing development within a city can be used to connect isolated islands of urbanism. Undesirable conditions exist within many cities and we challenge housing’s relationships with these site borders.

After analyzing current housing typologies in Mexico, we reconfigured the basic unit to include the essential programs of bed and bath room to become initial components enclosed within the house. Components of the home, which relate to ideas of collective, were extracted and reconfigured so that users can customize and appropriate their homes according to their needs and programmatic demands.This approach produced various typologies, one example being live/work units which are scattered throughout the development to provide for both the needs of the individual resident as well as needs of the community.

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Basic housing units can be stacked and attached together in different manners to allow for a greater sharing of collective components - such as porch, balcony, kitchen, workspace or stairs, which creates variation in aesthetics, scale and spaces within the development. This configuring of units reframes spaces, providing a greater gradient of public/private space. With the reconfiguration and appropriation of living space, moving from interior to exterior, collective spaces can help to invigorate the

development and reactivate what is regarded as undesirable parts of the city. This capacity of change transforms the development into a collective platform, in which the form of buildings and overall morphology are produced by the residents.

By challenging the conventional understanding of public and private spaces, this strategy not only creates the spatial background for social interaction, but also brings financial benefits for developers and helps to reach lower income families.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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VERTICAL HOUSING UNITS - Layering of collective space between neighbors

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This proposal looks capitalize on already established infrastructure and amenities found within the exciting city grid through the use of infill development.

Celaya already has a dense city center thriving with residences and businesses which all support and feed into the central public spaces of the city.

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Further out, density of the grid diminishes, blocks become larger, roadways more prevalent.

Connectivity, aggregation and walkability is lost.

Can infill housing developments help to rescale and invigorate these zones of the city?

A site was located within this outer zone in connection with amenities and public facilities in order to help reconnect the existing city grid.

ARK NIVERSITY CHOOL

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The site is cityowned just north of the central city, it current serves as a parking lot or temporary car market on weekends. It is the 3rd block of land designated as the Xochipilli Park Area.

Xochipili Park Area

The site is bounded by 4 distinctive border conditions, which is a common site in many other locations in many other cities. This agglomeration of super blocks creates an island effect within this zone. Each island has a distinct programmatic agenda that wishes to have a stronger connection with its surrounding context.

Richness of a contemporary city resides in the collective spaces that are not strictly public or private, but both simultaneously.

A typological shift from the conventional housing development to collective living can serve as a model to help mediate between and stitch together the urban fabric of the city.

PRIVATE PUBLIC COLLECTIVE

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COMMERCIAL STRIP - large scale commercial activites dot the landscape with signage and motor vehicles, reframing the perception of the city from the pedestrian scale to that of the view from a car window.

COMMERCIAL STRIP vast paved parking landscape set the stage for objectified office towers, striving to represent the possible futures of a modern city.

AUDITORIUM PLAZA - the Tresguerras Auditorium sits as an anchor to the commercial strip. What was once public space becomes reframed by borders and barriers. .

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LAS AMERICAS -filled with a population of incrementally self-constructed housing units, this neighborhood sandwiched between the open parking lot of our site and the railroad line, is known for its poverty and crime.

LAS AMERICAS -the solution for restricting access and protecting the park is to build a wall. What kind of message does this send to the people living on the other side?

CEMENTARY – this wall is a design component to house burials and shrines. From the pedestrian scale, this public space is out of view and inaccessible.

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AUDITORIUM PLAZA - What is public space without the public? Who goes to these spaces and what do they do there?

XOCHIPILLI PARK - the park is accessible from only the main entry, which situates itself across the street from the commercial strip, one must traverse a roadway full of cars to see what lies beyond its walls.

XOCHIPILLI PARKwithout direct access to the park – activities within the park become limited and planned rather than sporadic and a part of everyday life.

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Avenida Torres Landa Edge Analysis

Drive-In Commercial

Streetview

Setback Infill/Rightsizing

Retail Frontage/Bridging

Xochipili Park Edge Analysis

Food Trucks

Streetview

Public Pool

EACH BORDER PRESENTS DIFFERENT CONDITIONS OF INTERACTION. This catalog focuses on methods for the negotiation of public and private through different activities and programs, which can be utilized as tactics incorporated into the design.

Event Area

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Panteon Municipal Norte Edge Analysis

Green Infrastructure

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Streetview

Commercial Corridor

Garden Paths

Las Americas Edge Analysis

Streetview

Pocket Spaces

Sports Fields

Urban Farms

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1 unit (68) = 68 2 units (179) = 358 3 units (98) = 294 720 units 36 units (10) = 360 units

1,080 total units 180 units/ha

The overall master plan of the development houses 1,080 units in both vertical and single family units.

View from the cemetery edge.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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1

2

3

4

1

STRATEGIES OF OPERATION 1. Vertical Housing along the commercial string creates a pedestrian scale retail corridor on the ground floor, with housing above street level allowing for views of the city and the park.

2. A central entry and gathering zone provides space for the park, city and the development connects all 3 together.

3. Porosity along the Las Americas border creates a controlled condition.

4. Extending the existing city grid through the project allows for connectivity.

View of the pedestrian commercial storefronts, providing mixed use development.

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CURRENT TYPICAL HOUSING TYPOLOGY.

Carpark 12m2

$ 12/ =

12m2

m2

12+12m2

2-100 units

Circulation 6.5m2

6.5+19m2

$ 12/ =

m2

Waste

6.5+19m2

1.5m2

50 persons

$ 12/ =

2.5m2

m2

Garden 3.5m2

2-10 units

5m2

7m2

$ 12/ =

m2

9m2

2-50 units

Kitchen 6.8m2

7.5m2

$ 467/ =

m2

9.6m2

2-5 units

Bedroom+Bathroom 2+1

28.4m

$ 467/ =

3+2 2

m

Terrace | Energy

42.8m2

5m2

2

COLLECTIVE

15.6m

2

PRIVATE

1+1

7m2

$ 423/ =

m2

9m2

2-50 units

Laundry 1.5m2

3.6m2

$ 510/ =

m2

3.6m2

2-10 units

Workspace 10m2

12m2

$ 467/ =

m2

14m2

1-2 units

COLLECTIVE COMPONENTS The strategy was to reconfigure the basic unit of the current housing typologies to include the essential programs of bed and bath to become the initial components enclosed within the house. The component of the home which relate to ideas of collective are extracted and reconfigured to allow for sharing and appropriation as needed by each household. This strategy creates a spatial background for social interaction while also bringing financial benefits to developers and helps to reach lower income families.

Patio 5m2

7m2

$ 12/ =

m2

Playscape 9m2

2-10 units

-

$ 12/ =

5m2 m2

5m2

2-50 units

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unit typologies unit typologies

1 unit

2 units

1 unit

2 units

40 m units 2

40 m units 2

4 units

2 units

+ 4 units

+

2 units

+

40 m2 units

50 m2 units+ 50 m2 units

48 m2 units + 48 m2 units

50 m2 units 50 m2 units

48 m2 units 48 m2 units

40 m2 units 35 m2 units 35 m2 units

6 units

6 units

6 units

+ 6 units

50 m2 units + 60 m2 units

45 m units + 45m2 units

48 m units + 48 m2 units

50 m2 units + 60 m2 units

45 m units + 45m2 units

48 m2 units + 48 m2 units

50 m2 units + 60 m2 units

45 m2 units + 45 m2 units

48 m2 units + 48 m2 units

50 m2 units + 60 m2 units

45 m2 units + 45 m2 units

35 m2 units + 48 m2 units

35 m units + 45 m units

35 m2 units 48 m2 units

35 m units 45 m units

2

2

40 m units + 40 m units 2

2

40 m units 40 m units 2

2

55 m2 units 55 m2 units 55 m2 units

40 m2 units + 50 m2 units

2

2

+

55 m2 units

+ 6 units

2

2

+

6 units

+ 6 units

+ 6 units

48 m units + 48 m units 2

+

40 m2 units + 50 m2 units 40 m2 units + 50 m2 units 40 m2 units + 50 m2 units

2

40 m2 units + 50 m2 units

2

40 m2 units 50 m2 units

MULTI-FAMILY UNITS

Base Module

Bathroom

Kitchen

Bedroom

Livingroom

2.60 x 2.60

1 module Bathroom 2.60 x 2.60 Area: 6.76 m2 1 module 2.60 x 2.60 Area: 6.76 m2

Kitchen 2.60 x 2.60

1 modules

2 modules Bedroom 2.60 x 5.20 Area: 13.52 m2 2 modules 2.60 x 5.20 Area: 13.52 m2

3/4/5 modules Livingroom 2.60 x10.40 Area: m2 3/4/5 27.04 modules 2.60 x10.40 Area: 27.04 m2

Base Module Area: 6.50 m 2

2.60 x 2.60 Area: 6.50 m2

Area: 6.76 m2 1 modules 2.60 x 2.60 Area: 6.76 m2

V01 V0152 m

2

52 m2

V04 V0452 m

V03 V0365 m

V02 V0265 m

2

2

65 m2

2

52 m2

V05

V06

V0565 m

V0665 m

65 m2

65 m2

2

2

65 m2

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unit typologies

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

shared collective components

5 units

6 units Kitchen

Circulation

+

4 units

=

(2)

4 units

=

+

(3)

6 units

=

+

(2)

8 units

=

Patio

6 units Circulation

Terrace

live/work 6 units

LOW-RISE

=

Terrace

6 units

Circulation

3 units Rooftop Deck

Circulation

Circulation

possible unit combinations

Terrace | Energy

Workspace

HIGH-RISE

DENSITY EXPLORATION Exploration of the idea of collective space in dense and compact environments.

LOW-HIGH-RISE

+

(2)

6 units

6 units

6 units

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

6 units

+

+

+

48 m2 units 48 m2 units

50 m2 units 60 m2 units

45 m2 units 45m2 units

+

+

+

48 m2 units 48 m2 units

50 m2 units 60 m2 units

45 m2 units 45 m2 units

+

40 m2 units 50 m2 units

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+

+

+

+

40 m2 units 40 m2 units

35 m2 units 48 m2 units

35 m2 units 45 m2 units

40 m2 units 50 m2 units +

40 m2 units 50 m2 units

stacking of streets

interaction between neighbors

level 1 level 2

front porch Base Module

Bathroom

Kitchen

Bedroom

Livingroom

2.60 x 2.60 Area: 6.50 m2

1 module 2.60 x 2.60 Area: 6.76 m2

1 modules 2.60 x 2.60 Area: 6.76 m2

2 modules 2.60 x 5.20 Area: 13.52 m2

3/4/5 modules 2.60 x10.40 Area: 27.04 m2

V01 52 m2

2 neighbors 8 neighbors varying scales of interaction

V04 52 m2

V03

V05

65 m2

V02

V06

65 m2

home amenity

65 m2

layering of activity

65 m2

Kitchen V02

V06

Kitchen V06

V02

Terrace&Garden V06+V02

Kitchen

V06+V02

V02 3rd Floor

V06 3rd Floor

V06 V02

Garden V02

Terrace

V04-2nd Floor

WHILE EACH RESIDENT HAS THE CHANGE TO DEFINE THEIR OWN MICRO-INTERIOR CONFIGURATION, COLLECTIVE LIVING IS ENCOURAGE BY SPECIFIC DESIGN DECISIONS. K

WC K

WC

B

B K

1st Floor 5 units

WC

WC

K

K B

WC

K

K

K

K

Units are positioned in a way to allow sharing of kitchens or terraces but while K K WC WC still leaving space for individual growth and appropriation. This capacity for WC K WC B B WC in which the form of the change transforms the block into a collective platform B B B B B B WC building is produced by the residents.

WC B B K K

B

4th Floor 8 units

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

CLUSTERING OF UNITS

COLLECTIVE CLUSTERS The formation and clustering of units then strung together defines varying zones within the development from public collective to private collective spaces. This interaction between neighbors creates community clusters, promoting a sense of owner over space and collaboration of activities.

V06

V02 V02

Garden V02

Garden Garden V02

Terrace

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

V02

V04-2nd Floor

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Terrace Terrace V04-2nd Floor V04-2nd Floor

K

K

WC

K

K WC

B WC WC

K K WC

WC

K

WC

B

K 1stKFloor

5 units

WC WC

B B

K K

K K

B B

B B

B

WC WC

WC WC

B B

K K

K

B

WC WC

WC K

K

B K

WC WC

WC

WC

K

K K

WC WC

K K

K K

K

K K

B K K

WC B

B

B

K K

B B

WC

B B

B B

B

WC WC

B B

B B

WC

K

K

K

K

BK K WC WC

K

K

WC

K K

B B

8 units B

B

WC

WC WC WC

K K B

WC WC

WC WC

B B

B B

K K

B WC WC

B

B B

B B

K K

K K

B WC WC

05

B B

K K B

B

B B WC WC

K K

WC K K WC WC

B

B

K

K

B B

B B

K K

K K

WC

K

B WC WC

K K

B B

B B

K WC K B B

K K

WC WC

WC

B

K

WC

WC WC

B B

WC WC

B B

B

B B

K K

WC

K

WC B WC WC

K K

8 units

WC WC

K K WC WC

4th Floor

B B

8 units

K

B

WC WC

4th Floor 48thunits Floor

WC

K

WC

K

B K K WC WC

B B

5 units

2nd Floor B

B

WC WC

1stst Floor Floor 15 units

B

WC

K

B WC WC

B B

5th Floor

B B

6 units

2nd Floor 28ndunits Floor

5th Floor 56thunits Floor

8 units

6 units

K WC

K

K

K K

K K

B WC WC

B K K B B B B

K

WC

K

04

B

B WC

B

B B B B

WC WC

B WC WC

K K

K K

WC K K

B

B B WC WC

B B

K

WC

K

K WC

B WC WC

WC WC

WC K K

WC B B

K K B B

B B

3rd Floor

B

B

K K

B B

K

B

WC WC

B B

WC WC

6th Floor

5 units

03

02 3rd Floor 35rdunits Floor

3 units

6th Floor 63 thunits Floor

3 units VERTICAL HOUSING FLOOR PLANS - Configuration diagrams

5 units

01 CONCRETE FRAME (MODULES)

01 CARPARK 02 RETAIL 03 HOUSING UNIT 04 ACCESS DECK 05 ROOF GARDEN

05

04

03

02

01

01 CARPARK 02 RETAIL 03 HOUSING UNIT 04 ACCESS DECK 05 ROOF GARDEN

VERTICAL HOUSING SECTION

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VIEW FROM ENTRY PLAZA

VIEW OF SMALL SCALE COLLECTIVE NODE

NORTH-SOUTH SECTION THROUGH DEVELOPMENT

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

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VIEW OF LAS AMERICAS BORDER

VIEW FROM VERTICAL HOUSING

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

03 HOUSING POLICIES FOR A NEW URBANITY: ESTA ES TU CIUDAD

DAVID GINGSBERG & NUPOOR MONANI Master in Urban Planning & Master in Architecture and Urban Design

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Celaya is located in the Bajio Region, a steadily growing manufacturing hub in central Mexico. The Bajio Region is a strategically located “economic engine”; thus, it is important for the economic health of the region and the country that each “piece” (or city) within the region runs smoothly, both separately and in tandem. Regional realization is well embedded in terms of economy; the area accounts for 50% of automotive production in Mexico, it is a leading region in the aerospace industry and it is growing as a tourist destination.

in a sprawling development pattern that is not sustainable; while the population of cities has grown by about 2 times since 2000, the urban fabric has grown about 6 times.

Especially when it comes to affordable housing, suburban or even ex-urban developments have been the rule, despite the new national housing policy that aims to development of central urban areas. As a result, the current development patterns for affordable housing have only caused more sprawl and have made the everyday life of workers very difficult.

The cities of the Bajio Region are located in a very close proximity to each other and share the same urban structure; developed along the freight train lines of FerroMex and Kansas City, each one hosts a considerably sized manufacturing plant on the fringe of the urban area. Celaya is an example of this urban type, hosting the intersection of the two freight lines located in the heart of its urban area, and having recently acquired a new Honda Factory in the southern part of the city. In terms of everyday life, people’s live-work patterns involve mobility from city to city, and everyday needs are satisfied through shared regional services and functions. The project, using Celaya as a starting point, proposes a successful regional housing development, building on already established success in terms of economy and production.

One way of addressing sprawl is to densify centrally in order to increase proximity of everyday destinations in the city. However, taking into consideration the current centrifugal development practices, as well as the need for reduction of commuting time and constrain of the sprawling urban area, we choose to address the need for housing though the lens suggest accessibility instead of proximity.

Our proposal is supported by recent discussion regarding a suburban train through this region. In the case of Celaya, there is a unique opportunity regarding the proposed train line; the city has already stated intentions to move the industrial train lines, which would open an existing right of way through a central part of the city. We suggest that the city capitalize on this opportunity to redirect the train, and build housing in three locations with direct proximity to this train line.

These locations are neither in the city center, nor in the ex-urban area.

In Celaya, as in many other Mexican cities, the incredible addition of housing since 2000 has resulted

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

POLICIES FOR A NEW URBANITY Regardless of their proximity to the center, the proposed locations are relatively big pieces of undeveloped urban land in wellintegrated and accessible parts of the city, and in direct proximity to the aforementioned future transit corridor. Our proposal is an effort to constrain sprawl by densifying within the existing urban land through increasing the overall accessibility and integration of the out-of-center urban fabric, thus reducing commuting time and improving live-work patterns.

At the same time, the proposed development enables current

mobility between the cities of the region and works proactively in terms of facilitating future closer and more direct collaboration between the many growing cities of the region, through the future realization of the suburban train.

Location selection and development scheme are replicable in other cities of the Bajio that share Celaya’s urban type. The long term aspiration should be to plan regional housing policy, instead of city-wide housing policy, a practice that will result to economic benefits for the region and that will improve living standards for people at all economic levels.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

SITUATING CELAYA

To situate Celaya, it is a mid-sized city of nearly 500,000 people, located in the center of Mexico, with a distinct historic core but a land- cannibalizing growth pattern since 1990. It became evident that Celaya is a city with great characteristics for testing new policies: it has deep-rooted history derived from a Mexican Revolution battle, is logistically important being at the intersection of critical North-South/East-West freight lines, and is set for rapid growth catalyzed by Honda’s new billion dollar auto-plant. The net result of these factors was a projected growth of 43% more residents by 2030 and 58,000 additional homes in the same time frame.

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HOUSING ISSUE

Considering INFONAVIT would finance 60% of these new homes, averaging 2,500 residences per year for 15 years, the paramount question became where and what type of housing would the agency incentivize in Celaya?

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

INFONAVIT’S ROLE

IDEOLOGY CHANGE

INFONAVIT’s leadership, realizing that its spatially-inconsiderate financing of private development since 1990 had led to inefficient cities, created a new system of concentric “contours” to physically “guide” development.

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ESTA ES TU CASA

This program, known as Esta es Tu Casa, effectively lowered a unit’s cost, allowing low income residents to afford homes that they would not be able to purchase otherwise.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

CRITICISMS: 1.MISGUIDED GROWTH

The contours correlated to levels of housing subsidy for developers that incrementally increased closer to the city center. This system projects to do little to change Celaya’s trend of unsustainable expansion by underestimating the development cost increases associated with infill sites or mid-rise building, relying on static “contours,” and doing nothing to promote improved design.

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2. UNEVEN SUBSIDY

3. NO URBANITY

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

WHAT IS URBANITY?

Therefore, our overhauled federal housing subsidy program, Esta es tu Ciudad, rectifies these issues to foster more “urbanity;� a multi-faceted ideal that includes a feeling of belonging to a city, financial or physical access to varied elements of life, increased human interactions, networks of complex systems, a sense of being in a contextually specific place, and the notion that collective living achieves produces a better societal outcomes.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

POLICIES FOR A NEW URBANITY

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

The first subsidy scoring criteria, or strategy, of Esta es tu Ciudad was a series of “DYNAMIC LAYERS” that incentivized development to sites that were, for example, within a certain distance of public transit, a retail establishment, a school, or a healthcare establishment. Using freely available GIS data we created interactive maps for eight dynamic layers in Celaya, each correlating to an additional subsidy from 1%5%, depending on their determined importance in promoting urbanity.

Cumulatively these layers could contribute a 15% subsidy to the per unit Total Development Costs.

OVERALL, THIS MECHANISM PROVIDES A MUCH MORE NUANCED FRAMEWORK FOR SPATIALLY GUIDING DEVELOPMENT, THAN THE STATIC CONTOURS OF THE CURRENT PROGRAM.

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STRATEGIES

DESIGN GUIDELINES The next scoring criteria were a series flexible design guidelines, each correlating to a 1%-5% subsidy offset for a development. These included items like the percentage of communal space, mixed use development, the number of stories (relative to surrounding structures), and block permeability. A development could achieve up to an additional 15% subsidy on its total development cost from these seven guidelines; the idea being to offset the real or perceived increased costs of building creatively designed, more socially beneficial housing types in Celaya.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

SUBSIDY MODEL

The most prominent alteration was a new percentage subsidy model where an increasingly greater portion of Total Development Costs (up to a capped value) were offset by subsidy if certain design and location criteria were met. This percentage based subsidy actually equalizes the financial costs of multi-story inner-city development with the dominant mass- producing low rise housing.

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LIFESTYLE INCENTIVES

A final non-construction cost item included in Esta es tu Ciudad were a series of “lifestyle Incentives” for residents to overcome the social hurdles of living in a dense space of vibrant urbanity. This included free bicycle helmets, tours of local hotspots, and a weekly bus passes. These items, although seemingly trivial, could prove critical in overcoming trepidations for living in denser areas and creating habits that maximize the positive benefits of residing in an “urbanity-filled” setting.

FOUR ASPECTS OF URBANITY: MOBILITY

232 INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

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233

FOUR ASPECTS OF URBANITY: URBAN VIBRANCY

234 INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

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FOUR ASPECTS OF URBANITY: DENSITY

236 INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

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FOUR ASPECTS OF URBANITY: PUBLIC SERVICES

238 INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

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INFILL // PERIPHERAL // SPECIAL URBANITY NODE

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

TO VALIDATE THE OPERATIONS AND OUTCOMES OF ESTA ES TU CIUDAD, THREE TEST CASES WERE SITE SELECTED, HYPOTHETICALLY DESIGNED, SCORED, AND FINANCIALLY MODELED.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

INFILL

These cases varied from a true infill site to a more peripheral open swath of land to a midsize tract located within Celaya’s SUN. In each test case, a more contextually appropriate, yet creatively designed housing option was made financially viable through the Esta es tu Ciudad program, as compared to existing programs.

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PERIPHERY

Furthermore, by channeling more subsidies to these denser, new typologies of housing and fewer subsidies to the sprawling typology, the program-wide funding levels and the total units of housing created were maintained.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

SPECIAL URBANITY NODES

THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE ADDITIONAL SUN (SPECIAL URBANITY NODE) SUBSIDY WAS TO ALLOW LOCAL INPUT AND FOSTER COLLABORATION IN THE FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE PROCESS, SOMETHING THAT IS COMPLETELY ABSENT IN ITS CURRENT FORM.

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SUN

The third subsidy metric was a development being located in what was dubbed a Special Urbanity Node (S.U.N.), correlating to an additional 10% subsidy off of total development cost. This SUN was a zone designated, in this test case, by the city of Celaya in coordination with its local planning entity INEGI. A SUN represents a strategic geographic area, up to 15% of the city’s urbanized land area, where the city hopes to channel development and has vetted this through a regional or master plan. For Celaya we chose an area based on the differentiation in existing density and zoned density, its importance in a 2035 city vision plan, and the opportunity in this space by a recently decommissioned freight line as a SUN of tremendous opportunity.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

“ESTA ES TU CIUDAD” COULD IMPROVE HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SPATIALLY GUIDES HOUSING, PROMOTES WELL DESIGNED AND FINANCIALLY VIABLE DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES, INCREASES LOCAL ENTHUSIASM FOR DENSER LIVING, AND FOSTERS LARGE SCALE CITY- MAKING IN A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN LOCAL AND FEDERAL AGENCIES. ULTIMATELY ESTA ES TU CIUDAD COULD PROMOTE PLACES OF GREAT URBANITY NOT ONLY CELAYA BUT IN GROWING CITIES THROUGHOUT MEXICO.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

04 LAND READJUSTMENT IN HOUSING SUPPLY

JENNIFER LEE AND HAMED BUKHAMSEEN Master in Urban Planning & Master in Architecture and Urban Design

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Within the context of Mexico’s reframing of housing policy toward goals of densification, job creation, and economic growth, this project focuses on the critical issue of intraurban land prices in the development of housing in Tlalnepantla de Baz, a municipality of approximately 600,000 inhabitants located directly north of Mexico City. Tlalnepantla is a typical mid-sized Mexican city; the city center is comprised of an industrial core surrounded by adjacent residential neighborhoods, sprawling out onto the city’s outer limits. The city’s territory is highly urbanized; only around 5% of the land area is considered to be vacant, primarily towards the city limits.

Given the shortage of cheap, vacant land, addressing the high price of intra-urban land will be key towards facilitating new housing production, particularly near the industrial city center. This project explored the use of land readjustments as a mechanism to facilitate denser housing development. A land readjustment takes place when several adjacent property owners cooperate and agree to pool their land and resources together for some improvement on the land, whether it be for infrastructure or new, taller buildings with additional housing units.

The improved land and/ or resources are then proportionately redistributed

249

to the participating landowners, hopefully resulting in a better planned, more coherent, or more dense landscape. This project focused on three sites that overlay with the municipality’s intentions to develop the old industrial core and developed different scenarios for each site. The actors, housing typologies, and scale of intervention varied among the three sites as a means to illustrate the wide-range of possibilities open to land readjustments.

Currently, INFONAVIT offers several financial products for the purchase, construction, and retrofitting of a home. As such, this project conjectured the possible changing role of INFONAVIT credit holders from mortgagees to microdevelopers, supporting the use of land readjustments.

INFONAVIT, as a financial institution, could extend the variety of loans it currently offers to include a larger, more comprehensive “retro-fitting loan” that could be used to finance a land readjustment project. In addition, the institution could help connect willing developers to partner with land readjustment groups in a variety of ways, such as allowing the additional homes built from a land readjustment process to qualify for an INFONAVIT loan.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

A DEMOCRATIC MECHANISM FOR DENSIFICATION

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TLALNEPANTLA, MEXICO. Positioning of Tlalnepantla.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

VACANT LAND AVAILABLE FOR INFILL

Only 5% of the total municipal territory is vacant.

MXN $

Vertical housing must support a larger negative flow of capital than horizontal housing due to sale and construction schemes.

300,000 200,000 100,000 0

10

20

-100,000

30

37 months Source: Infonavit

Horizontal Housing

-200,000 -300,000

Vertical Housing

-400,000

* Traditional scheme High land costs eliminate the profit margin from the creation of vertical social housing.

-500,000

FLOW OF ACCUMULATED CAPITAL. Addressing high land costs in urban areas will be key to facilitating vertical developments in the city.

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99% OF ALL PARCELS ARE AROUND 200M

Size 01: 200 sm. US home size Size 02: 700 sm. soccer field size Size 03: 2.6 ha.

Size 04: 8.2 ha Size 05: 22.6 ha *The percentage refers to the total parcel count (around 100,00 parcels) rather than the total area of each parcel size compared to the entire city’s area.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

WHAT IS THE LAND READJUSTMENT PROCESS? B

A I

L M

C E

D

J K

H

F G

E

Before

C

A

A

F G G H I

J

K L L M M E J J C D D E

After

A’s old land parcels B’s old land parcels

E E

B

Contributing Redistribution

M’s old land parcels

REGULARIZATION OF PARCELS

E

E E

C

B

A

K L L M M E

A

J J C D D E

F G G H I

J

Before Public Area

Public Area

A’s old land parcels

A’s old land parcels

Public Area

Contributing

B’s old land parcels

M’s old land parcels

After

Redistribution M’s old land parcels

VERTICALIZATION OF PARCELS

THE LAND READJUSTMENT PROCESS consists of a group of lot owners who pool their land together for some greater benefit, accompanied by the adjusted redistribution of the remaining space to match each participant’s contribution. The process has been used to regularize plot shapes, modernize the urban fabric by providing infrastructure.

Alternatively, the process can be applied to informal settlements where the residents may not have legal tenure but at least informal ownership of the plots (i.e. not a rental market).

This facilitates the possible value capture of the land, particularly when the informal settlement is located in a prime real estate location. The construction of dense buildings may create more value, provided that each participant is content with receiving a unit in a vertical building. Land readjustments also ensure that the original residents stay in the neighborhood and are not displaced by expensive developments.

Comparable redistribution of reside Lots for commercial space

Additional floors for rent / sale

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PACS

, LAND READJUSTMENT IS KNOWN AS “POLÍGONOS DE ACTUACIÓN CONCERTADA“

POLIGONOS DE ACTUACION CONCERTADA [PACS]

are located in the State and Municipality of Chihuahua, the State of Sinaloa, the State of Nayarit, the State of Sonora, and the Municipality of Tijuana. In the Federal District, SEDUVI approves PACs. To date, underutilized in DF: applied for transfer of development rights or the reparcelization of lots, typically involving 2-3 lots. More recently, other states and municipalities have gone on to include PACs as a tool in their laws, constitutions, and urban development plans. The Secretary of Social Development, SEDESOL, has been a major advocate of PACs as a land management instrument for the social benefit of all.

Possible applications include environmental conservation, the production of low-income housing, the upgrading of informal settlements, the promotion of employment, and historic conservation, among others.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

LAND ASSEMBLY IS KEY TO DENSIFICATION IN TLALNEPANTLA ONLY THE PRESIDENT AND THE STATE GOVERNORS HAVE THE POWER TO EXERCISE EMINENT DOMAIN, NOT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

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NEW URBAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE CENTER

Zona Centr o

TLALNEPANTLA IS PREPARING A CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE URBAN CORE. The plan intends to boost business growth (specifically sectors related to the information economy) and envisions a new urban core that will be dense and vertical. Although the plan envisions a live-work environment associated with the desired knowledge economy, it fails to elaborate a specific housing strategy for the area.

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SECTORS OF ZONA CENTRO

THE VARIOUS ZONES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF TLALNEPANTLA.

3 2

4 1

SECTOR 1 Historic Center of Tlalnepantla which aims to maintain the ‘historic rustic’ character of area.

SECTOR 2 Mainly housing, commerce and service buildings in the sector. Will have moderate height restrictions limited to three floors above the historic dome of the cathedral.

SECTOR 3 Currently has 207 properties that are primarily focused on heavy industry and warehouses, with possibility of introduction of a corporate business center.

SECTOR 4 Primarily single-family homes and small-scale industrial workshops. Neighboring properties to urban corridors will be subject to relevant standards of those roads.

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259

URBAN CORRIDOR PROPOSAL PRECEDENT A PRECEDENT FOR UNRESTRICTED DEVELOPMENT ON DESIGNATED URBAN CORRIDORS IN TLALNEPANTLA.

Primary corridor developments.

Secondary corridor developments.

The investigation leads us to focus on the highlighted regions of La Romana, which would benefit from densification using the land readjustment process.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

LAND READJUSTMENT PROCESS The following sequence of images illustrates how a typical development process would take place along a major urban corridor of La Romana, given the aspirations of the city’s redevelopment plan. The central business district redevelopment plan imagines this specific corridor to have no height or density limits in order to facilitate vertical development.

Like all development in a previously urbanized environment, most real estate projects become piecemeal, as illustrated by these images. It is much harder to assemble smaller plots of land and can often times hinder larger or more well planned development projects from occurring. This type of development also displaces the current tenants by “buying them out,” thereby changing the feel and character of the place and not allowing the new developments to benefit the existing residents.

A major benefit of land readjustments is that it encourages the current residents to stay in their neighborhoods and allows them to benefit from the rise in surrounding property values by becoming “microdevelopers.” It can also encourage mutual cooperation as it encourages joint ventures and development projects and shares the profit created.

The following pages are scenarios of land readjustment projects within the projected central business district redevelopment plan.

They present possibilities of cooperation, verticalization, and democratic redevelopment as a remedy to gentrification. We explored three types of land readjustment projects: one along a residential neighborhood, one along an urban corridor, and the last in a transitoriented zone (next to the suburban train station).

They vary in size (small to large blocks), intention (more friendly and efficient use of space/neighborhood block while still keeping in mind the human scale, verticalization and densification along a major commercial corridor, or transitoriented development), and the differing roles (homeowner to major developer to city planner/local government) BENEFITS OF LAND READJUSTMENT 1. Encourages growth of microdevelopers 2. Facilitates housing creation by lowering high land costs 3. Builds a platform for community interaction + initiatives 4. Enables low- to upper- income property owners 5. Captures the value of the land 6. Creates homes in intraurban areas, close to amenities 7. Can mandate inclusionary development by requiring a larger project to develop a certain percentage of units as social housing.

8. Enables cities to manage growth and densification

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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1. Large plot bought out first

2. Speculation of smaller parcels

3. Eventual buying out of parcels.

4. Clearing of development.

5. Clearing of parcels.

6. Freeing corridor for development

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

LA ROMANA TLALNEPANTLA SITE A INITIATORS: HOMEOWNERS

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

263

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TYPE 1A: RESIDENTIAL In the development of denser residential areas to accommodate for a burgeoning population in the area, a typology that could be referenced includes the dense-incremental housing developments of ELEMENTAL in Chile such as that of Quinta Monroy. In this type of proposal, an increase in the number of units is achieved (from 7 units to a maximum of 12). Here, homeowners would begin to pool their lots together in order to achieve a large enough subdivision to a denser and more planned development. An increase of 7% in the gross floor area is achieved as the original owners of the site could begin to benefit from the rent generated from the additional units. A communal green space would allow for the residents of this typology to jointly benefit in the creation of a recreational space. This design allows the flexibility to develop with a lower amount of pooled capital; the houses are modest and can expand vertically with future wealth. The size and design were contextualized to fit the residential and mixed-use character of the neighborhood.

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood

Calle Atenco

265

Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood Existing Use: Residential homes Existing Zoning: H100: 100 homes/1 HA Average Lot Size: 144-200 SM Total Lot Size: 731 SM Under used Plot Area: 22% Calle Atenco Block Typology: Single-family homes Property Owners: Home owners

+7%

Av. Hidalgo

Av. Hidalgo

+3%

Max Units Allowed: 7

GrossValue of New Unit: $736K pesos (360 VSM) FloorEstimated Area Created Value: $9.2M pesos % Change in Value: 3%

1.21

Percent Change in Value

Dwelling Unit

FAR

Residential homes H100: 100 homes/1 HA 144-200 SM 731 SM 22% Single-family homes Home owners

Units Created: 12 +7% 1.25 Current Estimated Value: $8.9M pesos

1.25

Percent Change in Gross Floor Area

Existing Use: Existing Zoning: Average Lot Size: Total Lot Size: Under used Plot Area: Block Typology: Property Owners:

+3% Assumptions: Open Space

1.21

Current Property Cost: $11,900 pesos per SM Value Dwelling Unit FAR Open Space

Provision of Abundant Green Space

$

Possibility of Converting to Commercial Space

TYPE A1: RESIDENTIAL MODEL: ELEMENTAL PROJECT TOTAL AREA: 730 SM NO. PARCELS: 4

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TYPE 2A: RESIDENTIAL An alternate method of residential densification within the same area investigated looks towards another architectural typology: that of the Borneo-Sporenburg model of development in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The design of the units allows for an increase in floor area by 95% and allows for the creation of a maximum of 7 units, which would benefit from the existence of a communal green space and the possibility of commercial space along the street frontage of one of the units. Again, the original estate owners would be able to benefit from the increase in the number of available rental units that would create a source of income without displacing them. A narrower building base allows for more units to be built while capitalizing on a higher building height.

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood

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Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood Existing Use: Residential homes Existing Zoning: H100: 100 homes/1 HA Average Lot Size: 144-200 SM Total Lot Size: 731 SM Under used Plot Area: 22% Calle Atenco Block Typology: Single-family homes Property Owners: Home owners

Calle Atenco

+95% Av. Hidalgo

Av. Hidalgo

+16%

Max Units Allowed: 7

GrossValue of New Unit: $1.7M pesos (850 VSM) FloorEstimated Area Created Value: $10.4M pesos % Change in Value: 19%

1.21

Percent Change in Value

Dwelling Unit

FAR

Residential homes H100: 100 homes/1 HA 144-200 SM 731 SM 22% Single-family homes Home owners

Units Created: 6 +7% 1.25 Current Estimated Value: $8.9M pesos

1.36

Percent Change in Gross Floor Area

Existing Use: Existing Zoning: Average Lot Size: Total Lot Size: Under used Plot Area: Block Typology: Property Owners:

+3% Assumptions: Open Space

1.21

Current Property Cost: $11,900 pesos per SM Value Dwelling Unit per SM FAR Open Space Hard Costs: $3000 pesos

Provision of Abundant Green Space

$

Possibility of Converting to Commercial Space

TYPE A2: RESIDENTIAL MODEL: BORNEO-SPORENBURG TOTAL AREA: 730 SM NO. PARCELS: 4

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ALONG URBAN CORRIDOR SITE B INITIATORS: SMALL- MEDIUM SIZE BUSINESS OWNERS

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

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TYPE 1B: URBAN CORRIDOR In the Central Business redevelopment plan proposed by the municipal authorities of Tlalnepantla, designated urban corridors would benefit from unrestricted height limitations as an alternate method to increase densification within the area. The proposal here takes a look at a series of plots along Ave. Hidalgo in La Romana that could begin to pool their lands together in order to achieve a form of higher residential developments with numerous units.

In the proposed typology, small to medium sized business owners could pool their parcels of land together in order to achieve a plot size of 1780m2, which in turn would allow for larger development.

In the L block typology proposed, a 174% increase in gross floor area is achieved and a maximum of 36 units are created as a generator of income for the original parcel owners. In addition to an increase in the number of units, commercial units are provided below to service the tenants or the urban corridor. A green space located above the commercial units is available for the residents of the development.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Av. Hidalgo

Calle Atenco

Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood Existing Use: Commercial Existing Zoning: CRU167B, Urban Corridor Calle Aten co Average Lot Size: 360 SM Total Lot Size: 1788 SM Under used Plot Area: 50% Block Typology: Commercial corridor Property Owners: Small business owners

+174%

Existing Use: Existing Zoning: Average Lot Size: Total Lot Size: Under used Plot Area: Block Typology: Property Owners:

Commercial CRU167B, Urban Corridor 360 SM 1788 SM 50% Commercial corridor Small business owners

Old Commercial Gross Floor Area: 1380 SM

Av. Hidalgo

Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood

271

New Commercial Gross Floor Area: 500 SM +7% Units Created: 36; 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom 1.25

3.03

Percent Change in Gross Floor Area

Current Estimated Value: $20.5M pesos Gross Value Floor Areaof New Unit: $470-820K pesos (230-400 VSM) Estimated Created Value: $33.7M pesos % Change in Value: 68%

1.10

+68% Percent Change in Value

Dwelling Unit

FAR

+3% Open Space

1.21

Assumptions: Current Property Price: $11,900 pesos per SM Value Dwelling Vacant Land Price: $7000Unit pesos per SMFAR

Open Space

Provision of Abundant Green Space

$

Provision of Abundant Commercial Space

TYPE B1: URBAN CORRIDOR MODEL: L BLOCK TOTAL AREA: 1780 SM NO. PARCELS: 5

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TYPE 2B: URBAN CORRIDOR In the Central Business redevelopment plan proposed by the municipal authorities of Tlalnepantla, designated urban corridors would benefit from unrestricted height limitations as an alternate method to increase densification within the area. The proposal here takes a look at a series of plots along Ave. Hidalgo in La Romana that could begin to pool their lands together in order to achieve a form of higher residential developments with numerous units.

In the proposed typology, small to medium sized business owners could pool their parcels of land together in order to achieve a plot size of 1780m2, which in turn would allow for larger development.

In the L block typology proposed, a 174% increase in gross floor area is achieved and a maximum of 36 units are created as a generator of income for the original parcel owners. In addition to an increase in the number of units, commercial units are provided below to service the tenants or the urban corridor. A green space located above the commercial units is available for the residents of the development.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood

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Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood

Existing Use: Commercial CRU167B, Urban Corridor Existing Zoning: Calle Atenc o Average Lot Size: 360 SM Total Lot Size: 1788 SM Under used Plot Area: 50% Block Typology: Commercial corridor Property Owners: Small business owners

Existing Use: Existing Zoning: Average Lot Size: Total Lot Size: Under used Plot Area: Block Typology: Property Owners:

Commercial CRU167B, Urban Corridor 360 SM 1788 SM 50% Commercial corridor Small business owners

Necessary Parking Ratio: 0.5 space to 1 unit

Av. Hidalgo

Av. Hidalgo

Calle Atenco

+411%

New Commercial Gross Floor Area: 0 SM +7% Units Created: 96; 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom 1.25

5.63

Percent Change in Gross Floor Area

Current Estimated Value: $20.5M pesos Gross Value Floor Areaof New Unit: $400-670K pesos (200-330 VSM) Estimated Created Value: $52M pesos % Change in Value: 153%

1.10

+153% Percent Change in Value

Dwelling Unit

FAR

+3% Open Space

1.21

Assumptions: Current Property Price: $11,900 pesos per SM Value Dwelling Vacant Land Price: $7000 Unit pesos per SMFAR

Open Space

Provision of Abundant Green Space

TYPE B2: URBAN CORRIDOR MODEL: MASS AVE. BLOCK TOTAL AREA: 1780 SM NO. PARCELS: 5

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TRANSIT ORIENTED SITE C INITIATORS: LARGE PROPERTY OWNERS

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

275

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TYPE C: TRANSITORIENTED Similarly to the B1 typology, the B2 proposal here takes a look at the same series of plots along Ave. Hidalgo in La Romana that could begin to pool their land together in order to achieve a form of higher residential developments with numerous units. In this proposed typology, the proposed joint 1780m2 parcel would allow for a 411% increase in gross floor area and a maximum of 96 units. This typology looks towards the maximum feasible development that could be generated within the area which would benefit the original owners of the parcels.

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood

1.5 km to Tlalnepantla Train Station 1 km to major bus terminal

Provision of Abundant Commercial Space

$

+214%

1.75

Percent Change in Gross Floor Area

1.10

+384% Percent Change in Value

ain Line ban Tr

Commercial + Industrial CRU833B, Urban Corridor 7000 SM 2.1 HA 44% Large industrial block Large property owners

Av. Toltecas

Subur

Av. Toltecas

ain Line ban Tr

Existing Use: Existing Zoning: Average Lot Size: Total Lot Size: Under used Plot Area: Block Typology: Property Owners:

Subur

Location: La Romana neighborhood Site Type: Residential Neighborhood

277

FAR

Commercial + Industrial CRU833B, Urban Corridor 7000 SM 2.1 HA 44% Large industrial block Large property owners

Units Created: 560; 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms

Current Estimated Value: $118.3M pesos +214%

1.75

ValueChange of New Unit: $280K-1.2M pesos (136-712 Percent inEstimated Gross Floor Created Value: $572M pesos Area

VSM)

% Change in Value: 384%

1.10

Assumptions: +384%

Current Property Price: $11,900 pesos per SM

1.5 km to Tlalnepantla Train Station 1 km to major bus terminal

Dwelling Unit

Existing Use: Existing Zoning: Average Lot Size: Total Lot Size: Under used Plot Area: Block Typology: Property Owners:

Open Space

Percent Change Vacant Land Price: $7000 pesos per SM in Value

Hard Costs: $3800 pesos per SM

Dwelling Unit

FAR

Open Space

Provision of Abundant Green Space

TYPE C: TRANSIT-ORIENTED MODEL: LARGE BLOCK TOTAL AREA: 2.1 HA NO. PARCELS: 3

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

BUILDING THE INSTITUTIONAL BLOCKS FOR A SUCCESSFUL LAND READJUSTMENT

People Neighborhood Groups & Promotores Vecinales SHP + Infonavit Fonhapo + Conavi Sedesol Sedatu + INSUS

COORDINATION AMONG INSTITUTIONS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

279

CAPACITY BUILDING AT LOCAL LEVEL

ZONING AND REGULATIONS FAVORING DENSIFICATION Local zoning laws should facilitate redensification in the city center. Many regulations inhibit verticality by limiting dwelling unit density, mixed use development, 1-to-1 parking ratios (instead of a lower ratio), and height restrictions.

CERTIFIED DEVELOPERS AS PARTNERS Developers should be trained and informed of the land readjustment process and their new role in the partnership.

“PROMOTORES VECINALES” + CAPACITY BUILDING Local neighborhood organizers who are can inform and the community through the land readjustment process.

The local government and the planning office will need to develop the capacity to provide technical assistance to the parties involved as well as monitor the process.

INCLUSION IN MUNICIPAL LAWS AND STATUTES The concept of Polígonos de Actuación Concertada (PACs) needs to be included in the Municipal Constitutional Law, the municipal tax office, and the Urban Development Plan (PMDU) for the municipality.

Many local agencies and office must determine how to evaluate a PAC.

POSSIBLE ROLES FOR INFONAVIT Currently, Infonavit provides financial services for the purchase, improvement of a new or used home, as well as for the construction of a new home. Infonavit also provides loan packages with subordinate loans from private institutions.

SUGGESTED ROLES - Hybrid mortgage/micro construction loan lender - Partner with SHP to create a special fund for PACs - Accept land as collateral - Facilitate partner with Infonavit-registered developers - Approve mortgages for units created from PACs - Special mortgages for low-income housing from PACs - Allow lower design criteria, esp. parking ratios - Technical assistance.

- Promotores Vecinales.

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05 HOUSING AND SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISE

PG SMITH & ADRIENNE MATHEWS Master in Architecture and Urban Design & Master in Urban Planning

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Many existing models of large-scale housing developments in Mexico continue to follow a model of isolated development, producing archipelagos – gated communities unconnected to their surrounding environment and amenities and places of work, and contributing to negative externalities including traffic congestion. Crucially, this occurs whether it’s in the periphery/rural fringe or in the city.

This isolation suggests little benefit to city living, as it can be up to three times more expensive to live in an urban setting than in a rural or urban fringe area.

To capture the real benefit of urban housing in addressing issues of quality of life and economic development, we must capitalize on the amenities, proximities and adjacencies, and infrastructure of urban living. Infill housing must allow for the kind of interactions, collaborations and competition that make city living both desirable and efficient. In particular, it must relate closely to economy and work, leveraging development to create urbanism, and creating infill housing that expands the potential of existing fabric and creates real opportunities for residents.

This has implications for places like Tlalnepantla, which provides a good testing ground. The municipality is strategically located just north of

281

Distrito Federal, with major roads connecting it to the metro region and a suburban rail station. Indeed, these features contribute to Tlalnepantla’s historical role as an industrial center.

Because of this industrial past and present, it has the advantage of large parcels of land, and examples of close relationships between residential and workplaces.

Tlalnepantla has been in transition for some time – things are changing.

Just in the past 10 years, we can see new residences as well as changing industries. In 2004, secondary services like manufacturing made up 43% of aggregated value, and in 2010 still employed over 16,000 people, almost 1/10th of total population. The municipality is interested in increasing productivity, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs (Plan Desarollo Municipal 2013-2015, pp. 97-100).

Although industrial and residential uses have historically been segregated through zoning and land use regulations, there are very significant benefits to proximity as well – bringing housing and work together means labor pools, wages, and reduced transportation costs and times. It also means supportive businesses and the increased productivity of an agglomeration economy. By selectively focusing on light industrial uses, we reduce the need for segregation.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

These sorts of integrations and adjacencies are already occurring on a more organic basis in Tlalenepantla, such as with small-scale workspaces beside residences.

The site we selected in Tlalnepantla, La Loma Industrial Zone, is at the crux of this – the urban fabric is largely industrial, with good connectivity along major roads, but also situated in the middle of residential fabric.

Despite this existing industrial fabric, much of this site is zoned for highdensity residential, suggesting the municipality are taking advantage of this trend toward the reduction in industry.

Another potential future for this site could be one which opposes these isolated developments and instead creates a more integrated fabric, a more flexible block structure, and greater potential for retaining industry and letting the market, not just a single developer, decide the future for these sites. There is a potential here to bring together the benefits of nearby work and the benefits of nearby homes. In Tlalnepantla, we have some of these heavy industries that make poor neighbors, but we have more light industries that are smaller, that focus more in smallscale activities: businesses that Make, Distribute, and Repair. These small to medium businesses are important to the Mexican economy as well: they make up 77% of all economic units, and 99.8% of all business units.

Many cities around the world are grappling with this – the changing nature of work, the workplace, and relationships with places where we live. Case studies in Johannesburg, Barcelona, the Mission in San Francisco, and SoHo in NYC present historical examples of this integration, and are also known for being very liveable, attractive and productive places. The case study areas make use of big blocks but subdivide them to create new opportunities for coexistence of residential and industrial. Through these studies we observed relationships and extracted organizational principles: a. Robust street network b. Reinforce street edges c. Secure spaces d. Intensify uses e. Activate ground floor f. Dense and varied typologies Our proposal illustrates a potential future for the La Loma site, based on case studies of mixed-use districts across the world that successfully negotiate residential and light industrial uses. This proposal aims one that integrates these uses and accommodates their needs in a flexible manner that allows for change of uses over time. For example, street widths are set to minimum of 18 meters, some 20 meters, to allow for the potential of work-related uses – trucking, transport – but can be changed to adapt to a more residential environment through the use of temporary street furniture and varying curb edges.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

THIS PROPOSAL STARTS TO SUGGEST SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF INCENTIVIZING INFILL AND MIXEDUSE DEVELOPMENT IN ADAPTING TO THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN DEVELOPING NEIGHBORHOODS. ENGAGING WITH SPACES OF COMMUNITY AND WORK IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO MORE EFFICIENT USES AND ALLOCATIONS OF SPACE, AND CAN ACCOMMODATE PRODUCTIVE USES.

283

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

Rural development in Cuautitlán

Urban development in Tlalnepantla

Many existing models of large-scale housing developments in Mexico continue to follow a model of isolated development, producing archipelagos – gated communities unconnected to their surrounding environment and amenities and places of work, and contributing to negative externalities including traffic congestion. Crucially, this occurs whether it’s in the periphery/rural fringe or in the city.

$

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

285

CHALLENGING THE RURAL / FRINGE VS URBAN MODELS COSTSRURAL/FRINGE AND BENEFITS OF MODELS OF LIVING INMODELS RURAL OR CITY FRINGE AREAS COMPARED WITH URBAN AREAS. VS URBAN

+ A

Access to amenities

Private space

B

Proximity to services

Proximity to jobs

Rural/ fringe

Urban

A High travel costs

$ $ $

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

B

Far from services

-

$

$

Congestion

$

LAND USE INTEGRATION URBAN IMPLICATIONS The isolation of gatedRETHINKING communities offersTOWARD little benefit to city living, as amenities are lost and cost of living can be up to three times more expensive than living in a rural or urban fringe area. To capture the real benefit of urban housing in addressing quality of life and economic development, we must capitalize on the amenities, adjacencies, and infrastructure of urban living.

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

$

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

REVERSING THE HOUSING/JOBS MISMATCH

UP

UP

UP

UP

UP

8PSLGPSDF

UP

UP

UP

UP

UP

+PCT

UP

UP

UP

UP

UP

+PCT 8PSLGPSDF SBUJP

RESIDENTIAL AND WORK USES HAVE BEEN SEGREGATED IN MEXICO CITY, CONTRIBUTING TO NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES STEMMING FROM THE SPATIAL SEGREGATION BETWEEN HOME AND WORK. The problem of the spatial mismatch between places of housing and places of work is extreme in Mexico City. The continued segregation of housing from places of work contributes to huge negative externalities including traffic congestion, long commutes, overcrowded and unsuitable housing, and high costs of infrastructure.

To capture the real benefit of urban housing in addressing issues of quality of life and economic development, we must capitalize on the amenities, proximities and adjacencies, and infrastructure of urban living. Infill housing must allow for the kind of interactions, collaborations and competition that make city living both desirable and efficient. In particular, it must relate closely to economy and work, leveraging development to create urbanism, and creating infill housing that expands the potential of existing fabric and creates real opportunities for residents.

Source: Koike Quintanar, “Job accessibility and probability of being employed by educational level and informality in Metropolitan Area of Mexico Cityâ€?, X Conference of Labor Economics, Universitat Autònoma de Madrid (2013).

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

287

RETHINKING INFILL DEVELOPMENT

PANTLA

25

ation

1990 Federal District

SITUATING THE SITE IN TLALNEPANTLA AND IN MEXICO CITY This problem has implications for places like Tlalnepantla, which provides a good testing

employees working ground for rethinking infill development and the relationship between housing and 171,792 spaces of work. The municipality is strategically located just north of Distrito Federal, with in industry, transport & major roads connecting it to the metro region andhouseholds a suburban rail station. Indeed, these features contribute to Tlalnepantla’s historical role as an industrial center. Because of logistics, and as technicians this industrial past and present, it has the advantage of large parcels of land allowing

rates 78% of production in Region XII

n de Desarollo de Tlalnepantla 2011-2017: Región XII Tlalnepantla , (2010)

economies of scale for development, and examples of close relationships between residential and workplaces. The site we selected in Tlalnepantla, La Lomasize Industrial average household 3.8 Zone, is at the crux of this – the urban fabric is largely industrial, with good connectivity along major roads, but also situated in the middle of residential fabric.

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

CURRENT ZONING SUPPORTS TRANSITION FROM INDUSTRIAL TO RESIDENTIAL USES

CURRENT ZONING FOR LA LOMA INDUSTRIAL ZONE SUGGESTS A FUTURE AS A RESIDENTIAL AREA, NO LONGER INDUSTRIAL Despite the existing industrial fabric, much of La Loma is zoned for high-density residential, suggesting a risk of losing industry to more residential archipelagos.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

289

IMPLICATIONS OF ISOLATED URBAN PATTERNS: A POSSIBLE FUTURE FOR LA LOMA INDUSTRIAL ZONE

THIS IMAGE SUGGESTS A POSSIBLE FUTURE FOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IF THE CURRENT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS CONTINUE. With current patterns of residential development creating archipelagos of small-scale streets and detached housing, the spaces for work are lost and spatial segregation will likely continue along with the same negative externalities.

270 hectares, total area.

Site potential: 97,000 residents @360 people/ha

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INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

TLALNEPANTLA IS IN TRANSFORMATION: 2003-2010 TLALNEPANTLA IS IN TRANSFORMATION: 2003-2013

2004

2003

2003

2012

2012

2013

New housing developments CHANGING FACE OFChanges in type and scale of industries URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS WORK RETHINKING LAND USE

Clearance for new development URBAN IMPLICATIONS

TOWARD INTEGRATION

Another potential future for this site could be one which opposes these isolated developments and instead creates a more integrated fabric, a more flexible block structure, and greater potential for retaining industry and letting the market, not just a single developer, decide the future for these sites. There is a potential here to bring together the benefits of nearby work and the benefits of nearby homes. Tlalnepantla has been in transition for some time – spaces and uses of land are changing. Just in the past 10 years, we can see new residences as well as changing industries.

TLALNEPA

EPANTLA HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

225

291

664,225

2010 population

pulation

702,807 in 1990

n 1990

INDUSTRY AND TRADE ARE IN EPANTLATLALNEPANTLA DECLINE, BUT IT REMAINS AN LNEPANTLA TLALNEPANTLA IMPORTANT ECONOMIC DRIVER 225 664,225

%4,225 ulation

2010664,225 population

dve07 in 1990

n population 1990

Federal District

81.5% urbanized

18.5% natural preserve

TLALNEPANTLA

702,807 in population 1990 2010

TLALNEPANTLA

702,807 in 1990

Federal District

Federal District

664,225

population 16,832 EMPLOYEES 2010 WORKING 664,225 702,807 in population 1990 2010 %5% 81.5% 702,807 in ,1990 IN INDUSTRY, TRANSPORT 81.5% dnized urbanized urbanizedAND AS TECHNICIANS. employees working LOGISTICS TLALNEPANTLA INDUSTRY IN TLALNEPANTLA 81.5% 81.5% Federal District

ve

Federal District

16,832 171,792

18.5% natural preserve

ral preserve

18.5% natural preserve

emp in in logis

urbanized PRODUCTION IN REGION XI urbanized in industry, transport & households INDUSTRY IN TLALNEPANTLA employees working employees working 171,792 171,792 employees workingas technicians employees working 171,792 171,792 22004 logistics, and 171,792 HOUSEHOLDS 2004 in industry, transport in industry, transport & employees working in industry, transport && in industry, transport & households employees working households households households AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SIZE 3.8 2004 generates 78% of production in Region XII in industry, transport & in industry, transport & 832 16,832 logistics, as technicians logistics, logistics, as technicians 2 logistics, 16,832 average household size 3 andand as technicians andand as technicians 16,832 logistics, as technicians 16,832 logistics, andand as technicians TLALNEPANTLA GENERATES 78% OF

Tlalnepantla de Baz generates 78

18.5% natural preserve

18.5% natural preserve

Sources: Gobierno del Estado de México. Plan de Desarollo Programa Regional 2012-2017, (2012); INEGI, (2010)

de Baz generates 78% of production in Region Tlalnepantla XII de Baz generates 78% of production in Region XII average household sizegenerates 3.8 78% of production in Region XII average household size 3.8 enerates 78% of productionTlalnepantla in Region XIIde Baz generates 78% of production in Region XII Tlalnepantla de Baz Tlalnepantla de household Baz generates size 78% of production in Region XII average 3.8 average household size

1999

17%

17%

1999

2004 1999

2004

Sources: Gobierno del Estado de México. Plan de Desarollo de Tlalnepantla 2011-2017: Región XII Tlalnepantla

Programa Regional 2012-2017, (2012); INEGI, (2010) Estado de México. Plan de Desarollo de Tlalnepantla 2011-2017: Región XII Tlalnepantla Sources: Gobierno del Estado de México. Plan de Desarollo de Tlalnepantla 2011-2017: Región XII Tlalnepantla Sources: Gobierno del Estado de México. Plan de Desarollo de Tlalnepantla 2011-2017: Región XII Tlalnepantla 12-2017, (2012); INEGI, (2010) Programa Regional 2012-2017, (2012); INEGI, (2010) Programa Regional 2012-2017, (2012); INEGI, (2010)

ico. Plan de Desarollo de Tlalnepantla 2011-2017: Región XII Tlalnepantla 0% Plan de Desarollo de Tlalnepantla 2011-2017:Sources: Región XIIGobierno Tlalnepantla del Estado de México. Plan de Desarollo de Tlalnepantla 2011-2017: Región XII Tlalnepantla 12% );o.

INEGI, (2010) INEGI, (2010) Programa0% Regional 2012-2017, (2012); INEGI, (2010) 2% 4% Manufacturing12% Industries Manufacturing Industries 2% 17% 4%

43%

Construction

43%

Manufacturing Industries

4%

58%

Electricity and Water

Construction

58%

Construction

Electricity and Water

4%

Construction

Trade

43%

Trade Electricity and Water 32% Trade Transport and communications

58%

Electricity and Water Manufacturing Industries

4%

Trade Transport

Construction

43%

and communications

Transport and communications

Community, social, and personal services

Electricity Community, and social,Water and personal services

32%

Trade

3%personal services Added value of Community, social, and 1999 1% 32% 32% manufacturing in Industry and trade are 3%in dec 3% Tlalnepantla 1% 1% an de 3% but remains important economic driver1% Aggregated value of industry in Tlalnepantla de Baz (INEGI) Aggregated value of industry in Tlalnepantla Baz (INEGI) 0% Transport and communications

32%

Community, social, and personal services

Community, social, and personal services

Transport and communications 1% 0% Community, social, and personal services

Transport and communications

Aggregated value of industry in Tlalnepantla de Baz (INEGI) Community, social, and personal services

lue of1999 1999 2004 1% uring in ry and trade Industry are and in decline trade are in decline tla s an important buteconomic remains an driver important economic driver

1%

17

17%

Manufacturing Industries

Construction Manufacturing Industries 27%

Electricity and Water

Construction

Trade Electricity and Water 27% Trade Transport and communications

Manufacturing Industries

43%

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

RETHINKING LAND USE

2004

TOWARD INTEGRATIO

Industry is important to the economy and economic activity of Tlalnepantla. In 2004, secondary services like manufacturing made up 43% of aggregated value, and in 2010 still employed over 16,000 people, almost 1/10th of total population. The municipality is interested in increasing productivity, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs (Plan CHANGING FACE OF WORK URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS RETHINKING LAND USE CHANGING FACE TOWARD OF WORK INTEGRATION RETHINKING URBAN LAND IMPLICATIONS USE TOWARD INTEGRATION URBAN IMPLICATIONS Desarollo Municipal 2013-2015, pp. 97-100).

Aggregated value of industry in Tlalnepantla de Baz (INEGI).

292

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

LIGHT INDUSTRIAL IN TLALNEPANTLA

ht Manufacturing Light Manufacturing

LIGHT INDUSTRIAL IN TLALNEPANTLA

ufacturing

Production Light Manufacturing

ing Distribution ring

ht Manufacturing stribution

Repair

ufacturing

Light Manufacturing Repair

Production

Production

Production

ing Distribution ring

Repair Production RepairLight Manufacturing

Chemicals Production

Electronics

Distribution

Repair

Production

Distribute Warehousing

Transportation

Production Repair

Existing small-scale production, distribution, and Chemicals work activities Clothingin Tlalnepantla include Wholesale repair of goods Auto parts

Printing

Furniture

Electronics

Repair Repair

Production

Repair

Distribution Production

Repair

Repair

Repair

Repair Repair Repair

Repair

Production

Repair

Light Manufacturing Repair Wholesale

Clothing

Distribution Light Manufacturing Make Printing Production Auto parts Production

Furniture Repair Production Distribution

Distribution

Production Production

Distribution

stribution

Repair

Production

Distribution

Distribution Light Manufacturing Make Distribute Light Manufacturing Repair Production Repair Production LIGHT INDUSTRIAL IN TLALNEPANTLA

Production

Production

Production

Warehousing

Automobiles Repair Appliances Repair

Furniture Automobiles Appliances

Transportation Small & Medium Businesses make up Furniture 99.8% business units in Mexico = 10 PEOPLE OR FEWER

Small & Medium Businesses make up 99.8% business units in Mexico = 10 PEOPLE OR FEWER

200 m2

500 m2

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

200 m2

500 m2

2000 m2

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

2000 m2

18000 m2

5000 m2 RETHINKING LAND USE

TOWARD INTEGRATION

5000 m2

WhileURBAN theseARCHIPELAGOS economic activities take place structures that vary inUSE size, smaller CHANGING FACE OFin WORK RETHINKING LAND TOWARD INTEGRATION structures and activities might be more suitable for mixed-use neighborhoods.

In Tlalnepantla, there are some heavy industries that make poor neighbors, but we have more light industries that are smaller, that focus more in small-scale activities: businesses that Make, Distribute, and Repair. These activities, with a relatively small spatial footprint and low environmental impact, could be suitable for a mixed-use neighborhood, bringing together spaces of work and of living in closer proximity. These small to medium businesses (those that employ 10 people or fewer) are important to the Mexican economy as well: they make up 77% of all economic units, and 99.8% of all business units.

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

18000 m2 URBAN IMPLICATIONS

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

293

CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATING LIVING AND WORKING

+ Supporting Businesses

Access to Labor and Client Base

Access to Jobs

Reduced Commute on Transportation

Agglomeration Economy

Wages and Income

Residential

Industrial

Complaints

Rising Property Value

Car Traffic and Parking

Noise

-

Air Pollution

Toxic Substances

Truck Traffic and Road Congestion

Pollutants

THERE ARE MANY SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS TO PROXIMITY OF RESIDENTIAL USES AND SPACES OF LIGHT INDUSTRY, THE TYPICAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY OF TLALNEPANTLA AND THE LA LOMA NEIGHBORHOOD. Although industrial and residential uses have historically been segregated through zoning and land use regulations because of conflict between them, there are very significant benefits to proximity as well. This can bring together housing and work to supply labor pools, wages, and reduced transportation costs and times. It also offers the possibility of supportive businesses and the increased productivity of an agglomeration economy. By selectively focusing on light industrial uses, we reduce the need for segregation.

294

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

EMERGING TRENDS IN URBANIZATION AND WORK.

SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES

BARCELONA @22 POBLENOU

SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES

BROOKLYN NAVY YARD

INNOVATION DISTRICTS

MONTREAL INNOVATION DISTRICT

Around the world, the nature of work is changing. In many industrialized countries we see the emergence of creative economies, small-scale enterprise and light manufacturing.

These activities are emerging in urban areas, and many cities are creating spaces to accommodate them. Barcelona’s 22@ in Poblenou, Brooklyn’s recent Navy Yard, and Montreal’s Innovation District are some examples that integrate work, play, and living.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

295

ORGANIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN USES

ORGANIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN USES existing fabric residential Existing Residential Industrialindustrial infill infill ORGANIC fabric RELATIONSHIPS infill BETWEEN USES infill

Existing fabric

Residential infill

Industrial infill

Vertical

Horizontal

vertical

Horizontal

Mixed Infill Mixed Infill

Relationships Vertical

mixed infill

horizontal

Adjacent adjacent

Adjacent

Relationships URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

RETHINKING LAND USE

TOWARD INTEGRATION

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

RETHINKING LAND USE

TOWARD INTEGRATION

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

MEXICO CITY HAS MANY EXAMPLES OF ORGANIC INTEGRATIONS AND ADJACENCIES, AS SEEN HERE. These sorts of integrations and adjacencies are already occurring on a more organic basis in Tlalenepantla and throughout Mexico City, such as with small-scale workspaces below, beside, or nearby residences.

65 m 65 m 65 m

65 m

MIXED-USE EXAMPLES MIXED-USE EXAMPLES Johannesburg 296 MIXED-USE EXAMPLES Johannesburg 65 m

4,225 m2

113.3 m 4,225 m2 113.3 m

Johannesburg

Vertical Vertical

Mixed Mixed Mixed residentialresidentialresidentialindustrial industrial industrial Residential Residential mixed residential- Residential residential

113.3 m

65 m

65 m 12,860 m2 65 m 12,860 m2 Barcelona

65 m

Barcelona 12,860 m2 120 m

65 m

4,225 m2

Vertical

113.5 m 113.5 m 113.5 m

113.3 m 7,200 m2 San Francisco [7,200

16.0m 8.0m 8.0m

4.0m 4.0m

4.0m 4.0m

16.0m 16.0m 8.0m 8.0m

4.0m 4.0m

Tlalnepantla [Residential] 3.600 m2 – 13,500 m2

8.0m

4.0m

4.0m

16.0m 8.0m

4.0m

1:500

4.0m 4.0m

16.0m 8.0m 16.0m 8.0m

4.0m 4.0m

4.0m

16.0m 16.0m 8.0m

4.0m

60 m

industrial

113.3 m

Johannesburg 7,200 m2

4.0m 4.0m

150 m 120 m 150 m 120 m 30 m 3.600 m2 – 13,500 m2 120 m 30 m 3.600 m2 – 13,500 m2 Tlalnepantla [Residential]

4.0m

1:500 1:500

113.3 120 m Johannesburg 4,225 m2

m2]

San Francisco m2] 7,200 m2 150[7,200 m San Francisco m2] 150[7,200 m 150 m

12,860 m2 9,000 m2 12,860 m2 Barcelona 9,000York m2 [SOHO] New Barcelona 12,860 m2 120 m New 9,000York m2 [SOHO] Barcelona120 m

60 m 60 m

Vertical 113.5 m

60 m

5.0m

60 m

5.0m

5.0m 5.0m 5.0m 5.0m

Barcelona Johannesburg San Francisco Industrial Industrial Industrial san francisco barcelona johannesburg industrial Barcelona Johannesburg San Francisco

60 m

1:500 1:500

20.0m 10.0m 20.0m 10.0m 10.0m 20.0m 20.0m 10.0m

10.0m

5.0m 5.0m

20.0m 10.0m 20.0m 10.0m

5.0m

20.0m 20.0m 10.0m

60 m

5.0m

5.0m 5.0m

2.0m 2.0m

2.0m 2.0m

13.0m 13.0m 9.0m 9.0m

2.0m 2.0m

2.0m 2.0m

13.0m 9.0m 13.0m 9.0m

2.0m 2.0m

2.0m

13.0m 13.0m 9.0m

2.0m

90 m

60 m

1:500 1:500 3.5m

3.5m 3.5m

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

3.5m 3.5m 3.5m 3.5m

1:500

9.0m 9.0m

3.5m 3.5m

2.5m

2.5m 2.5m

2.5m 2.5m

18.0m 8.0m 8.0m

2.5m 2.5m

2.5m 2.5m

2.5m 2.5m 2.5m 2.5m

18.0m 18.0m 8.0m 8.0m

2.5m 2.5m 2.5m 2.5m

2.5m 2.5m 2.5m 2.5m

18.0m 8.0m 18.0m 8.0m

2.5m 2.5m 2.5m 2.5m

2.5m

18.0m 18.0m 8.0m

2.5m

2.5m

4.0m

190 m

2.5m

9.0m 9.0m

3.5m 3.5m

60 m 60 m

3.5m

16.0m

Horizontal Horizontal

4.0m 4.0m

8.0m

8.0m

16.0m

100 m

3.5m 3.5m

4.0m

16.0m

90 m

5.0m

2.0m

12.0m

2.0m 2.0m

5.0m

2.0m

16.0m 12.0m

2.0m 2.0m

5.0m 5.0m

2.0m 2.0m

16.0m 12.0m 12.0m

2.0m 2.0m 2.0m 2.0m

TOWARD INTEGRATION 5.0m 2.0m 2.0m

16.0m 16.0m 12.0m 12.0m

2.0m 2.0m 2.0m 2.0m

5.0m 5.0m

2.0m 2.0m

16.0m 12.0m 16.0m 12.0m

2.0m 2.0m 2.0m 2.0m

5.0m

2.0m

TOWARD INTEGRATION

65LAND m 65 m RETHINKING USE 65 m 65 m 65 m 65 m 65 m 65 m 4,225 m2 4,225 m2 4,225 m2 4,225 m2 4,225 m2Johannesburg 4,225 m2 Johannesburg 65 m 65 m Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg 113.3 m 113.3 m 113.3 m 113.3 m m m2113.3 m 4,225 m2113.3 4,225

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

5.0m

TOWARD INTEGRATION 16.0m16.0m 5.0m

10.0m

4.0m

4.0m

2.5m

8.0m

5.0m

5.0m

10.0m

9.0m2.0m

2.0m

20.0m

4.0m 4.0m

4.0m

8.0m

8.0m

4.0m

8.0m

16.0m

4.0m

5.0m

1:500 4.0m 4.0m

5.0m 5.0m

6.0m 24.0m 6.0m

1:500

24.0m 6.0m 6.0m

5.0m 5.0m

4.0m 4.0m

5.0m 5.0m

24.0m 24.0m 6.0m 6.0m

5.0m 5.0m

4.0m 4.0m

4.0m 4.0m

5.0m 5.0m

24.0m 6.0m 24.0m 6.0m

5.0m 5.0m

4.0m 4.0m

4.0m

5.0m

24.0m 24.0m 6.0m

5.0m

4.0m

Horizontal Horizontal

VerticalVertical 1:500

113.5 m 113.5 m 113.5 m

113.5 m 113.5 m 113.5 m

1:500

113.5 m

13.0m

4.0m

7,200 m2 7,200 m2 7,200 m2 7,200 m2 7,200 m2 7,200 m2

5.0m

9,000 m2 9,000 m2 9,000 m2 9,000 m2 9,000 m2 9,000 m2

5.0m

8.0m

5.0m 5.0m

10.0m 4.0m 6.0m

5.0m 5.0m 5.0m

5.0m4.0m 6.0m10.0m

20.0m 24.0m

60 m 3.5m

60 m 60 m 60 m

60 m

60 m

9.0m

30 m

190 m 190 m

100 m 100 m 190 m 3.5m 100 m

190 m

16.0m

9.0m

3.5m

60 m 60 m 60 m

6,000 m2 – 17,100 6,000 m2m2 – 17,100 m2

9,000 m2 9,000 m2

2.5m

2.5m

2.5m 8.0m

2

18.0m

8.0m

9.0m

4.0m 16.0m 6.0m

5.0m

3.5m 3.5m

5.0m 5.0m

24.0m

CASE STUDIES OFFER HISTORICAL AND WORLDWIDE EXAMPLES OF THIS INTEGRATION OF USES. THESE AREAS ARE KNOWN FOR BEING LIVABLE, ATTRACTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE PLACES.

4.0m 6.0m

5.0m

4.0m

URBAN IMPLICATIONS URBAN IMPLICATIONS 5.0m5.0m

24.0m

4.0m 6.0m

24.0m

4.0m 6.0m

5.0m

4.0m

24.0m

Many cities around the world are grappling with some of these same issues – the changing nature of work, the workplace, and relationships with places where we live. We see some organic examples in Mexico City, above. As well, case studies in Johannesburg, Barcelona, the Mission in San Francisco, and SoHo in NYC, below, present historical examples of this integration, and are also known for being very livable, attractive and productive places. The case study areas make use of big blocks but subdivide them to create new opportunities for coexistence of residential and industrial uses.

5.0m

4.0m 6.0m 16.0m 24.0m

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS CHANGING CHANGING FACE OFFACE WORK OF WORK RETHINKING RETHINKING LAND USE LAND USETOWARD TOWARD INTEGRATION INTEGRATION 5.0m

3.5m

9.0m

5.0m 5.0m

4.0m 6.0m 24.0m

5.0m

2.5m

2.5m 2.5m

4.0m

2.5m

18.0m

2.0m

5.0m 12.0m

5.0m

2.0m

90 m 90 m 90 m

90 m 90 m 90 m

90 m

90 m

8.0m

2.0m 2.0m12.0m

5.0m 12.0m 2.0m

2.0m

2.5m

2.0m 2.0m

2.0m 2.0m 12.0m

16.0m

5.0m

2.5m

18.0m

16.0m

2.0m

5.0m 12.0m 16.0m

Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla [Industrial] [Industrial]

3.5m

4.0m

2.0m 2.0m

2.5m

18.0m2.5m 2.5m 8.0m 2.5m

16.0m

Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla [Industrial] [Industrial] Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla [Industrial] [Industrial] 60 m 60 m Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla [Industrial] [Industrial]

4.0m

16.0m

90 m

5.0m

16.0m

4.0m

8.0m

90 m 90 m 90 m

2.5m

190 m 5.0m 5.0m 190 m4.0m

3.5m 3.5m 9.0m 60 m m 100 m 16.0m 100 m60 60 mm2 6,000 m2 – 17,100 6,000 m2m2 – 17,100 6,000 m2 – 17,100 6,000 m2m2 – 17,100 m2 6,000 m2 – 17,100 6,000 m2m2 – 17,100 m2

3.5m

New YorkNew [SOHO] York [SOHO]

2.5m

18.0m

20.0m 24.0m

100 m 100 m9.0m 3.5m 3.5m 100 m

16.0m

60 m 60 m 60 m

2.0m

9.0m

13.0m 2.0m 2.0m 12.0m

2.5m 2.5m

5.0m

10.0m

Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla [Residential] 190 m [Residential] 190 m 4.0m

16.0m 2.5m

18.0m2.5m 2.5m

30 m 3.600 m2 –3.600 13,500 m2m2 – 13,500 m2

60 m 60 m 60 m

150 m 150 m 150 m

150 m

3.5m 3.5m

2.5m

150 m 150 m 150 m

Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla [Residential] [Residential] Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla [Residential] [Residential]90 m 60 m 60 m 60 m

San Francisco San Francisco [7,200 m2] [7,200 m2] San Francisco San Francisco [7,200 m2] [7,200 60 mm2] San Francisco San Francisco [7,200 m2] [7,200 m2]

150 m

150 m 150 m3.5m 150 m 16.0m 9.0m16.0m

2.0m 2.0m

9.0m 13.0m 5.0m 2.0m 12.0m

2.0m

2.5m

4.0m

8.0m

120 120 m 20.0m m 5.0m 10.0m 5.0m 10.0m 5.0m 120 m 120 m 12020.0mm 120 m 90 m 20.0m 150 m 15030 mm 30m m 90 90 3.600 m2 –3.600 13,500 m2m2 – 13,500 30 m2m 30m m 30 m 3.600 m2 –3.600 13,500 m2m2 – 13,500 30 m2m 3.600 m2 –3.600 13,500 m2m2 – 13,500 m2 120[Residential] m 120[Residential] m Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla

Barcelona Barcelona

New YorkNew [SOHO] York [SOHO] New YorkNew [SOHO] York [SOHO] New YorkNew [SOHO] York [SOHO]

1:500

2.0m 9.0m

13.0m

20.0m

120 m m2 120 m 12,860 m2 12,860 120 m 120 m

120 m

4.0m 4.0m

8.0m

16.0m 10.0m 5.0m

San Francisco San Francisco [7,200 m2] [7,200 m2]

1:500

13.0m

16.0m

9.0m16.0m

5.0m

113.5 m

Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona 120 m 120 m

150 m 150m2 m 7,200 m2 7,200 150 m

VerticalVertical

9.0m2.0m2.0m

2.0m 2.0m 9.0m

4.0m

5.0m

4.0m 3.5m

12,860 m2 12,860 m2 12,860 m2 12,860 m2 12,860 m2 12,860 m2

120 m

24.0m

2.5m

16.0m

16.0m

4.0m

4.0m 4.0m

2.5m

8.0m 18.0m

113.3 m

4.0m

5.0m

2.5m

Johannesburg Johannesburg

VerticalVertical

5.0m

2.5m 2.5m

13.0m

2.0m 2.0m

8.0m

2.5m

18.0m

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

5.0m

20.0m

12.0m 16.0m

2.5m

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

2.0m

5.0m

2.0m

9.0m 13.0m

90 m

113.3 m

4.0m

2.0m 2.0m

9.0m

90 m

6,000 m2 – 17,100 m2

CHANGING FACE OF WORK 16.0m 16.0m

9.0m

2.5m

2.5m

13.0m

6,000 m2 – 17,100 m2 Tlalnepantla [Industrial] 65 m 65 m 65 m 65 m LAND USE CHANGING FACE OF WORK RETHINKING 16.0m 65 m 65 m 3.5m 9.0m Tlalnepantla [Industrial] Horizontal CHANGING FACE OFHorizontal WORK RETHINKING LAND USE 16.0m

16.0m 1:500 16.0m

3.5m

2.5m

18.0m 8.0m

2.0m

3.5m

9.0m

16.0m 9.0m 16.0m 9.0m

8.0m

2.5m

18.0m

6,000 m2 – 17,100 m2 60 m Tlalnepantla [Industrial]

1:500

3.5m

90 m

2.5m

2.5m

190 m

MIXED-USE MIXED-USE EXAMPLES EXAMPLES

New 9,000York m2 [SOHO] URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS New York URBAN [SOHO] ARCHIPELAGOS

90 m 90 m

2.5m

190 m

5.0m

100 m

60 m

90 m

5.0m 5.0m

100 m

New York (SoHo)new york New York (SoHo)

13.0m 9.0m 9.0m

13.0m

5.0m 5.0m

San Francisco m2] 150[7,200 m

9,000York m2 [SOHO] New

90 m

Horizontal Adjacent 90 m Tlalnepantla [Industrial] 30 m Tlalnepantla [Residential] 3.600 m2 – 13,500 m2 Horizontal Adjacent Tlalnepantla [Residential] Horizontal Adjacent

20.0m

60 m

90 m

60 m

150 m 6,000 m2 – 17,100 120 m m2 60 m 150 m 6,000 m2 – 17,100 120 m m2 60 m30 m Tlalnepantla [Industrial] 3.600 m2 – 13,500 m2 6,000 m2 – 17,100 120[Industrial] m m2 Tlalnepantla 30 m 3.600 m2 – 13,500 m2 Tlalnepantla [Residential]

5.0m

10.0m

1:500

30 m

90 m

150 m

100 m

113.5 m60 m

150 m

2.0m

2.0m 2.0m

Horizontal 190 m

100 m

San Francisco m2] 7,200 m2 150[7,200 m

9,000 m2

2.0m

13.0m 9.0m

Horizontal 190 m Horizontal 190 m

100 m

113.5 m

60 m

7,200 m2 San Francisco [7,200 m2]

9.0m

2.0m

Tlalnepantla [Residential]

Vertical Vertical

16.0m

New York [SOHO] 120 m

2.0m

150 m

120 m 65 m Barcelona 4,225 m2 Johannesburg

7,200 m2

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

65 m

4,225 m2

2.0m

16.0m

2.0m 2.0m 12.0m 16.0m

2.0m 2.0

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

297

ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES

Variety of scales to facilitate different uses and programs

Separate access and rights of way, but coordinated shared facilities where possible

Industrial character

Mixed industrial/ residential character

Residential character URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

RETHINKING LAND USE

TOWARD INTEGRATION

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

We extracted organizational and design principles from the case study cities, suggesting methods for negotiating different uses. Careful organization of uses, massing and building types, as well as access will characterize the areas, promoting a certain mix of uses.

This should be coordinated to promote clear character areas, as we demonstrate in the three example districts. Facilities and infrastructure such as roads and utilities should be shared as much as possible. However, separate access routes for light industrial uses and residential uses can help to avoid conflict between uses, depending on the needs of each and the character of the area.

298

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

DESIGN PRINCIPLES DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Part of robust street network

Reinforce street edges

Internal security for living spaces

Intensify uses

Activate ground floor

Dense and varied typologies

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

RETHINKING LAND USE

TOWARD INTEGRATION

ENCOURAGING BUILT-IN FLEXIBILITY THROUGH VARIATIONS IN USE WHILE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONAL AND DESING PRINCIPLES, AND WEAVING IN DIFFERENT USES. Based on the case studies of mixed-use districts across the world that successfully negotiate residential and light industrial uses, our proposal illustrates a potential future for the La Loma site. This proposal aims to integrate these uses and accommodates their needs in a flexible manner that allows for change of uses over time. Examples of three districts within La Loma illustrate how this could be done. In keeping with the industrial nature of the area, the districts have been named for famous industrialists, engineers, and scientists.

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

6

36 m2

6m 60 m2

36 m2

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

299

60 m2

12 12

6m

120 m2

m

6m 60 m2

240120 m2m2

m

240 m2 20 m 480 m2

45

m 480 m2

45

60 m2

20 mm 24

m

6m

4m

2

6m 60 m2

12

36 m2 36 m2

12

m

240120 m2m2

m

240 m2 20 m 480 m2

60 m2

45 2m

1

120 m2

m 480 m2

45

m

240120 m2m2 2m

1

240 m2 20 m 480 m2

45

m 480 m2

45

m

20 mm 24 24

m

BUILT-IN FLEXIBILITY BUILT-IN FLEXIBILITY

Reconfiguring the block: horizontal and adjacent configurations Reconfiguring the block: horizontal and adjacent configurations

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

Based on the case studies of mixed-use districts across the world that successfully negotiate residential and light industrial uses, our proposal illustrates a potential future for the La Loma site. This proposal aims to integrate these uses and accommodates their needs in a flexible manner that allows for change of uses over time. Examples of three districts within La Loma illustrate how this could be done. In keeping with the industrial nature of the area, the districts have been named for famous industrialists, engineers, and CHANGING FACE OF WORK RETHINKING LAND USE TOWARD INTEGRATION URBAN IMPLICATIONS scientists.

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

RETHINKING LAND USE

TOWARD INTEGRATION

120 m2

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

20 mm 24 24

m

300

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

DISTRITO VELA

Situated within existing small-scale streets, this district would be largely residential, with some small-scale businesses and workshops to coexist alongside housing. Workspaces in some buildings would allow for some small-scale enterprise. Double-height spaces in a few buildings could provide for slightly businesses that would benefit from additional space. This area is named for Rodolfo Neri Vela, a scientist and astronaut who flew on the space shuttle Atlantis, and is to this day the only Mexican to travel to space.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

301

BUILT-IN FLEXIBILITY Reconfiguring the block: vertical integration

Residential Commercial GF Parking

Residential Commercial 6m

36 m2

60 m2

Residential

12

m

120 m2 240 m2 20

480 m2 45

m

Adaptable units: unit dimensions allow reconfiguration for a variety of unit sizes and uses

Industrial

m

m 24

URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

RETHINKING LAND USE

TOWARD INTEGRATION

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

RECONFIGURING THE BLOCK: VERTICAL INTEGRATION Allowing for vertical differentiation within buildings allows the potential for greater density and vibrancy where housing is situated above ground-floor workspaces.

302

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

DISTRITO MIRAMONTES

This district, along the major north-south axis Avenida Gustavo Baz, is the most suited for greater industrial and work-related uses, protecting residents from the immediate noise and pollution of this major road and providing good accessibility for businesses.

Residences can still co-exist alongside a variety of light industrial uses, especially if supported by soft measures such as community-agreed operating hours. This area is named for Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes, recognized worldwide as a co-inventor the first oral contraceptives, and a professor of Chemistry in several Mexican universities.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

303

BUILT-IN FLEXIBILITY Reconfiguring the block: core

Reconfiguring streets

6m

60 m2

6m

36 m2

60 m2 2.0m 1.5m 2.5m

6.0m

2.0m 2.0m 2.0m 4.0m

18 m streets

18.0m

2.0m

7.0m

2.5m

20.0m

20 m streets

6m

36 m2

4.5m

m

7.0m

480 m2

5.5m

2.5m

45

18.0m

7.0m

480 m2

45 20 5.0m

m

24

m m

m

20.0m

m

24

m

RECONFIGURING THE BLOCK CORE AND THE STREETS URBAN ARCHIPELAGOS

CHANGING FACE OF WORK

RETHINKING LAND USE

TOWARD INTEGRATION

480 m2 45

20

2.0m 1.5m 2.0m

20

120 m2

120 m2

m

240 m2

2.5m

120 m2

60 m2

240 m2

2.0m 1m

m

240 m2

12

12

12

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

Shared spaces such as streets and block interiors can be reconfigured to meet a variety of needs if the built form allows it through sufficient distance between buildings. Streets can then be adapted to meet use needs through appropriate street-scape design and temporary design features. For example, street widths are set to minimum of 18 meters, some 20 meters, to allow for the potential of work-related uses – trucking, transport – but can be changed to adapt to a more residential environment through the use of temporary street furniture and varying curb edges. Such shared infrastructure such as streets and utilities also reduces the financial and environmental impact of new developments.

m

24

m m

304

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

DISTRITO FULTON

This district is located along a proposed commercial corridor, Calle Roberto Fulton. Here ground floor uses could activate the street with commercial customer-facing enterprises along this main route and with a variety of other businesses and workshops along cross streets. Significant and meaningful public and community spaces, as shown here, can and should be incorporated into neighborhood designs, from pocket parks to plazas, to appeal to a variety of residents. Over time these spaces may change use from residential to light industrial, but require minimal physical change. This district is named for its main road, Calle Roberto Fulton, after the American engineer known for his of the steam engine in steamboats.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

305

URBAN IMPLICATIONS

These proposals suggest some strategies for combining residential and light industrial uses in an urban area. There are many benefits to this approach that address many of the negative externalities associated with the typical separation of home and work and segregation of uses.

Bringing residential and light industrial uses in closer proximity directly confronts the live/work mismatch that is so prevalent in Mexico City, thereby reducing commute times and costs. This can also contribute to important environmental gains as congestion and pollution are reduced, and people are more able to use more sustainable modes of transportation for commutes. This sort of multi-use and dense infill development can also reduce the need for new development infrastructure such as roads and utilities, which can provide additional cost savings where general cost of building may be

higher due to increased land and building costs. Commercial rents can also help in offsetting the cost to developers of dense urban infill development. Finally, the greater variety and density of activities helps create more vibrant neighborhoods and greater social gains. Providing and supporting a mix of uses alongside greater density in existing urban areas can contribute greatly to the creation of urbanism and attractive, productive places.

This proposal starts to suggest some of the benefits of incentivizing infill and mixed-use development in adapting to the social, economic, and environmental sustainability in developing neighborhoods.

Engaging with spaces of community and work in the design and development of neigborhoods and districts can contribute to more efficient uses and allocations of space, and can accommodate productive uses.

306

06 LEVERAGING HOUSING TO PRODUCE SUSTAINABLE URBANISM HANRU WU & TONG WU Master’s in Architecture and Urban Design

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

Given the severe gap between housing, jobs, and efficient public transportation, this proposal for INFONAVIT emphasizes the building of a series of housing projects along suburban train stations to actively connect social housing with already implemented public transit. The chosen location is advantageous for two reasons. First, there is room for development with vacant and low-density industrial land surrounding the seven train stations, all of which can be transformed new development. Second, there is great potential for higher density residential development surrounding the stations, adhering to a model for transit oriented development taking places in cities across the globe. In the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, only 29% of residents live near public transit.

It is important to note that a housing location near transit does not guarantee higher rates public transit usage, as INFONAVIT policy requires that single-family units have at least one car parking space. This policy is problematic as it may indirectly discourage use of the suburban train, even in housing with close proximity to the stations. Additionally, the parking space policy forces families without a car to nonetheless absorb the costs of the parking space and developers to take on the expense of building parking spaces. Consequently, this proposal suggests that INFONAVIT delimit “car-free zones” immediately surrounding the stations, within the area of 500 to 1000 meters, a reasonable 5-minute walk or even

307

shorter bicycle ride. “Car-free zones” would also regulate that housing developments be dense, mixed-use, accessible to pedestrians and cyclists, and limit the parking ration to .5 or less.

Vacant land surrounding the Tlalnepantla train station was selected as a pilot project, as the site is close to the historic center with numerous facilities within walking or biking distance, satisfying the essential requirements of a car-free housing district. In spite of the site’s advantages, the spatial segregation created by the train lines and the complicated circulation around the station are central challenges. As such, the project first proposes to integrate the bus terminal with the suburban train station to form a intermodal transportation hub, and extend the existing road system into the site. Two typologies are introduced into the site: one is threefloor perimeter block in the west, corresponding to the density of the existing residential community close by; the other is high-rise perimeter block attached to the train station. The perimeter block under the tower would contain commerce and community recreation space.

The most important open space in the housing district is a “green corridor” running from east to west which aims to break the isolation of the station and connect the surrounding communities.

308

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

It is a walking and biking friendly system that combined the ground level green space, the lifted green corridor and the train station. The core idea of the design is promoting and encouraging walking and biking through privileged and attractive pedestrian and biking route. The proposed design creates 860 house units on the vacant land around the train station, providing parking spaces for 430 cars and 1,176 bikes with a parking ratio of 0.5 and a bike-parking ratio is 1.4. If the housing project observed the original one-to-one parking policy, an additional 21,500 square meters would be required for surface parking, covered onethird of the current site and nearly 1.3 times the existing green space.

If parking were to be developed to be underground, surface area would be saved. However, given the construction fee of approximately $11,000 peso per square meter, the current design saves nearly 190 million pesos for the developer.

The proposal to create car-free housing developments along suburban train stations is an urban development solution that benefits numerous stakeholders. For developers, the proposal helps to save space and money, which could be used for green amenities. For residents, the development offers an affordable alternative and provides the opportunity to live sustainably.

For the community, the development also encourages higher use of public transit to help reduce pollution, noise, accidents and congestion. The proposal presented here leverages housing as a central force in building a better city and providing a foundation for sustainable urbanism across the country.

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

309

310

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

HOUSING IS BUILT WITH NO CONNECTION WITH PUBLIC TRANSIT Evolution in modal share from 1983 to 1995 HIGH-CAPACITY PUBLIC TRANSPORT High-Capacity MODES Public Transport

Modes

MEDIUM-CAPACITY Medium-Capacity PUBLIC TRANSPORT Public Transport MODES Modes

LOW-CAPACITY PRIVATE TRANSPORT MODES Low-Capacity Private Modes

21.7

22.3

46.0

42.2

24.2

35.5

1983

1986

14.3 8.4

19.0

Metro Light Rain, Trolleybus Bus

1989

Public Transit

Private Autos/Light Trucks Taxi

56.8 33.3

14.3 9.0

76.7

77.3

1992

1995

Combis, Colectivos, Minibuses

Private Transit

Source: COMETRAVI, p.xx. TRANSPORTATION MODES. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN PUBLIC 1999, AND vl; PRIVATE

Source: COMETRAVI, 1999, vl; p.xx.

The lack of connection between housing and public transit creates traffic congestion, air pollution, and inefficiency.

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN METROPOLITAN AREA DIAGNOSIS LOCATION CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

DESIGN

Now in Mexico City Metropolitan Area, we face the problem of urban sprawl. Housing is built with no connection with public transit. Infonavit, as the federal institute for worker’s housing, although succeed in provide large amount of units, is among the wave of creating housing with no connection with public transit. So increasing number of people use private cars, taxis and colectivos for their trips, which leads to traffic congestion, air pollution and inefficiency in Metropolitan Area.

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

311

SUBURBAN TRAIN IS UNDERUTILIZED

l Tren Suburbano, by Federal Gov-

tem, the suburban train provides a more efficient and sustain-

o city’s Buenavista station north to Cuautitlán which began o lines are also in plan for further extension into northeast and chance to create walkable, healthy, sustainable lifestyle and

ATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

Tlalnepantla Station TLALNEPANTLA STATION Tlalnepantla Station

THE ROUTE OF SUBURBAN TRAIN SUMMARY DESIGN As an extension of Mexico City Metro system, the suburban train provides a more efficient and sustain- able public transit. The initial line is the red line from Mexico city’s Buenavista station north to Cuautitlán which began commercial service in 2008. The other two lines are also in plan for further extension into northeast and east side. The new suburban train give a chance to create walkable, healthy, sustainable lifestyle and neighborhoods.

The ridership of the suburban train is pretty low, the company is losing money.

The ridership of the suburban train is pretty low, the company is losing money.

Number of Passengers per day Number of Passengers per day

Fortuna Station FORTUNAStation STATION Fortuna

The Projected number TheofProjected number passengers of passengers

274,000 274,000

The least number of The least number passengers to to stayof passengers solventto to stay solvent

193,000 193,000

132,000 132,000 88,000 88,000

30,000 30,000

2008 2008

DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS

2010 2010

2012 2012

THE SUBURBAN TRAIN STATION IS ISOLATED To address these problems, the federal government introduce the suburban train, El Tren LOCATION CAR-FREEbecause ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE line is built DESIGN Suburbano. However, Suburban train on the existingSUMMARY freight rail SUMMARY LOCATION CAR-FREE ZONE theTLALNEPANTLA SITE DESIGN right of way, the train stations are often isolated with the local community. So the ridership of the suburban train is pretty low and the company is losing money now.

312

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

BUILDING A SERIES OF HOUSING PROJECTS ALONG THE SUBURBAN TRAIN STATIONS Two reasons to justify the location:

1. There is a room of physical space for housing development

There is a huge gap waiting to be filled

Tlalnepantla Station

ON THE ONE HAND, WE HAVE THE HOUSES WITH NO EFFICIENT PUBLIC TRANSIT. ON THE OTHER HAND, WE HAVE THE PUBLIC TRANSIT WITH INACCESSIBILITY TO RESIDENTS. SO THE PROPOSAL FOR INFONAVIT IS TO BUILD A SERIES OF HOUSING PROJECTS ALONG WITH THE SUBURBAN TRAIN STATIONS, TO ACTUALLY CONNECT THE HOUSING WITH ALREADY IMPLEMENTED PUBLIC TRANSIT.

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

SUMMARY

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

313

So our proposal for Infonavit is to build a series of housing projects along with the suburban train stations.

N CUAUTITLÁN

TULTITLÁN

LECHERÍA

San Rafael Station SAN RAFAEL

Two reasons to justify the location: San Rafael Station 1. There is a room of physical space for housing developTwo reasons to justify the location: ment 1. There is a room of physical space for housing development DIAGNOSIS LOCATION CAR-FREE ZONE

SAN RAFAEL

TLALNEPANTLA

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

FORTUNA

DESIGN

BUENAVISTA

SUMMARY

Tlalnepantla Station

Tlalnepantla Station

TLALNEPANTLA

DIAGNOSIS

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

LOCATION

SUMMARY CAR-FREE ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE DESIGN TLALNEPANTLA STATION Around all the 7 train stations, there are lots of vacant land and low density industrial land which can be transformed for new development. and the vacant land within the infrastructure are public SUMMARY CAR-FREE ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE DESIGN owned which is easily to be appropriate. We can see there are huge gaps waiting to be filled.

314

elopment station

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

2 REASONS TO JUSTIFY THE LOCATION: A) THERE IS ROOM OF PHYSICAL SPACE FOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT. Two reasons to justify the location: There is room of physical space for housing development B) THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR HIGHER1.2.There is potential for higher density around the station DENSITY AROUND THE STATION.

Mexico Tlalnepantla Suburban Train Station

Residents Near Public Transit (1Km)

75%

75%

HongKong

53%

London

57%

Copenhagen

48%

New York

velopment e station

29%

ZMVM

Hongkong Kowloon Metro Station

MEXICO TLALNEPANTLA SUBURBAN TRAIN STATION

RESIDENTS NEAR TRANSIT (1KM) Source: LSE Cities.

2012;PUBLIC INEGI, 2010 Source: LSE Cities. 2012; INEGI, 2010.

5% CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

M

SUMMARY

DIAGNOSIS

HONGKONG KOWLOON METRO STATION In mexico city metropolitan area, there is only 29% of people living near public transit. Compared to New York, London, Copenhagen, the residents near Transit are all around 50%, and Hongkong is even higher.

So the land around have the capacity SUMMARY for housing projects.

CAR-FREE ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE the station DESIGN

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZO

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

315

CAR-FREE ZONE INFONAVIT

Incentive Mortgage Regulate&Promote Residents

Have one more option

Car-free Zone

Save money and space for green space

Developer

Encourage

Suburban Trainof 500 to 1000 meters.( which is 5-minutes walking or Delimiting Car-free Zones around the stations, within the area bicycling distance). In this zones regulate the housing districts to be dense, walkable, cycle friendly and car-free.

Limiting the parking ratio to be less than 0.5 and besides public transit, promoting shared vehicle use.

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

SUMMARY

DESIGN

N

CUAUTITLÁN

DIAGNOSIS

TULTITLÁN

LECHERÍA

LOCATION

SAN RAFAEL

TLALNEPANTLA

FORTUNA

BUENAVISTA

DelimitingZONE Car-free Zones around the stations, within the area of 500 toSUMMARY 1000 meters CAR-FREE TLALNEPANTLA SITE DESIGN (which is 5-minutes walking or bicycling distance). In this zones regulate the housing districts to be dense, walkable, cycle friendly and car-free. Limiting the parking ratio to be less than 0.5 and besides public transit, promoting shared vehicle use.

316

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

DENSITY AND HEIGHT Vauban car ownership and modal share

VAUBAN CAR OWNERSHIP AS COMPARED TO SURROUNDING AREA

Car-free does not mean car is totally forbidden, but give priority for walking and cycling than cars. The policy and designSPLIT of these mainly focused on two aspects.

MODE FORdevelopments ALL TRIPS CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

PUSH

SUMMARY DIAGNOSIS

PULL

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZON

SUMMARY

Vauban :

1.limiting and separating parking from the majority of housing units, but car access to residential streets is permitted for picking up and dropping off.

2.The parking ratio is less than 0.5 per housing unit and most parking located in garages on the edge of the district.

3.The residents in parking-free zone have to signing a legal declaration to show their willing of not own a car or choose to purchase a pricy parking space in the peripheral garages.

4..various forms of shared vehicle use.

Car-free does not mean car is totally forbidden, but give priority for walking and cycling than cars. The policy and design of these developments mainly focused on two aspects: DIAGNOSIS LOCATION CAR-FREE ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE PUSH and PULL.

DESIGN

SUMMARY

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

317

TLALNEPANTLA TRAIN STATION: A TEST GROUND Site Analysis: Opportunities Commerce Commerce Green Space

Commerce

Hospital

Education Education

Historic Center

Hospital Church SITE

SITE

Commerce

Hospital

10

500M

Education

M

00

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

SUMMARY CAR-FREE ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES Various urban infrastructures are adjacent to the site. They can potentially increase the land value of this transportation node.

hallenges 318

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

FREIGHT LOADING ZONE

FREIGHT LINE

SUBURBAN TRAIN LINE

SUBURBAN TRAIN STATION

STATION FOR COLECTIVOS

STATION FOR LOCAL BUSES

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

319

Grain Grain andand Circulation Circulation TRAFFIC MODES AND CIRCULATION Grain Grain andand Circulation Circulation Existing Existing Existing Existing

DESIGN

SUMMARY

DESIGN

SUMMARY

DESIGN DESIGN

SUMMARY SUMMARY

Circulation GrainGrain andand Circulation Circulation GrainGrain andand Circulation ExistingExisting

DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS ExistingExisting DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

EXISTING

DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

CAR-FREE CAR-FREE ZONE ZONE CAR-FREE CAR-FREE ZONE ZONE

Current Current Current Current

CurrentCurrent TLALNEPANTLA TLALNEPANTLA SITESITE Current Current

TLALNEPANTLA TLALNEPANTLA SITESITE

DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN

PROPOSED

CAR-FREE TLALNEPANTLA CAR-FREE ZONEZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE SITE CAR-FREE TLALNEPANTLA CAR-FREE ZONEZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE SITE

DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN

320

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

Program and Spatial Connection

1F

2F

Program and Spatial Connection DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

3F

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

PROGRAM AND SPATIAL CONNECTION

CAR-FREE ZONE

SUMMARY

>3F

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

SUMMARY

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

321

Density & Height

2 4900x2 4900x2 m m2

2 5300x2 5300x2 m m2

2 9450x1 9450x1 m m2

2 4900 4900 m m2

2 3300x3 3300x3 m m2

2 4960+600x15 4960+600x15 m m2

DENSITY AND HEIGHT

Masterplan DIAGNOSIS

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

SUMMARY

SUMMARY CAR-FREE ItZONE SITE DESIGN MASTERPLAN: containsTLALNEPANTLA a spine, which functions as a spatial connection that integrates each part of the housing complex.

322

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

Green Corridor System

Green Corridor System DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

Commercial

Office

Residential

Amenities

Corridor

Studio

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

Commercial

Office

Residential

Amenities

GREEN CORRIDOR SYSTEM: It is a walking and biking friendly system that it is vertically stratified into three layers. They are in ground levels second levels which Studio Corridor levels and third is on the same height with the exit corridor of the suburban train station. So this corridor act as aDIAGNOSIS backbones of this three high rise perimeter blocks which link different functions LOCATION CAR-FREE ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE in different levels. And also it serves as a connection between the community and the suburban train station.

Public Trans

DESIGN

SUMMARY

Public Trans

DESIGN

SUMMARY

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

323

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

SUMMARY

ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE In orderCAR-FREE to provide easy accessibility to the suburban train,DESIGN the roof of the podiumSUMMARY can be used through the raised platform. Both the bike and pedestrian can go through.

324

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

Inner Public Space Discipline Inner Public Space Discipline Box Box

Stairs Stairs

Slope Slope

Surface Surface

SUMMARY SUMMARY

DIAGNOSIS LOCATION CAR-FREE SITE the large DESIGN INNER PUBLIC SPACES. The small scale courtyard in theZONE low rise TLALNEPANTLA perimeter blocks, scale courtyard between the CAR-FREE perimeter blocks.TLALNEPANTLA This line is the DIAGNOSISand the street LOCATION ZONE SITE current DESIGN condition of these three kinds of spaces. Using five basic elements, we construct the three dimensional inner public spaces.

High-rise High-risePerimeter PerimeterBlock Block

5-15F 5-15F

4F 4F

3F 3F

2F 2F

1F 1F

-1F -1F

DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION LOCATION

CAR-FREE CAR-FREEZONE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA TLALNEPANTLASITE SITE

HIGH-RISE PERIMETER BLOCK.This image show how the corridor goes down and link the commercial street of the low rise perimeter block.

DESIGN DESIGN

SUMMARY SUMMARY

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

325

High-rise Perimeter Block High-rise Perimeter Block

5-15F 5-15F

4F

3F

2F

1F

4F

3F

2F

1F

High-rise Perimeter Block High-rise DIAGNOSIS Perimeter Block LOCATION -1F

DIAGNOSIS

-1F

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITESITE TLALNEPANTLA

DESIGN DESIGN

SUMMARY SUMMARY

5-15F

5-15F

4F

4F

3F

3F

2F

2F

1F

1F

-1F

DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS -1F

LOCATION LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE BLOCK. TLALNEPANTLA SITE DESIGN HIGH-RISE PERIMETER It contains landscape play grounds, and greenSUMMARY corridor which is friendly to both walking and biking. larger courtyardsSUMMARY can contain some CAR-FREE ZONE TLALNEPANTLA SITE And also the DESIGN informal commercial activities.

326

INFONAVIT / HARVARD GSD

UNITS COMBINATIONS Units Combinations

DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

HOUSING UNITS

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

SUMMARY

DESIGN

Housing Units Housing Units

48 m2 32x2 m2

64 m2

45 m2

DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSIS

LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

LOCATION

SUMMARY

The typology is made of two elements, one is housing units and the other is corridor. The corridor is located in different sides of the building, which can form collective spaces in different levels. When they arranged vertically, the housing facade is friendly to both street and inside courtyard.

CAR-FREE ZONE

48 m2

52 m2

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

DESIGN

SUMMARY

HOUSING AS AN URBAN STRATEGY

327

ADVANTAGES: CAR-FREE ZONES Advantages: Car-free Zones

DIAGNOSIS

The green corridor system can also be extended to the whole Tlalnepantla historical center reaching other urban functions. After the first mixed-use project is completed during phase one, the working opportunities are expected to increase, augmenting urban density and creating a testing ground for car-free zones. Like Tlalnepantla, the other six suburban train stations could also be potentially used as car-free zones.

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CAR-FREE ZONE

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LOCATION

CAR-FREE ZONE

TLALNEP

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Working Opportunities

WORKING OPPORTUNITIES

Population POPULATION

Living Density LIVING DENSITY

Sustainable Transportation

TLALNEPANTLA SITE

PANTLA SITE

DESIGN

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION SUMMARY

DESIGN

SUMMARY

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San Rafael

Cuautitlan Tultitlan Lecheria

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Tlalnepantla

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CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HOUSING AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT UNDERSTANDING THE PECULIARITIES OF PLACE

BY DIANE DAVIS AND JOSE CASTILLO

D. Davis; Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism. J. Castillo; Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University.

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Understanding and transforming the paradigms of social housing production in Mexico requires an appreciation of the larger political, economic, and spatial conditions under which housing is produced.

The recent housing crisis has demonstrated that the mass production of single-family housing projects scattered across all regions of Mexico has produced a series of urban and environmental problems that cannot be solved through generic models of mass-produced social housing.

Much of the urban and environmental problems facing Mexico cities today can be attributed to the fact that developers who pursued mass production of social housing failed to generate a sufficiently wide range of possible housing typologies, particularly those typologies with the potential to capitalize on – or leverage – existent urban conditions and amenities. Successful housing production is socially as well as politically dependent on generative connections between residential communities and the broader urban habitat. To understand how to make such connections requires an understanding of the grounded peculiarities of place beyond a knowledge of the market conditions that make the adequate supply and production of social housing a major challenge for government authorities and developers alike.

Through their fieldwork and a close study of the municipalities of Celaya

and Tlalnepantla, students generated a set of project ideas and policy proposals intended to convince Mexico’s national housing authorities that a one-size-fits-all approach to housing policy is limited in its ability to generate sustainable urban futures. The work produced in this studio builds on the premise that the most successful housing projects will be those that can be adapted to a wide range of divergent urban circumstances, whether spatial, social, or economic. Celaya, for instance, has the opportunity to grow dramatically, owing to the resurgence of industrial investment in the regional consolidation of a large-scale manufacturing corridor in the Bajío region.

The question for housing developers in Celaya, then, is how to spatially link the location of housing to patterns of industrial growth and the urban expansion it presupposes.

Tlalnepantla, by comparison, has faced significant land-use transformations during a protracted de-industralization process. It also holds a population and economy that is deeply integrated with the Mexico City Metropolitan Region. Although the municipality once hosted both large-scale industrial firms and social housing projects such as the Unidad el Rosario, the question for housing developers today is whether and how Tlalnepantla could again host significant housing interventions with strategic connections to post-industrial economic activities and innovations.

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During the course of their studio work, students took these questions to heart, and their projects thus built on a closer understanding of the specific historical and contemporary conditions of the sites under study.

Their ideas reflected not only a national commitment to social housing, but also an appreciation for the local context in which certain forms of housing were most apt.

Projects ranged widely because of the differences between the two cities and also reflected the peculiarities of the micro-sites selected for the location of proposed social housing projects.

Some projects oriented development along transport lines in order to connect the site and city to potential industrial economic growth in the larger region, while others proposed housing that could generate micro-economies and small-scale manufacturing in a local area suffering from industrial decline. In their entirety, the proposals presented here represent the need to generate novel and dynamic housing models capable of operating within and adding value to urban locations. The proposals also demonstrate that actionable ideas must be grounded in a deep understanding of the local economy, material landscapes, and existent political arrangements, particularly given the need for local support for densification from citizens, merchants, and local authorities.

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This diverse set of student work proposes that as INFONAVIT and other governing authorities continue to search for new programs and policies to incentivize denser social housing production for the achievement of sustainable urban development goals, they must be well-prepared to think locally as well as nationally and regionally. With this objective as a mandate, future studio work will tackle other cities, regions, and realities so as to identify a range of prototypical urban conditions. These urban conditions represent development opportunities that can be positively leveraged through national policies in order to produce denser and more economically sustainable cities through new forms of social housing production.

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CONTRIBUTORS

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ACADEMICS

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PROFESSORS DIANE DAVIS Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism, Co-Director, Risk and Resilience Track, Advanced Studies Program and Project Director, Transforming Urban Transport: The Role of Political Leadership at Harvard Graduate School of Design. Author of Urban Leviathan: Mexico City in the Twentieth Century (1994) and Discipline and Development: Middle Classes and Prosperity in East Asia and Latin America (2004) as well as co-editor of Irregular Armed Forces and their Role in Politics and State Formation (2003) and Cities and Sovereignty: Identity Politics in Urban Spaces (2011). Her current research focuses on the transformation of cities of the global south examining the relations between urbanization and development, international development, the politics of urban development policy, and conflict cities.

JOSE CASTILLO Design Critic in Urban Planning and Design.

Jose Castillo is an architect living and working in Mexico City. He holds a degree in architecture from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City as well as an MArch and a DDes degree from Harvard University’s GSD. Alongside Saidee Springall he founded arquitectura 911sc, an independent practice based in Mexico City. Among their built projects are the expansion of the Spanish Cultural Center and the transformation of the Sala Siqueiros, both in Mexico City, and the CEDIM campus in Monterrey. They are currently designing The City of Film in Mexico City, as well as the competition-winning Guadalajara’s Performing Arts Center, currently under construction. Castillo is member of the advisory board of LSE Cities and Urban Age as well as of SciArc’s Future Initiatives program.

ADRIANA CHÁVEZ Teaching Assistant.

She holds a Master in Urbanism, Landscape and Ecology and Master in Architecture II at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She was recipient of the Harvard GSD Urban Project Prize for the best thesis project in 2014. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City) where she graduated with honors in 2008. In 2012 she was recipient of the CEMEX Award: Marcelo Zambrano Architect in Mexico. She has collaborated as Research Assistant in Harvard Graduate School of for the INFONAVIT Social Housing Research in Mexico. In 2013 she collaborated with the Urban Risk Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Opsys working as Research Assistant for “The Haiti Evacuation System Initiative” for the World Bank.

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS MARGARET SCOTT Copy editor and teaching assistant infonavit studio2015.

She is a second year Master in Urban Planning candidate at the GSD, with a concentration in Housing and Neighborhood Development and International Planning. Margaret studied political science and geography at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. Before coming to the GSD, she worked as a foreclosure prevention counselor in Minnesota and a community organizer with Habitat for Humanity International in Argentina.

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RESEARCHERS

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NÉLIDA ESCOBEDO Is a Research Associate for the project Rethinking Social Housing in Mexico, which explores the implications of new housing policies in the creation or more integrated urban development in Mexico. Her professional experience includes a diverse background in architectural design, project management, real estate development, and urban planning. Nélida holds a Bachelors of Architecture from Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan.

SOFIA VIGURI

STUDENTS ADRIENNE MATHEWS Graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Design with a Master in Urban Planning in 2014. Adrienne has a background in sociology and architectural urbanism, and is interested the intersection of people and place, community planning and right to the city. Prior to the GSD she spent 6 years in London working on pedestrian planning and wayfinding strategies in a variety of urban environments. More recently, Adrienne taught a Studio in Urban Planning for Harvard GSD’s Career Discovery program.

STUDENTS

Is a Master in Urban Planning candidate and Fulbright Scholar at the Graduate School of Design. Before coming to Harvard, Sofía worked as a consultant on environmental policy analysis for clients such as the Government of Mexico City, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), and other governmental institutions. In that position, she was responsible for marrying technical and economic research findings with policy on issues related to climate change, air quality, transportation, land use and water. Prior to that position, Sofía worked in the Sustainable Development Program of CEDAN, a think tank housed in the University of Tecnológico de Monterrey where she also earned her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations (2009).

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CARLY AUGUSTINE Master of Architecture candidate at Harvard Graduate School of Design where her studies have focused on housing and urbanization within globalizing cities. Carly has worked previously at architectural studios in Pennsylvania and New York City on projects including higher education, K-12 schools, retail and institutional buildings. She graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University School of Architecture in New York with secondary studies in applied anthropology within the urban context.

DAVID GINGSBERG David is a graduate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, completing a Master in Urban Planning degree with distinction, concentrating in real estate and urban design in 2014. His achievements during his time at Harvard included a Taubman Fellowship from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, winning the American Planning Association’s national transportation paper-contest, and being awarded the GSD Academic Excellence Award. He developed his passion for city planning and housing issues while attending the University of California-Berkeley, graduating in 2010 with highest honors and a degree in Urban Studies. Currently, David works in acquisitions and project development for WinnCompanies.

DIMITRIS VENIZELOS He graduated from the National Technical University of Athens in 2013 with a Diploma of Architect Engineer. He has received the Fulbright Award and he is currently a Master of Architecture in Urban Design candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He has worked on several urban design projects in Brazil and New York and co-founded The Hive Project, an experimental platform that operates in the context of the Architectural Technology Research Unit of the National Technical University of Athens and the Fab Lab Athens.

ELLEN NICHOLSON Received her Master in Urban Planning degree in May 2014 from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), where she concentrated in Urban Design and Housing and Community Development. She is currently completing a one-year fellowship at APOPS@MAS (Advocates for Privately Owned Space at the Municipal Art Society), under the leadership of Harvard Professor Jerold S. Kayden. A native of Newton, Massachusetts, Ellen completed her undergraduate degree at Williams College.

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HAMED BUKHAMSEEN Is currently a Master of Architecture in Urban Design candidate at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Hamed completed his undergraduate coursework at the Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Fine Arts and had received the Architecture Alumni Travel Award for outstanding work within studio courses upon graduation. Throughout his academic career, Hamed had worked within architectural offices in Berlin, Germany and his native Kuwait.

HANRU WU Graduated from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, with a Master in Urban Design in 2014. Hanru got her Bachelor of Architecture in Tianjin University in China in 2011 and worked in Swiss Architecture Studio HHF in 2012. She has developed her interest in current urbanization process since undergraduate study in China. Recently, Hanru teaches core studio in Architecture for undergraduates in Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. At the same time, she is going to co-found a Architecture Studio, Behave Architecture, with Yang Meng to start their first project in Xi’an.

HAYRETTIN GUNC Is a Master of Architecture in Urban Design candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. After receiving his Bachelor of Architecture from Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, he co-founded the non-profit organization Herkes Icin Mimarlik (Architecture for All) which is a multi-disciplinary platform that re-imagines the structure and scope of architectural processes. It focuses on creative ways to raise awareness about social challenges and investigate design strategies that focus on citizen involvement.

JENNIFER LEE Is an assistant planner for the City of Newark, New Jersey. She has been busy managing the city’s Section 108 Loan Pool Program as well as helping to adopt a new zoning code, the first comprehensive change since 1954. She graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Design with a Master in Urban Planning in 2014. She has a bachelor’s in international relations.

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NUPOOR MONANI Is a Master of Architecture in Urban Design candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has worked previously at architectural studios in Mumbai leading design teams on projects including multi-use developments and residential master plans. As an intern with the New York City Department of City Planning, Nupoor conducted research on housing design for aging communities and was involved in fieldwork for the Resilient Retail exploring solutions to strengthen retail corridors against flood risk. She graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture (KRVIA), Mumbai, where she later co-instructed core design studios to first year students.

LOEB FELLOWSHIP

PG SMIT Is currently a Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He received his Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pretoria in 2010, where he later worked as junior lecturer for third year design studio. He was awarded his masters Cum Laude and received the Ilasa award for the best design student in ML(Prof) as well as South African Academic Honorary Colours. He has worked for Architecture studios in Johannesburg and New York has been involved in numerous projects in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, as well as China, Mexico and the USA. TONG WU Is a Master of Architecture in Urban Design candidate in Harvard Graduate School of Design. He got his bachelor degree if Architecture in Tsinghua University in China in 2013. He has worked for Callison and KPF as an intern during his undergraduate time. Also, Tong has expanded his academic field into other disciplines. He has developed his interest in real estate and investment.

He has worked for China State Development & Investment Corp. during the summer in 2014.

LOEB FELLOWSHIP DIRECTORS SALLY YOUNG Loeb Fellowship Program Coordinator.She is the Program Coordinator, has been administering the Loeb Fellowship Program since 1998. She organizes lectures, seminars,and symposia at the GSD; collaborates with Loeb Fellows and the Exhibitions Department in implementing the Loeb Fellows Exhibition program; and co-curates the Bruner Loeb Forum with colleagues at the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. She has been involved in the arts and the creative economy as a founding Board Member of the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA and is a watercolor artist specializing in “urban sketching.�

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JIM STOCKARD

LOEB FELLOWS BAYE ADOFO-WILSON Co-founder, Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District.

Is a planner, lawyer and developer based in Newark, NJ, and the co-founder of the Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District. He is leading a comprehensive effort to transform a low-income Newark neighborhood into a sustainable cultural district that includes affordable housing and mixed-use developments, urban agriculture, music programming, historic restoration and workforce development projects. Baye created the Lincoln Park Music Festival, a multi-genre, intergenerational music festival that features rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, house and hip-hop. In its 8th year, the music festival has approximately 50,000 attendees annually with over 200 artists performing since its inception.

MATT NOHN Public Policy, International Affairs and Urban Planning.

Is an independent poverty reduction specialist and serves as advisor to Mahila Housing SEWA Trust in India and Affordable Housing Institute in Boston.

Recently, he was visiting professor for urban management at Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. A bricklayer by training, Matt holds postgraduate degrees in Public Policy (HKS), International Affairs (German National Academic Foundation’s Stiftungskolleg) and Architecture and Planning (TU Darmstadt). Matt appreciates informality and its contribution to society and seeks to resolve conflicts between formal and informal regimes. He has collaborated with every level of urban actor on a diverse portfolio covering nearly 30 countries.

LOEB FELLOWS

Loeb Fellowship Curator and Affordable Housing Expert. Curator of the Loeb Fellowship for 16 years and is an expert in affordable housing and community development. As a principal for over 25 years with the Cambridge-based consulting firm Stockard & Engler & Brigham, he has worked with non-profit groups and public agencies across the country on such issues as affordable housing development, property management, neighborhood revitalization, and supportive service planning. Shortly before coming to the GSD, he served as the court-appointed Special Master for the Department of Public and Assisted Housing in Washington, DC. He is the co-author of Managing Affordable Housing, and wrote the epilogue in New Directions in Uban Public Housing. He was the Principal Investigator for the Public Housing Operating Cost Study commissioned by the U.S. Congress. Mr. Stockard has served as a Commissioner of the Cambridge Housing Authority for 30 years (including 6 terms as chair), and is a founding Trustee of the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust Fund. He is a past president of the Citizens Housing and Planning Association, Massachusetts.’

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ANGELYN CHANDLER Landscape Architect and Senior Manager at NYC Parks. Under her leadership the 2200 acre Freshkills Park --once the largest landfill in the world--has become a model for landfill-to-park development. Her work on landfill and brownfield projects has greatly expanded NYC’s greenspace and is returning compromised sites to positive public use. Angelyn established the Landfill and Brownfield Task Force at NYC Parks to educate and increase agency awareness and to craft policy on development and management of these sites. At Freshkills Park her work has focused on sustainable design, efficient maintenance and operations, diverse programming, and development of solar and wind projects that can supply energy for the park. Following Hurricane Sandy she oversaw the $300 million fast-track multi-borough reconstruction of NYC’s swimming beaches, completing in 5 months what normally takes over 2 years to design and build.

ARANA HANKIN Director of the Atlantic Yards Project at New York State’s economic development agency, Empire State Development. She also serves as the president of the Queens West Development Corporation and project manager for the Columbia Manhattanville expansion project in West Harlem. Hankin has worked to bridge the gap between disgruntled local communities and private developers to ensure that communities have a voice and private developers deliver what is promised. She hosts regularly scheduled public forums, participates in contentious local meetings and meaningfully responds to community concerns, at times altering development plans. Hankin has also initiated a number of public art and beautification projects, further repairing relationships with local communities.

HELEN LOCHHEAD Executive director, Place Development at Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and an adjunct professor at Sydney University. She is an architect and urban designer who combine teaching and practice. Her career has focused on the inception, planning and delivery of complex multidisciplinary projects ranging from a 5-year city improvements program for the City of Sydney to major urban renewal and waterfront projects. Sustainability is a key driver in her work, and working in the public sector, she is mindful of how government as a builder of urban environments can lead by example to make sustainability gains and deliver multiple benefits on a broad scale. Lochhead has been instrumental in shaping major precincts around Sydney Harbour, including the transformation of Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush Bay from a sports precinct into a mixeduse community and parklands with environmental credentials that set new benchmarks.

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ELI SPEVAK In 2006 founded a development and general contracting company, Orange Splot LLC, to playfully pioneer new models of community-oriented, affordable, green housing in Portland, OR. Orange Splot communities’ feature clusters of small homes nestled within existing neighborhoods, original local artwork, and shared interior and exterior common spaces. Before striking out on his own, Spevak had worked for over a decade in the non-profit sector managing the finance and construction of over 250 units of affordable housing. Orange Splot communities respond to growing demand for smaller homes arranged around common spaces, making it easy (and fun) to share resources. Completed projects feature a blend of accessory dwelling units, renovated single-family homes, detached bedrooms, refurbished apartments, and new multi-family construction.

ALEXIA TORRES-FLEMING She co-founded the Bronx River Alliance and the Southern Bronx River Watershed Alliance to support community residents of the South Bronx committed to the reclamation and restoration of the Bronx River.

The organizations’ successes included the clean-up of an abandoned concrete plant and a manufactured gas plant, the expansion of the Bronx River bike and pedestrian greenway and development of green infrastructure to contain storm water and mitigate sewage overflow. However, her greatest pride is in the legacy of power and leadership assumed by youth and adult community residents.

She is currently executive director of The Micah Institute of the New York Theological Society. During her Fellowship year she will explore models for planning practices for poor and marginalized communities.

ALEXANDRA LANGE Architecture and Design Critic, NYC. Her essays, reviews, and features have appeared in Architect, Domus, Dwell, Medium, Metropolis, New York Magazine, the New Yorker blog, and the New York Times. She is a featured writer at Design Observer. She has taught architecture criticism in the Design Criticism Program at the School of Visual Arts and the Urban Design & Architecture Studies Program at New York University. She is the author of Writing About Architecture: Mastering the Language of Buildings and Cities (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012), a primer on how to read and write architecture criticism, as well as the e-book The Dot-Com City: Silicon Valley Urbanism (Strelka Press, 2012), which considers the message of the physical spaces of Facebook, Google, and Apple.

She has long been interested in the creation of domestic life, a theme running through Design Research: The Store that Brought Modern Living to American Homes (Chronicle Books, 2010), which she co-authored with Jane Thompson, as well as her contributions to Formica Forever (Metropolis Books, 2013) and Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future (Yale University Press, 2006).

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GUEST CRITICS

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GUEST CRITICS CARLOS ZEDILLO Architect from Yale University, where he also earned a degree in Art . In 2010 he obtained a Master Degree in Architecture . Since then, he has maintained an active involvement as imparting academic chairs of architectural design and theory. His professional work has been influenced by two great figures of world architecture: Steven Harris and Enrique Norten . In 2012, he was invited

by Master Alejandro Hinojosa Murat to join Infonavit at the transition team of President Enrique Peña Nieto C. At infonavit, he has developed projects that promote the dignity of the quality of housing in the country . Zedillo, is responsible for the documents that serve today as a guide to the fulfillment of the presidential commitments: 200 and 266. Likewise, Carlos Zedillo is an active participant in climate change issues . He represented the transition team at the Conference of the Parties ( COP18 ) in Doha 2012. In terms of teaching, Carlos Zedillo has been professor at Yale University. Currently UPENN, Universidad Anahuac del Norte where he teaches at the undergraduate and master’s minimum housing.

TATIANA BILBAO Formed her own practice in 2004 in Mexico City. The multidisciplinary office “analyzes urban and social crises, as well as the rigid codes of communication and telematics. Through these strands, the office, regenerates spaces ‘humanized’ to be aware and reactive to global capitalism, opening up niches for cultural and economic development.” Projects in Mexico include the Botanical Garden Culiacan; Funeral House, San Luis Potosi; Universe House designed with Gabriel Orozco, Puerto Escondido; Parque Biotecnologico, Culiacan; Centro de Artes Escenicas, Guadalajara; and Ventura House, Monterey. The firm also designed the Jinhua Architecture Park in Jinhua, China. Bilbao was named to Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard in 2007. Her work has been published in A+U, Domus, and The New York Times, among others. She studied architecture and urbanism at the Universidad Iberoamericana and co-founded mxdf with Derek Dellekamp, Arturo Ortiz, and Michel Rojkind. mxdf is an urban research center on the production of space, its occupation, defense, and control in Mexico City.

DEREK DELLEKAMP Is an architect from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. Derek formed his own practice in 1999. He has been professor at Rice University, Universidad Iberoamericana and Universidad Anahuac. He has developed multiple projects including: Ordos 100 in ArtBasel and Ruta del Peregrino. In 2010 he won the Silver Medal for Tlacolula at XI Mexican Biennale in Social Housing Category.

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SAIDEE SPRINGALL DEL VILLAR Is an architect from Universidad Iberoamericana. She holds a Master in Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He has been fellow of CONACYT and the Young Artists Program of the National Fund for Culture and the Arts. His work and writings have been published in architecture magazines , Praxis , Arquine , Link , 2G , AD, Azure and the 10x10 book . He has lectured at various universities in Mexico and his work has been exhibited in Mexico City Dialogues at the Center for Architecture New York, NY, and in the Biennial of Sao Paulo in October 2005 and Biennale Rotterdam 2007.

Springall won first place and an honorable mention in the competition organized

by Architecture Magazine contest for Step Chapultepec Reforma. He has worked in the Springall and Lira offices, where he led projects such as the Center for Economic Research and Teaching Campus (silver medalist of the Biennial of Mexican Architecture), the Laboratories for the Research Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat ( CIMMYT) in Texcoco and Elektra Supply Center in Guadalajara, Jal . She also worked at Rafael Moneo’s office -in Madrid, Spain- where she participated in the project for Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and at Sasaki and Associates in Watertown, MA where she worked at campus development projects as well as international competitions .

BERNADETTE BAIRD-ZARS Bernadette leads project and research work on urban land development tools, private-public partnerships, Islamic tenure systems, and finance and affordable housing for clients including the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, Habitat for Humanity, and local governments. Before coming to Alarife, Bernadette was a Senior Project Manager at the Affordable Housing Institute, where she led teams designing and modeling social impact bonds and business plans for companies launching housing microfinance products in India, Colombia and Egypt. Bernadette led teams designing housing policy strategy for governments in the Gulf Cooperation Council area. Previously, Bernadette worked for several years for the Aga Khan Development Network in Syria on urban planning projects, and co-launched the socioeconomic development program in Aleppo. A graduate of Swarthmore College (Honors BA) and MIT (Master of City Planning), and a former Fulbright Fellow and Lang Scholar.

PABLO LANDA Ph.D in Anthropology, Princeton University. Studies personal and group histories as narrated in relation to objects, buildings and landscapes. His work in Mexico and Brazil is located at the intersection of modern architecture, nation-building and social security policies, museums, utopian imaginings, religion, colonial chronicles, and the historiography of anthropology.

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ENRIQUE BETANCOURT Betancourt studied architecture at the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico and received a Masters in architecture and urban design from Harvard University. Enrique recently served as Executive Director at the National Center for Crime Prevention and Citizen Participation in Mexico. As an expert in urban innovation he co-founded CONTEXTUAL, an agency developing creative solutions to complex urban problems through collaborative and participatory design. CONTEXTUAL works to bridge the gap between research, policy design and successful implementation. Previously, Enrique served as Deputy General Director of Social Policy for the Presidency of the Republic of Mexico.

ONESIMO FLORES DEWEY Is a Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, and the principal Research Associate to the newly established GSD initiative “Transforming Urban Transport-The Role of Political Leadership.” He holds a PhD. in Urban Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2013); a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (2007); and a BA in Law from Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City (2001). Flores Dewey’s research looks at the conditions under which government authorities use transportation policy as a tool for urban planning -not only to satisfy the mobility needs of the public, but also to shape where and how cities grow, to address externalities that result from individual transport decisions and to harbor positive spillovers associated with public transit, walking and biking. Geographically, his research has centered on Latin America (particularly in Mexico City and Santiago de Chile), but his current focus is on cities of North America and Europe. Flores Dewey was previously a fellow at the Across Latitudes and Cultures-Bus Rapid Transit Center of Excellence. He has been a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank and for the Centro de Transporte Sustentable-Embarq. He contributed to Urban Megaprojects, A Worldwide View, published in 2013 by Emerald Press.

ANN FORSYTH Is a professor of Urban Planning of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Forsyth is also a reflective practitioner/theorist and has created several new ways of understanding social and intellectual diversity in planning and design. Her education includes a B.Sc. in architecture from the University of Sydney, M.A. in urban planning and Ph.D. in city and regional planning from Cornell.

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Trained in planning and architecture, Ann Forsyth works mainly on the social aspects of physical planning and urban development. The big issue behind her research and practice is how to make more sustainable and healthy cities. Forsyth’s contributions have been to analyze the success of planned alternatives to sprawl, particularly exploring the tensions between social and ecological values in urban design. Several issues prove to be the most difficult to deal with in planning better places and provide a focus for some of her more detailed investigations: suburban design, walkability, affordable housing, social diversity, and appropriate green space. In doing this work she has created a number of tools and methods in planning—an urban design inventory, GIS protocols, health impact assessments, and participatory planning techniques.

DEIDRE SCHMIDT Is the John T. Dunlop Lecturer of Housing and Urbanization. She is an innovative and tenacious housing professional. She has a unique mix of technical, transactional, organizational planning / development and policy formulation experience in both US domestic and international contexts. Deidre is the Principal of One Roof Global Consulting, which helps to improve the quality, access and affordability of housing throughout the world. Clients include development and finance companies, network organizations, foundations and government clients. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Affordable Housing Institute, a Boston-based non-profit that works exclusively outside of the United States, with a focus on the global south. She is the co-author of a yet-to-be-published Learning Note on housing finance for the poor, commissioned by the World Bank, which will be part of a suite of primers for government officials and policy makers. She has over 20 years experience in housing finance, underwriting and development the United States. Deidre has worked in both the for- and non-profit sectors in project and enterprise management and investment analysis and underwriting. Deidre was VicePresident of Development at Brighton Development Corporation, Acquisitions Manager for the National Equity Fund and Director of National Consulting for Artspace Projects, Inc. She has created successful housing opportunities for people at all income levels using Low Income Housing and Historic Tax Credits, as well as other sources like HOME, CDBG, state and local programs in multiple states. She has led master planning and land development efforts in urban renewal sites and has had deep involvement in cooperative and condo housing development and governance. She was a member of the Loeb Fellowship class of 2008.

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