The Eyes of the City

In recent decades, the city of Guadalajara has experienced a significant abandonment by its population, especially in the downtown area, with people dispersing to other municipalities or neighboring cities. This has had major repercussions, such as insecurity in lonely or inhospitable streets or areas, evident deterioration in infrastructure, families living far away but spending most of their day commuting to work in the area, and, above all, a decline in the quality of life in the area.

A clear example of this significant problem is Parque Morelos and its situation of abandonment, insecurity, and prostitution, and how the government has attempted to address this. Redevelopment projects have come and gone, but the result is always the same—government projects fail, despite their good and positive objectives and proposals, focusing on affordable, dignified housing and area rehabilitation.

We must ask ourselves why these projects fail to attract people to the area in question. Mainly, it is because they lack an attraction strategy, such as a project based on the needs of the people in the area that not only retains these individuals but also attracts new ones to the area. In another stage, housing projects can be included. Therefore, a new architectural attraction is necessary to solve the first stage of this solution.

This architectural attraction is based on a recreation and health center, which would be able to attract people based on the requirements and needs of the area, taking into account the existing services and commercial offerings. This way, it would retain and attract the necessary number of people to complete both phases of the project. This opens up the opportunity to fill this area with “eyes,” so that people can open their windows to the landscape, the environment, and their own safety and that of their families.