Reimagining the Public Realm by PennPlanning

REIMAGINING THE PUBLIC REALM INTERVENTION PROPOSALS FOR LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS IN QUERÉTARO, MÉXICO

CONTENTS

NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECTS

DEFINING MARGINALIZATION

Stitching QuerÃ©taro

Mapping Vulnerability pg 9 Poverty pg 12

INTRODUCTION

Transportation

Project Summary

pg 14

pg 5

Environment

Site Context

pg 16

pg 6

Neighborhood Profiles pg 18

CITYWIDE PROJECTS Paving Places pg 26 Canals for Equity pg 30 Crossing QRO pg 34 Nuestro Espacio pg 40

pg 52 A Vibrant Center pg 58 Daytime Corridor pg 62 Nighttime Corridor pg 68

END MATTER Acknowledgments pg 73 About the Authors pg 74 End Notes pg 75

Introduction

INTRODUCTION Project Summary pg 5 Site Context pg 6

PROJECT SUMMARY Introduction The Municipality of Querétaro, capital of the central Mexico’s State of Querétaro, has experienced significant economic and population growth in fifty years. Following the development of an industrial zone in the north, the city’s population grew from 60,000 in 1960 to more than 600,000 in 1990.¹ In more recent years, economic opportunity and a relatively low crime rate have driven sustained regional and urban growth.² Every day, 63 new residents move to Querétaro State from parts of the country;³ many escaping from violence or seeking better economic opportunities.

Problem Statement Fundamentally, this studio is aimed at addressing inequality. Low-income Queretanos live in areas vulnerable to environmental disaster, face long commutes to access job opportunities, and lack sufficient road and utility infrastructure. These physical challenges have made addressing the city’s economic disparities even more complex. We see our work as an attempt to answer this guiding question: How can the public realm of low-income neighborhoods be reimagined to not just address the challenges of Querétaro’s urban landscape, but to actually lessen the hardships faced by its lowest-income residents?

These aggregate statistics mask deep and pervasive social and economic inequality. Within Querétaro, nearly a third of residents live in poverty.⁴ Lowincome neighborhoods often lack basic infrastructure or adequate housing – issues often accentuated by flooding, steep slopes, limited transit service, and a lack of job opportunities. As the city has expanded physically, disparities in transportation accessibility and the quality of natural and built environments have become wider and more pronounced.

Work Process This plan is a culmination of the work of eleven City and Regional Planning students at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design. Over the Spring 2018 semester, we developed public realm projects to improve low- and moderate- income neighborhoods in Querétaro, Mexico. We began the project by analyzing the city of Querétaro to identify neighborhood typologies. During our week-long site visit, we furthered our understanding of six key neighborhoods and presented initial project ideas to our clients at the Municipality of Querétaro’s Secretary of Mobility (SEMOV). SEMOV was created in 2015 by the city’s mayor, Marcos Aguilar, and is charged with optimizing a multi-modal transportation network in the city. In the second half of the semester, we developed and refined our projects.

Querétaro’s colonial center is a UNESCO world heritage site, attracting residents and tourists.

CONTEXT

EXISTING CONDITIONS

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

Development Periods

Geography The Municipality of Querétaro is the capital of the State of Querétaro, and is located in north-central Mexico, about a three-hour drive northwest of Mexico City. While this studio’s client, the Municipality’s Secretary of Mobility works throughout the municipality, our work focuses on the urban area.

Demographics Before colonization, Querétaro was home to the Chichimeca peoples, who fiercely resisted Spanish Invasion. This statue honors that history.

Querétaro’s population has been rapidly increasing and has almost doubled since 1990. As of 2010, the population of the Municipality was 801,940. The rapid growth is continuing and is outpacing the rest of Mexico. Since 2005 the Municipality has grown by 9.2%, compared to the national growth rate of only 1.4%.⁵

Economy

Colonial Core

Industrial (1821 - 1985)

The construction of the Royal Road (Camino Real) in 1551 marked the beginning of Spanish settlement.¹⁰ In 1820s, Querétaro’s population density was of approximately 26,500 people per km².

Contemporary (2010 +)

Industrial Expansion After the 1940s, some industries settled in the north of city, leading to urban sprawl and expansion. By the 1980s, the population density was 13,200 people per km².

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Modern Solidification The rapid growth of the urban development continued throughout 20th century. The Mexico City earthquake of 1985 produced a massive exodus to Querétaro.¹¹

Contemporary Sprawl Many Queretanos are employed informally. This street market, or tiangui, is an example.

Modern (1985 - 2010)

The State of Querétaro boasts one of the strongest economies in Mexico. The per capita GDP is MX$249,000,⁶ which is 60% higher than the national average.⁷ Despite the relative prosperity of Santiago de Querétaro, 29.5% of the city population continues to experience poverty – with 26.2% of its population living in moderate poverty and 3.3% in extreme poverty.⁸ The State is also known for its relatively low levels of violent crimes and is ranked as the 8th Mexican state with highest Index of Peace among the 32 country’s states.⁹

Colonial (1531 - 1821)

Today, the Municipality is working to bring people back to the city center to control urban sprawl. As of 2015, population density is 4,000 people per km².

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Introduction

SITE

Defining Marginalization

MAPPING

Mapping Vulnerability pg 9 Poverty pg 12 Transportation pg 14 Environment pg 16 Neighborhood Profiles pg 18

CITYWIDE OVERLAY ANALYSIS Typologies of Low-Income Neighborhoods

Methodology

In order for us to begin to understand Querétaro, a neighborhood selection process was used to consider how the issues prevalent throughout the city are experienced on a neighborhood scale. This process resulted in six neighborhoods that could be understood as typologies. Though not all of this studio’s projects are ultimately sited in these neighborhoods, this process allowed us to strengthen our sense of what it means to be a low-income neighborhood in Querétaro. To this end, we defined vulnerability and categorized the major challenges faced by poor neighborhoods. The neighborhood selection process relied on an overlay mapping method. The goal of this method was to define vulnerability in a comprehensive way—by considering physical risks, socioeconomic challenges and deficiencies in infrastructure.

Low income neighborhoods that were in states of severe vulnerability were selected to act as archetypes of the multiple neighborhood typologies that exist throughout the city to start our planning process. For this process, we mapped the regions with lowest income levels and overlaid the location of public spaces, flooding events, , and informal settlements. To further understand how residents of these neighborhoods travel throughout the city, we also performed a transit accessibility analysis of each of these neighborhoods. The analysis of the city’s poor areas with multiple variables allowed us to evaluate each neighborhood using the same criteria and gain a better understanding of each individual neighborhood.

Rapid growth and development has created stark differences between low-income neighborhoods and higherincome neighborhoods in Querétaro.

DEFINING MARGINALIZATION

VULNERABILITY

Defining Marginalization

Santa Rosa de Jáuregui NEIGHBORHOOD SELECTION Selection Process After concluding this quantitative and geographic selection process, we relied on the knowledge of SEMOV to refine the initial selection to six neighborhoods that represented the different typologies in the city. Each of these communities face individual contextual challenges that place them in a state of vulnerability; nonetheless, they also possess elements that are replicated in other regions of the city. This report outlines the neighborhood analysis and depicts how each neighborhood performs in themes such as transit accessibility, education, access to water and housing quality.

El Salitre

San José El Alto Felipe Carrillo Puerto Santa María Magdalena

Metrics of Vulnerability Low Income High Income

The six chosen neighborhoods are Santa Rosa Jáuregui, El Salitre, San José El Alto, San Francisquito, Lomas de Casa Blanca, Santa María de Magdalena, and Felipe Carrillo Puerto. The Neighborhood Profiles section of this chapter details the conditions of each of these neighborhoods.

The six selected neighborhoods gave us a picture of how diverse Querétaro’s neighborhoods are.

Site Visits

San Francisquito

Lomas de Casa Blanca

We visited each of the sex selected neighborhoods over our week-long visit to Querétaro in March. Despite having done an extensive research of the neighborhoods demographic, economic and environmental context, our perception of them was transformed once we visited them. The visit confirmed many of the insights we had but it also allowed us to see many opportunities which perhaps we had not noticed or overlooked before.

We presented this neighborhood analysis to our clients and partners while in Querétaro.

PREDICTING INCOME

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Predicted Income

Methodology

$3,910 - $4,801

A critical element in the neighborhood selection and analysis process was the measure of social deprivation through income prediction. To unveil some the socioeconomic challenges of different communities, the team relied in the indicators from the “Indice de Rezago Social”, which stands for social deprivation index, as predictors of income in a linear regression. This index defines social deprivation by looking at multiple indicators such as:

Dispersed Poverty

$4,801 - $5,225

There are multiple pockets of vulnerability throughout the city. Poverty is not constrained to a single geography.

$5,898 - $6,401

- Percentage of the population with basic education incomplete - Percentage of the population without access to health services - Percentage of the houses with dirt floor.

Drastic differences in income can be seen in adjacent neighborhoods. Inequality is not displayed in the landscape through gradual changes; on the contrary, poor and rich neighborhoods are often located next to each other.

$6,401 - $7,164 Insufficient Data

Adjacent Disparities

Since the Census does not report on Income, the team built a linear regression using Intercensus Survey data from 2015, which reports on income and also the social deprivation indicators. Finally, the team used the coefficients from the regression with data from the Census to define an income measure for all the AGEBs (geographic unit comparable to census tracts) in the city and determine the ones among the lowest quantiles. This process allowed to predict an income measure for the neighborhoods and exposed the fact that poverty is not concentrated in just one area of the city.

$5,225 - $5,898

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The Rezago Social provided a more nuanced definition of socioeconomic deprivation that reflects the range of Querétaro’s low-income neighborhoods.

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Defining Marginalization

POVERTY

Bus and Bike Network

MOBILITY

TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY

Bus Routes Bicycle Lanes

Better Access to Transit

As Querétaro’s economy grows, automobile ownership has become more prevalent, increasing the mobility of those who can afford it. As the map shows, this increased mobility has not reached all Queretanos, sincefewer than half of households in some AGEBs have access to any automobile, even in neighborhoods far from the city center.

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Walkability For many low-income Queretanos, walking is essential for mobility. A dense street network aids in a neighborhood’s walkability, as it allows more options and shorter routes. This map shows that walkable AGEBs, measured by average block size, are clustered in the northeast, northwest, and just south of the city center.

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Percent of Households Without Vehicle

901 - 3,787 sq meters

100% - 90%

3,788 - 5,702 sq meters

89% - 77%

5,703 - 8,833 sq meters

76% - 54%

8,834 - 13,793 sq meters

53% - 39%

13,794 - 168,256 sq meters

38% - 9%

The Transportation Accessibility Analysis used a multimodal transportation network of pedestrian-accessible streets connected to the bus routes at bus stops to determine the transit travel time between each AGEB pair. These travel times were then weighted by the number of jobs in each AGEB.

Connected Center This analysis determines how accessible jobs are via public transportation to Queretanos. In general, the areas closest to the city center have the best job accessibility.

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Takeaways e. de Qu

Worse Access to Transit

Average Block Size

Background

But some areas that are geographically close to the city center, like Santa María Magdalena and parts of Lomas de Casa Blanca, still have poor transportation access.

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Transit Accessibility

Automobile Ownership

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Defining Marginalization

TRANSPORTATION

CONTEXT

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Environmental Conditions

Climate

Because Querétaro is located in a valley, its outskirt neighborhoods are challenged by steep slopes.

Located in a valley of Central Mexico’s Mesa Central, Querétaro is usually hot and arid, with average temperatures ranging from about 23°C to 6°C in the winter and 29°C to 15°C in the summer. Heavy rains are seasonal in the spring and summer, and cause floods and soil displacement that affect many parts of the city.

Land Use With many steep hills to the far north, east, and south, topography can make traveling and development difficult. As the city grows and turns more land into built-up hardscape, urban heat island effects and runoff have grown more significant. With dominantly clay soil that does not let water permeate quickly and relatively sparse plant life, urban land cover is also a growing issue.

The historic center’s colonial gardens and architecture preserve the city’s heritage.

Although the city has only six public parks and generally lacks in green coverage, Querétaro has many urban open spaces. While most neighborhoods have their own plaza, most people are attracted to the many squares of the historic downtown, a UNESCO site highlighting the Spanish Colonial and indigenous Chichimeca heritages.

Water Like many other Mexican cities, the growing metropolis has become increasingly reliant on overexploited groundwater resources. The state made significant water infrastructure investments and completed Acueducto II, building over 120 km of pipe to bring water to the city.

Many Queretanos lack clean tap water and rely on regular deliveries of drinking water.

Limited Open Space

Land Cover: Urban

Green and open space is limited in many low-income areas. Most people travel to the large squares and church plazas that are concentrated in the historic downtown.

Land Cover: Forest

Land Cover: Grass/Scrub Flood Zone Pollution

Persistent Flooding As the city grows and builds, runoff from seasonal heavy rains increasingly overwhelms the drainage system and causes flooding in many neighborhoods.

Cultural Landscape

Waterways

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Inequitable Infrastructure Far-flung and low-income neighborhoods struggle to maintain access to potable water. Communities often pay extra for water to be brought to their neighborhoods.

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Defining Marginalization

ENVIRONMENT

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CAR OWNERSHIP

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WALKABILITY

Santa Jose El Alto

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TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY

FLOODING

EDUCATION

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El Salitre faces issues including persistent poverty and degradation of infrastructure, as well as localized flooding. The neighborhood also has limited education levels. While there are limited formal public spaces, a landscaped drainage canal going through the neighborhood provides space to wash and play.

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FLOODING

El Pueblito

EDUCATION

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Santa Rosa de Jáuregui and Montenegro – This neighborhood is located about 20 kilometers from the urban core, and though it is accessible via the highway it lacks transit accessibility. While parts of Santa Rosa de Jáuregui have a high quality urban fabric, the largest open space is an amusement park with a fee to enter. To the northeast there is a poorly constructed INFONAVIT-funded development with limited access to services.

HEALTHCARE

SANITATION

High Risk

HOUSING

WATER

Description

SANITATION

High Risk

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WATER

El Salitre

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EL SALITRE

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SANTA ROSA DE JÁUREGUI

Defining Marginalization

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NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILES Santa Rosa Juaregui

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WALKABILITY

FLOODING

POLLUTION

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FLOODING

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El Salitre

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This centrally located historic neighborhood has a strong sense of neighborhood identitiy, but is facing gentrification pressures as real estate prices rise. Crime continues to be an issue in the neighborhood.

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SANITATION

High Risk

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SANITATION

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San José el Alto – One of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city, San José el Alto has steep slopes, poor water and road infrastructure, and limited access to education and health services. All of these issues are heightened by the neighborhood’s peripheral location.

San Francisquito

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Description

SAN FRANCISQUITO

Santa Jose El Alto

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SAN JOSE EL ALTO

Defining Marginalization

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Carlos Maria de Bustamante ial Deprivation c o S

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Felipe Carillo and Santa Maria Magdalena are two neighborhoods to the west of the center that face similar issues to different extents. Santa Maria is threatened by constant flooding and is segregation by large canals and rail infrastructure. Felipe Carillo is segregated physically and socioeconomically by Avenida Revolucion. Tra Social housing and organic development abut each other on the avenue.

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OPEN SPACE

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EDUCATION

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SANITATION

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Santa Maria Magdalena and Tintero ial Deprivation Soc

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Defining Marginalization

SANITATION

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Description Just south of the historic center, this neighborhood is bounded to the north by the intersection of several highways. With fairly highquality road infrastructure and built-up urban form, the main challenges of this neighborhood are limited educational attainment and health care. Open space is lacking in the neighborhood, and while a large, centrallylocated community and recreational center was recently rehabilitated, access is limited by surrounding Trawalls.

FELIPE CARILLO & SANTA MARIA MAGDALENA

Defining Marginalization

Lomas De Casablanca

WATER

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LOMAS DE CASA BLANCA

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Citywide Projects

Paving Places pg 26 Canals for Equity pg 30 Crossing QRO pg 34 Nuestro Espacio pg 40

WHY CITYWIDE? Towards General Solutions

Some challenges, like poorly maintained canals, affect many of Querétaro’s neighborhoods.

This section includes projects that address problems shared by many of Querétaro’s neighborhoods—lack of community engagement and public space, unsafe intersections, unpaved roads, and poor canal systems. Because these problems are shared by so many neighborhoods across the city, the projects in this section propose solutions to address them a citywide scale. These projects develop systems that can be implemented by the Municipality as a better way to approach interventions and thereby improve outcomes. Some of the systems proposed include methods of prioritization, while the other projects propose new ways of working with the community and techniques to adapt undesirable infrastructure. In addition to proposing systemic changes to address problems, each of these projects includes examples of treatments that are intended to paint a picture of what potential solutions could look like and are intended to exemplify rather than dictate solutions. Because these projects tackle problems shared by many low-income neighborhoods throughout the city, they can begin to address major problems in an efficient manner, while still being adaptable to each neighborhood’s unique circumstances.

The Municipality’s Secretary of mobility has already begun implementing citywide interventions, like this intersection safety project.

CITYWIDE INTERVENTIONS

INTRODUCTION

WHY PAVING?

DESIGN SCHEME

Introduction

A Simple Solution

Paving Places is a sidewalk paving design that promotes economic development and improves the public realm in Querétaro’s low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. It is designed to be flexible across space and time so a single system can be tailored to fit the diverse needs of Querétaro’s neighborhoods.

Paving QRO is centered around three design principles. First, that sidewalks are the most important infrastructure to implement. The design is built on a system of 3-meter sidewalks located, when possible, on the shadier side of the street. Focusing on sidewalks promotes nonmotorized transit and keeps the cost of paving down. The second principle is stormwater management. The design includes grading the unpaved section to direct stormwater toward the sidewalk curbs and into bumpouts at street corners. The design also includes removable panels with space for electric, water, and sewer infrastructure as the neighborhoods upgrade.

Unpaved Roads in Querétaro Thirteen percent of roads in Querétaro are unpaved. These are concentrated in the outer neighborhoods of the city and in some of the lowest income areas. {Sentence or two about neighborhood level analysis of unpaved roads}.

Paving and Economic Development Urban economists performed a control study in Acayucan, Mexico and tested the outcomes of paving roads in low-income neighborhoods. According to their research, properties’ values on paved roads increased 17% more in five years than those on unpaved roads and their residents were more likely to use formal forms of finance to fund home improvements and appliance purchases.12 By applying this logic, Paving QRO has the power to make street space more inviting and improve the economic disparity in the city. Becaue of Querétaro’s clay soil, unpaved roads create dust.

Citywide Projects

PAVING PLACES

D PE

The third principle is to create multipurpose gathering space at intersections. The bumpout sidewalk space is hollow to allow for stormwater capture. Its surface pieces are removable to allow this space to be opened for trees and plants or closed to create a public space. Using the Nuestro Espacio community engagement process that will be outlined later in this section, this space can be programmed to fit the unique needs of surrounding neighbors.

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A PAVED PLACE San José El Alto

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San José El Alto is a neighborhood uniquely challenged by unpaved roads. Almost the entire southern half of the neighborhood is unpaved and it has many more unpaved roads in its informal outskirts. The following page contains an illustration of how the Paving QRO system could be implemented across the southern half of San José El Alto.

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Citywide Projects

With resident interest, some of the most narrow streets can be completely pedestrianized. This not only ensures full paving of these streets, but also cements a culture of nonmotorized transit into these parts of the neighborhood. The pedestrianized streets become local public spaces and reflect the built form of Querétaro’s historic center.

In combination with the Nuestro Espacio public outreach tool, the Paving Places system could be used to create plazas. Using the module paving unit, the sidewalk can be extended into excess streetspace. This expanded space can be custom designed to suit the needs of local residents by designing its programming through Nuestro Espacio’s process.

Because the tops of the paving modules can be removed, they also work as planters. Here, trees added to the sidewalk adds shade and allows some of the stormwater runoff to be captured during the rainy season. The open modules could also be to create sidewalk community gardens, depending on the interests of local residents.

As the Municipality continues to expand its school bus program and the State works to add public bus routes into Querétaro’s lowincome neighborhoods, Paving Places can improve bus stop spaces. Here, the paving modules create a raised gathering space to protect waiting passengers until more formal infrastructure can be installed.

Paving Places can also be used to pilot the intersection improvment projects the Crossing QRO intersection priority tool proposes. Using the pavement modules to mark out potential reclaimed space, residents can imagine a streetscape that prioritizes pedestrians. If the concept is proven successful, it could later be formalized.

EQUITY

Citywide Projects

CANALS FOR FROM DISAMENITY TO AMENITY Interventions

Introduction

Basic infrastructure and placemaking efforts can be integrated into green stormwater implementations.

Drainage Canals

Canals for Equity addresses environmental and social equity issues centered around canals. It targets specific low income communities particularly affected by canals and also provides a general framework for placemaking around canals.

Common Flooding Areas High Slope Areas (+30Â°) Slow the Flow Focus Class Division Low Income Areas High Income Areas Stitching Social Fabric Focus

Why Canals? In QuerĂŠtaro, canals tend to be disamenities that accumulate stillwater and trash and increase flood risks in the surrounding areas; they also symbolize inequality by dividing neighborhoods or showing unequal levels of investment. Many of the communities highlighted in our low income prediction also have canals running through or near their neighborhoods. These disadvantaged communities experience the negative side effects of living near taxed drainage system infrastructure. Targeted improvements around canals that slow the flow of water, stitch social fabric together, and reclaim dead canal space could correct this inequitable situation and benefit the poor.

The Tucson based Watershed Management Group provides guides for designing green stormwater infrastructure for dry environments.

Slowing the Flow

By prioritizing low income areas with steep slopes near canals, plantings and other stormwater management measures can meet local infrastructural needs while improving city-wide system capacity. Diana Laura, an informal settlement in the northeast region of the city, is one of the high priority areas. Built along a very steep hill, residents experience a lot of soil displacement during heavy rain. The water and soil washes into the nearby channel, often causing major flooding downstream during sustained storms. But by slowing the flow of water through the neighborhood with plantings and retaining pools, the amount of water quickly entering canals is reduced. These plantings can also be integrated with steps that would help Diana Laura residents move around their neighborhood and can support small livestock to supplement household incomes.

Section A

Plantings from green stormwater infrastructure can also be an economic tool, supporting livestock like these sheep in Santa Rosa.

Citywide Projects

Section B Reclaiming Canals

Stitching Social Fabric Bridges and shared community resources along canals work towards breaking down social divisions.

Section C

Focusing placemaking enhancements along canals dividing rich and poor neighborhoods can help create communal places that break down class barriers. There are many stark divisions between rich and poor neighborhoods in Querétaro, which Stitching Querétaro will detail in the neighborhoods project section, but few canals act as a physical barricade between different social and physical fabrics. The separation of the Loma Bonita and Leyes de Reforma neighborhoods from the rich suburb of Jurica represent such typology, where only one bridge connects the neighborhoods, and the next one is located almost two kilometers away. By bridging the channel and connecting the street grid, residents will have easier access to jobs in Jurica and a more direct bus route downtown. Nearby undeveloped land would become community football fields and a trail would become shared social spaces serving divided communities. These canal-side resources would also harvest stormwater and reduce drainage system stress by integrating landscaped buffers and planted basins.

A mixture of programmatic and physical interventions can transform underutilized canal infrastructure into activated space that low income communities can use as a resource. By forming partnerships with national and state water agencies that have jurisdiction over the channels and by enabling community members to initiate public space projects as outlined in Nuestro Espacio, improvements can be slowly implemented in neighborhoods that want to improve their canals. Santa María Magdalena is representative of neighborhoods

Agency Partnerships Conagua, CEA, SEMOV, Protección Civil

Locals

Community, businesses, and civic organizations

Canal Improvement Projects

with motivation to fix their canals; there is significant dead space cutting through the neighborhood fabric, yet the area is frequently flooded. Phased development can begin at the basic service level by cleaning the canals and adding programming to activate the space with temporary events, art, or open space. After building momentum, more complex physical solutions can help anchor programming and create permanent active spaces within low income neighborhoods and integrate long term drainage system solutions. Reclaiming the largest canal cutting through Santa María makes the channel a productive public space.

PRIORITIZING INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS Introduction Crossing QRO is a tool for prioritizing SEMOV’s investments in road safety by finding intersections and corridors with the greatest safety challenges and opportunities to make the biggest impact. This prioritization process allows each peso spent to have the biggest possible impact.

Goals Queretanos who walk and cycle are overwhelmingly likely to have lower incomes – the average pedestrian makes MX$75,000 less than the median annual income of MX$211,000, and the average cyclist makes MX$64,000 less. Meanwhile, the average driver in Querétaro makes MX$126,000 more than the median income, yet historically most transportation investments have been geared towards those with cars. For these Queretanos who rely on walking and cycling, intersections are frequently the most dangerous and unpleasant points on their trips. With over 15,000 intersections in Querétaro and limited time and budget, the ability to prioritize interventions is the essential in order to have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable people. The tool ranks intersections’ area as a proxy both for the safety challenges as well as the intervention opportunities, then prioritizes these based on their location in relation to bike lanes, schools, and highdensity and commercial areas

Citywide Projects

CROSSING QRO METHODOLOGY Tool Description The first step in the creation of the prioritization tool required finding the area of the entire road network of the city. With this information available, the following step was clipping blocks, parks, parking lots, and a 9-meter buffer around highways out from the urbanized area, as Step 1, below, shows. Then, junctions derived from the street centerline file were simplified and buffered by 25 meters, as Step 2, below, shows. The area of the streets within this 25-meter buffer was then ranked.

Challenges and Opportunities Safety Challenges: Larger intersections facilitate fastermoving vehicles, require pedestrians to cross farther distances, and can decrease bicyclist and pedestrian visibility.

Step 1: Create street area

Intervention Opportunities: Ample physical space is needed to implement design interventions in intersections.

Querétaro has many wide and irregular intersections that create unsafe crossing conditions for pedestrians.

Step 2: Find area in intersections

Citywide Projects

PRIORITIZATION

Independencia Priority Intervention Areas High-Density Intersections High-Density Corridors Low-Density Intersections Low-Density Corridors

Monterrey Highway

Av Pie de la Cuesta Av Felipe Carrillo Puerto

Introduction To further narrow down key intervention sites, four prioritization attributes are used. Each attribute is used to pinpoint where interventions will have positive effects on the largest number people and where interventions will be easiest to implement. The 71 highest priority intersections are those that are in high population density neighborhoods, near commercial zoning, are in the top decile of those that have a current or planned bicycle lane running through it, and are in the top decile of those within 500 meters of a school. Another 102 intersections satisfy all of these requirements except that they are not in a high-density neighborhood. This method cuts the intersections to be considered for interventions down to just 1.1% of the 15,159 intersections in Querétaro. These intersections are further narrowed down by grouping into nine corridors, with a further 48 intersections outside of these corridors.

Bicycle Lane Network

Av. Tlacote

Carr. Queretaro-Tesquisquiapan Av. Constituyentes Av. Luis Vega Monroy Av. Fray Luis de Leon Blvd Vallle del Cimatario

The low-income Queretanos who are dependent on cycling are particularly impacted by dangerous roads. By identifying dangerous locations along SEMOV’s ambitious planned bicycle network, projects that improve safety become easier to implement.

Schools Children are especially vulnerable to traffic collisions, so special care should be taken to ensure their safety. In the same way commercial zoning attracts adults’ trips, schools attract children’s trips. Within a short walking distance – 500 m – of a school, child pedestrians are much more likely, and interventions at these intersections are likely to have the biggest impact.

Population Density In higher-density neighborhoods, defined here as an AGEB with an above-average population density of 8,000 residents per km2, there is a larger number of residents whose lives can be positively affected by safety and public realm improvements, and these same individuals are more likely to walk. Therefore, targeting investments in high-density neighborhoods means these investments are more likely to improve more people’s lives.

Commercial Zoning Similarly, people are more likely to walk near commercial zones. Businesses act as trip attractors, generating more pedestrian activity around them. Targeting investments in these areas will more likely impact people who may live elsewhere in the city.

NEIGHBORHOODS This tool has different implications in neighborhoods all over the city, which is clear using those which we defined in the introduction as an example. Three of these neighborhoods, El Salitre, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, and Santa María Magdalena, have no high priority intersections in them at all. It is important to note, though, that intersections outside of the geographic boundaries of a neighborhood still can play key roles in the lives of people living there. The main road between Santa María Magdalena and the city center, for example, has 5 highpriority intersections along the route which will be key for the cycle path along that road. A neighborhood’s distance to downtown is also an important factor. At over 17 km away, designing interventions in Santa Rosa Jáuregui must be very different than in San Francisquito— which is just two kilometers away.

Citywide Projects

A STREET AND B STREET An Example Intersection Redesign The intersections of Avenida 4 and Calles 25 and 27 are part of the Avenida 4/Luis Vega Monrroy highpriority corridor that runs along the northern edge of the Lomas de Casa Blanca neighborhood. In the below design example, the wide space between the blocks that is currently occupied by parking and a four-lane

Existing

highway is replaced with a linear park between two-lane streets with parallel parking along each block. The park extends from its current terminus over a kilometer to the east at Avenida Luis Pasteur and adds open spaces to a neighborhood where this is currently lacking. This example demonstrates the powerful potential that the identified corridors and intersections have for change.

Traffic signals protect pedestrians and cyclists along the paths running through the park from leftturning vehicles. Curb extensions decrease pedestrian crossing distances from a previous maximum of about 18 meters to no more than nine meters.

Walking and cycling paths run along the length of the path, which could extend from 900 m to over 4 km along Lomas de Casa Blancaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s northern edge.

Citywide Projects

NUESTRO ESPACIO PROJECT SUMMARY Introduction Nuestro Espacio is a process for bottom-up public space creation. Public spaces will be selected, designed, maintained and programmed by community groups, with the Municipality acting as a partner rather than the project lead.

Program Goal Empower communities to create spaces that improve safety, promote walking and biking and add to neighborhood identity. These spaces will be embraced, activated and cared for by the community. Nuestro Espacio inverts the traditional process by which projects get identified and implemented. What was once a top-down process will become a bottom up process and will lead to the creation of spaces with more community buy-in and ownership. Because these spaces directly respond to the needs and desires expressed by the community, they are poised to be more successful over time.

A New Framework for Engagement This project proposes a reinvention of the public outreach process– an interactive charrette led by the community partner will better inform the projects that get built. The charrette allows the community to work together to draw and create solutions to the problems in their neighborhood. Rather than a forum to complain, these meetings will be an opportunity for people to propose solutions to their problems and generate new ideas. A key part of the interactive charrette is the interactive tool-- a simple worksheet with sites and equipment to be colored, cut-out, and pasted. Just a few types of equipment are included – the idea is that this tool will be built off of and can serve as a launching point for creativity. The tool can be adapted in a number of ways – a map of an entire corridor could be printed in a large format, allowing community members to sketch out their ideal public spaces at a corridor or neighborhood scale, for example. By introducing this framework, the Municipality is taking a key step to initiate a transformation of the culture of the city towards one that prioritizes people over cars. The Municipality is building trust while validating the community’s right to the city and right to participate in the way it takes shape.

The following pages are a proposed public facing brochure, which intends to inform potential community partners about the process. The brochure also contains a charrette guide and the interactive public space worksheet to be used during the charrette.

Citywide Projects

WHO ARE YOU?

WHAT SPACES CAN BE CREATED?

You are a committed community member interested in bringing a new public space to life in your neighborhood. You are part of an organization or a long-time resident who is interested in the Municipality’s new public space program, Nuestro Espacio. This brochure provides an overview of the program.

Plazas – Underused segments or portions of streets or vacant lots can be converted into people-oriented spaces by adding tables, chairs, and other furniture and equipment.

WHAT CAN PUBLIC SPACES DO FOR YOU? Leftover or underutilized spaces in your neighborhood can be converted into spaces to play, relax, gather, or work. These spaces can bring new customers to nearby businesses and foster a sense of place. These spaces can transform neighborhoods into healthier, more welcoming places to live and visit.

HOW DOES THIS PROCESS WORK? The program is based in partnerships between the Municipality and a community partner. The community partner will work with their neighbors to transform underused areas into vibrant, active, and loved public spaces. The community partner’s role includes identifying the site, leading community engagement, fundraising, designing the space, applying to the Municipality, and programming and maintaining it once it opens. The Municipality will assist throughout this process, ensure project feasibility, install traffic safety infrastructure and basic equipment chosen by the community. The Municipality will also allocate available funds to priority areas based on identified need - see the funding priority areas map on the next page.

Parklets– Parklets allow the sidewalk to be expanded into one or two on-street parking spaces or excess street right-of-way on wide streets. Parklets can incorporate seating, games, and bicycle parking. Parklets should be on streets with speed limits of 40 km/hr or less. Both plazas and parklets should be located in areas with pedestrian and commercial activity and near the existing transit and bike networks.

WHAT AREAS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING ASSISTANCE? Eighteen areas have been identified as priority areas that may be eligible for additional funds. These areas are lacking open space amenities and have been identified as meeting conditions that make them ideal for a vibrant public space.

HOW DO I TALK TO MY COMMUNITY ABOUT THE SPACE? As the community partner, you will work with the Municipality to engage with your community. You will host a charrette, which is interactive workshop that allows the community to think creatively about their neighborhood and discover solutions together. This will help form a vision and develop goals to guide the design process. The Municipality will assist with locating a venue for the charrette and by providing necessary materials. The next two pages include the charrette guide, which offers suggestions for the meeting format as well as the interactive public space visioning tool, which can be used during the charrette as a way to facilitate brainstorming about the space’s look and function.

Funding Priority Areas

Citywide Projects

HOW MUCH MONEY DO I NEED? AND WHERE DO I GET IT?

CHARRETTE FACILITATION GUIDE Use these brainstorming exercises to guide your conversation and activities during the charrette.

Espacio Soñada Ask residents to think about their favorite public space – this could be in Queretaro, Mexico, or even something they’ve seen on TV. Ask them to describe what they like about these spaces. This invites creative thinking and serves as an icebreaker to get residents thinking about goals for the space.

Mi Espacio

Ask residents to propose a public space in their neighborhood. This should be their own personal vision of what a successful public space would look like. Guiding questions can include: What great things in your neighborhood can you expand upon? What do you think the neighborhood lacks now? What you be able to do in your ideal public space? What would this space look like? Use the interactive tool for this step (see next page).

Nuestro Espacio Now residents can collaborate to share their own personal visions. Your role will be to facilitate this conversation and come to a consensus about what the best space for the neighborhood would look like. Consider questions including: How does this space help accomplish the community’s goals? How feasible is this space? How could you raise funds for the space?

The spaces are scalable - with a just a few thousand pesos, you can purchase traffic calming equipment and paint an artistic surface treatment to create a sense of place in a right-of-way formerly used for cars. With MX$20,000, a parklet frame and some basic furniture and plants can create a vibrant space. If you are hoping to provide a state-of-the art space, these spaces can cost up to MX$200,000. Grants from the Municipality and local non-profits are available. Business sponsorship is a great option, and restaurants seeking more outdoor seating can partner with you. The rest is up to your community—and may require crowdsourcing and fundraising.

WHAT TYPE OF EQUIPMENT CAN I GET? A menu of equipment is available with options for basic furnishings like seating, tables, shade, and planters. Specialty items like games and water features can also be purchased. There is also an opportunity to build furnishings with donated or found materials. A key opportunity to make your community’s space unique is to partner with a local artist to design the surface treatment.

Citywide Projects

DESIGN YOUR OWN PUBLIC SPACE!

Use this as a tool to help community members design their ideal public space during your charrette.

Start with a surface treatment - like one of these:

Seating

LADOT People Streets Flickr

The Reporter Ethiopia

Umbrella

Tables

Parklet

Plants Plaza

Bike Repair Stand

Teeter - totter

Bike Rack

Bike Corral

Foosball

Other ideas - Wifi, power outlets, exercise equpiment, free library, food bank cupboard, fountain....

Citywide Projects

48 HOW DOES THE SPACE GET BUILT?

OKAY, ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S OPEN, NOW WHAT?

At this point, you will formally submit an application to the Municipality. They will assist you through the process and work with you to ensure that your project is feasible and safe. Once the application is approved and the Municipality has drafted construction drawings, the Municipality will install traffic calming equipment, railings and basic framing material (required for parklets). You will work with your selected artist and a team of volunteers to paint the surface treatment. From there, the municipality will install any equipment or furniture you have purchased from them. You are responsible for the installation of any additional equipment or art, as well as planting of any landscaping.

Enjoy the space! Program activities like workshops, exercise classes, or concerts. You are also responsible for maintenance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including watering the plants, removing litter and graffiti, and repairing any broken items. Ideally, you will find a committed group of volunteers that will work together to make sure the site stays beautiful, safe, and fun for years to come.

An example of a parklet designed with community input.

Neighborhood Projects

Stitching QuerĂŠtaro pg 52 A Vibrant Center pg 58 Daytime Corridor pg 62 Nighttime Corridor pg 68

FROM CITY TO NEIGHBORHOOD Making the Case The four neighborhood projects bring some of the city-wide ideas into two focused neighborhoods: Felipe Carrillo Puerto and San Francisquito, each of which has common and neighborhood-specific issues. While the strategies address problems specific to the neighborhood such as threats of gentrification in San Francisquito, they as well attempt to solve some of the public realm problems commonly seen in other neighborhoods: lack of active public spaces, disconnected neighborhoods, and physical boundaries to mobility. Stitching QRO aims to connect two adjacent neighborhoods by transforming the existing public spaces, streets, and vacant properties. A Vibrant Center and San Francisquito Day & Night Corridors propose physical intervention, as well as spatial and temporal programming to a few key intersections pertinent to neighborhood vibrancy. By making these case, we hope to stretch such momentum to other QuerĂŠtaran lowincome neighborhoods.

San Francisquito has a rich tradition of mural arts

Felipe Carrillo Puerto is full of small underutilized spaces.

NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECTS

INTRODUCTION

Socioeconomic Divisions Higher Income

HEALING THE FABRIC OF FELIPE CARRILLO PUERTO

Lower Income Divisions between high and low income neighborhoods

Lib. Nt

e. de Qu

erétaro

200

45D

Introduction Throughout Santiago de Querétaro, barriers to mobility – walls, canals, steep slopes, or uncrossable highways – separate poor communities from their wealthier neighbors, preventing connections and interactions between these socioeconomically segregated neighborhoods. The difference between indicators such as income, automobile ownership, and amount of public space on either side of the barrier is often stark. These inequities place a heavier burden on poor communities, where residents are more likely to depend on walking, public transportation, or biking to access economic opportunities. Stitching Querétaro seeks to use public realm and streetscape design interventions to mend these tears in the urban fabric.

Neighborhood Projects

STITCHING QUERÉTARO A Neighborhood Divided In Felipe Carrillo Puerto, a dense and diverse neighborhood 5 km two northwest of the UNESCO World Heritage zone, two socioeconomically divided subneighborhoods – El Tintero and Ampolletas – meet at a hard-to-cross barrier to mobility – Avenida Revolución. On the east side of Av. Revolución, El Tintero has a planned rectilinear street grid punctuated by public plazas that create a mazelike streetscape, reminiscent of the historic city center. But unlike in the city center, the plazas sit mostly unused, except as parking lots. On the west side of the avenue, Ampolletas grew organically, one building at a time. Larger blocks and few sidewalks make pedestrian mobility difficult. Connections from inside the neighborhood to Avenida Revolución are few and between. This side of the neighborhood lacks public space, but has several large unprogrammed vacant areas behind buildings, currently used for little other than parking. El Tintero is the wealthier of the two subneighborhoods, with higher incomes and rates of car ownership. Avenida Revolucion – a major north-south artery for the city – forms the barrier between these two subneighborhoods. Through much of Felipe Carillo Puerto, the avenue is actually two parallel two-way streets with a small hardscaped median separating them. Few crosswalks or signalized intersections exist to provide safe space for pedestrians to cross. In some places, crossings are as wide as 22 meters from sidewalkto-sidewalk. But each Friday, Avenida Revolución becomes a vibrant space for people, as half the avenue is shut down for a tiangui (or street market), where local merchants sell a wide range of goods including food, clothing, houseware, and much more. This flexible use of street space brings together both sides of the neighborhood every week.

Tiangui, Felipe Carrillo Puerto

Predicted Income (Mexican Pesos)

0 - 4,824

5,628 - 6,189

4,824 - 5,152

6,189 - 8,022

5,152 - 5,628

Households With Vehicle Access

0% - 25%

53% - 67%

25% - 41%

66% - 100%

41% - 53%

Neighborhood Projects

Existing Plans

Site Selection

A couple of existing plans promise to change transportation within Querétaro. The city’s 2026 Strategic Mobility Plan, commissioned by SEMOV and produced by consulting firm Steer Davies Gleave, includes Felipe Carrillo Puerto as a focus area to demonstrate how the plan’s policies and goals would shape the built environment. The plan proposes pedestrian and bicycle improvements within the neighborhood such as crosswalks and bike lanes, but focuses more on mobility issues for automobiles and fails to address inequities within the neighborhood. Suggested interventions include repurposing public plazas for traffic and formal parking, and relocating the tiangui off of Avenida Revolución. Meanwhile, the state government, is building a new bus rapid transit (BRT) system, with a line proposed to run along Avenida Revolución. The BRT system promises to reduce travel times for users and improve access to opportunity for residents along its routes. Stitching Querétaro is in many ways a reaction to these city- and state-level plans, while furthering SEMOV’s goal of slowing the growth of car culture.

The process for selecting an intervention within Felipe Carrillo Puerto started by reimagining mobility within the neighborhood, with a goal of improving north-south circulation along Avenida Revolución and facilitating east-west connections across the avenue for people on foot and bicycle. We chose a location with a combination of major potential pedestrian traffic flows across the avenue, and ample adjacent open space for a major public realm intervention. This combination of factors makes it an ideal location for a BRT stop.

STITCHING FELIPE CARRILLO PUERTO Stitching Querétaro addresses divisions and disparities between El Tintero and Ampolletas through two big moves: 1) breaking down barriers to intraneighborhood mobility; and 2) creating an adaptable gathering space for the neighborhood.

1) Break Down Barriers The first step to improving connections across Avenida Revolución is to break down the barriers to pedestrian mobility. Expanding sidewalks and converting the west side of Avenida Revolución as a shared street (inspired by streets in the city’s historic center) makes a friendly environment for people on foot, and creates a space that better adapts to a variety of uses and users at different times, including bicycles, cars, deliveries, and the weekly tiangui. Targeted relocation of a few buildings along the corridor can open connections to parallel streets while simultaneously increasing commercial store frontage. Finally, a raised pedestrian crosswalk across Avenida Revolución creates a safer crossing by slowing vehicle traffic and reducing exposed crossing distance from 22m of unbroken vehicle space to two much more manageable 3m and 7m crossings.

Mobility Pattern: Existing & Reimagined

Facilitating access to the space is also important to breaking down barriers. Including bikeshare and bicycle parking allows residents throughout the neighborhood easy access to the public space and transit stop. The aforementioned BRT stop makes this location accessible to residents of neighboring areas as well.

Vehicle Flows

People Flows

Vehicle Flows

People Flows

Key Crossings

Mixed Traffic

Typical Plaza in El Tintero

2) Create Adaptable Gathering Spaces The second big move of Stitching Querétaro is to create a gathering space that adapts to different uses throughout the week. Due to relentless sunshine throughout most of the year, every popular public space in Querétaro includes ample shade. Our plan includes shade structures in plazas on both sides of Avenida Revolución, with designs that evoke the tents which temporarily provide shade for the weekly tiangui. The plan also provides recreational spaces for children to play football or basketball. Anywhere where children hang out in Querétaro, there are likely to be bicinegocios (bicycle businesses) nearby selling mangos, ice cream, and other treats, so this plan also includes dedicated spaces for these informal businesses.

Neighborhood Projects

A Reproducible Solution Interventions to break down barriers, facilitate access, and create adaptable public spaces are useful in locations throughout the city where socioeconomic inequities coincide with physical barriers. Bridging these gaps between low-income neighborhoods and their wealthier neighbors can help increase access to opportunities and build social capital for vulnerable residents throughout Querétaro.

SITE PLAN

SECTION A’’’

A”

A’

Plaza with Tented Pergola

Curbless Street

Raised Crossing

42 m

Expanded Median

Raised Crossing

Sidewalk

3.5 m

Multi-Use Court

154 m

Neighborhood Projects

A VIBRANT CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS AVERAGE RENT PRICE 1000 (per0 month)

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Gentrification In recent years, the municipal government has been trying to control urban sprawl due to the unnecessary public costs of redundant infrastructure outside the existing center and the isolation of employees from activity centers, homes, and services.

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1-bed 3-bed

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12000 10000 12000 10000 8000 10000 8000 6000 8000 6000 4000 6000 4000 2000 4000 2000 0 502000 0

Other Neighborhoods in City Center

1-bed 3-bed

Neighborhoods not in City Center

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(per sqm per month)

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CENTRAL LOCATION

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Our target site is in the central intersection of two main street in the neighborhood.

6500

COMMERCIAL

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120 150

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PRICE

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AVERAGE HOUSING

AVERAGE RENT PRICE 100

120

The recent developed large0 and expensive real estate projects surrounding the neighborhood also indicate the current threat of gentrification. 1000

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Real estate investors also12000 see the potential to develop 10000 here. According to members from BEMA, a partnering 8000 non-profit in the community, residents are receiving 6000 letters asking for the value4000of their homes. 0

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San Francisquito

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Low-income neighborhoods in the city center, such as San Francisquito, where the housing price and rent are both low are prone to becoming gentrified. Currently, the rent in the neighborhood is approximately MX$120 per m2 per month, 40% less than the other neighborhoods in the historic center. 0

11000

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Why Choose the Center?

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There are lots of commercial activities existing in the neighborhood.

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PROJECT CONCEPT

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Tackling Gentrification

TRANSPORTATION

Our intervention addresses gentrification by creating an active central node to better-organize existing commerce as well as densifying the intersection to leverage the forces of gentrification for the benefits of residents. Translation: San Francisquito Exists and Resists

Translation: San Francisquito in Risk of Extiction

The intervention is proposed around the central intersection of two major streets in the neighborhood because it has a lot of commercial activity and the proposed cycle lane routes will travel through. All these attributes are believed to facilitate our strategy.

The neighborhood has multiple bus routes, bus routes travel through and a BRT station.

Neighborhood Projects

Section A-A

This phase is a short-term intervention, aiming to develop community identity and a commercial node at the central intersection of Avenia Insurgentes Queretanos and 21 de Marzo Street.

Phase 2 is a long-term housing project, focusing on densifying the intersection. The goal is to maintain current local residents to alleviate gentrification by increasing local household income through building up additional floors. Households can rent out the new floor units or their original ground floor units.

4.2m

2-floors

Due to the neighborhood and the construction requirements. Only one or two-story buildings with fair quality could be built up. The buildings along 21 de Marzo Street will be the main focus, since the city is promoting mixed-use developments along this street. In our plan, 44 units, about 3,400 m2 in total, will be added around the intersections. To better apply this intervention, it needs governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support during construction and design of the building-up process, as well as assisting residentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; access to loan financing.

1-floors

3,400 m2 are added, 0 25% 1000 2000 existing 3000 4000 about to floor area

4000 5000

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800m2

20 40

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Approach 2: Change the two streets into shared space to mix pedestrians, bikes, and cars. Removing curbs would lower the speed of automobiles to a pedestriansafe speed under 10 km/h and improve safety. The overall street design will incorporate local characteristics like murals and textured pavement to help to strengthen the neighborhood identity.

10units

2000

Phase 2

Approach 1: Convert about 56 parking spots into 900 m2 of public space only for local street vendors. At night, these spaces can be transferred back to parking spaces for local residents. In this way, it provides job opportunities and generates income for local residents.

Section B-B

4.2m

Phase 1

44 out of 114 units are built up

1000

IMPLEMENTATION

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IMPLEMENTATION

80 100 120

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1-floors

Rent Price

(per square meter per month)

Residential:120 Commercial:100

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Construction Cost (per sqm)

Material +Foundation:

3800- 4000 pesos Transportation:

800-1000 pesos

120

Neighborhood Projects

DAYTIME CORRIDOR PROPOSED VISION PLAN

Existing Conditions The negative and positive elements are identified in some public space nodes based on the observation of people’s activities. Typical nodes include the open space in the shopping mall, neighborhood playground, intersection on the 21 de Marzo Street and open space in front of the large public park Alameda Hidalgo. These public space is in lack of shade and diverse activities. By considering the basic needs of people, the design of the public space nodes is more comfortable and interesting, both for the local residents and newcomers.

University Campus Acueducto

Tank Querétaro

Call

goz

ara

io Z

c Igna

Ejé

rcit

5 Church

lica

21 de Mar

Community Center

zo 1

Plaza de las Americas

B A Alameda Hidalgo

ntes

nstituye

Av Co Educational Cultural Center of the State of Querétaro

Estadio Municipal de Queretaro

Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez Auditorium

Shopping Mall

100

200

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INTRODUCTION Project Summary

San Francisquito is located near the historic center

San Francisquito is a neighborhood located in the downtown which has poor quality of public space and is cutoff from surrounding resources. This project, Daytime Corridors will form a public space system to connect the neighborhood with surrounding public space. The main three nodes will start from the inner open space in the shopping mall to the existing neighborhood playground, to the public space in front of the large public park. There are also different scales of public space on these corridors, which will have positive effects on the space nearby. The detailed design of public space focuses on providing more shades and diverse activities. For example, a new community center is proposed on vacant land for the local residents.

Open space in the shopping mall

Neighborhood playground

21 de Marzo Street

Space in front of Alameda Hidalgo

Neighborhood Projects

DESIGN PROPOSAL

Before

Renewed Open Space in the Shopping Mall

Educational Cultural Center of the State of Querétaro

Alameda Hidalgo

New Community Center

Renewed Public Space The renewed and new public space will have positive impacts on the zoning or function nearby. For example, the commercial would be more active if the building is loacted next to a finger park. We can also encourage mixed-use to some residential houses with retail on the ground floor. In this way, the local residents can not only have better access to good public space but also earn their living by having the retail store.

Public Space around the Church

Shopping Mall

Tank Querétaro

B Finger Park

University Campus Ca

lle

e uy

it st

e nt

cio

Neighborhood Playground A

Acueducto

Finger Park

After

Shared Street

Finger Park

21 de Marzo

21 de Marzo is identified as the target for the shared street since it is the main commute road. The new shared street will have more pedestrian space by regulating parking and also encourage bike share use. More shaded space will be provided on the pedestrian space by planting more trees and adding street furniture like chairs and stalls.

Neighborhood Playground

Courtyard

Finger Park

Public Space’s impact on zoning-mixed use building with retail on the ground floor

New Community Center

Public Space’s impact on zoning-mixed use building with commercial like office on the ground floor

Shared Street

Neighborhood Projects

CORRIDOR THROUGHOUT THE DAY

10:10am

11:15am

Renewed Open Space in the Shopping Mall

Neighborhood playground

12:20pm

2:30pm

Public Space around the Church

New Community Center & Open Space

Neighborhood Projects

NIGHTTIME CORRIDOR Project Summary The night corridor sees existing infrastructure, new development, and the neighborhood’s rich culture as opportunities by connecting San Francisquito with the nearby historic center, transit hub, and commercial activities. The overall strategy is to use lighting as a lowcost and easy-to-implement method to bring changes to the neighborhood. It aims to encourage more active use of public spaces along the north-south Avenue Insurgentes Queretanos, especially during nighttime.

DESIGN STRATEGY

Site Context

Though being the first neighborhood in Querétaro, the The night corridor sees existing infrastructure, new development, and the neighborhood’s rich culture as San Francisquito neighborhood has been historically opportunities by connecting San Francisquito with the nearby historic center, transit hub, and commercial activities. lighting as Nodes a low-cost and easy-to-implement method to bring changes to the disconnected from the surrounding historic areas due toThe overall strategy is to useThree neighborhood. It aims to encourage more active use of public spaces along the north-south Avenue Insurgentes physical and social separation. The Nighttime Corridor Queretanos, especially during nighttime. sees the neighborhood’s rich culture, new development Design strategies will mainly target three key nodes: around as opportunities to connect San Francisquito with the historic connector, commercial connector, and focal the nearby historic center, transit hub, and commercial plaza. The commercial connector connects the San activities, so San Francisquito residents can share Francisquito BRT station, pedestrian footbridge and the benefit from improved quality of public space and public spaces within and surrounding the shopping NIGHT TRAIL enhanced walkability. Increased revenues generated mall by adding walkways and extending the existing from street-level commercial activities and additional footbridge. The focal plaza serves as a new community revenues can also be used for long-term neighborhood space for residents to interact with each other. The added upgrading projects. The overall strategy is to use lighting attractions such as bike share stations, stalls, public arts, as a low-cost and easy-to-implement method to bring and pergolas bring people and activities to the space. changes to the neighborhood. The historic connector reaches to the historic aqueduct with trails and lighting to navigate pedestrians across the wide street and guide them into the neighborhood. Specific interventions include evening out the street LIGHTENED BLOCKS levels, pedestrianization, and ground navigation lights.

Corridor-wide Lighting Strategies

Lightened walkway

Laser bike navigation

Extended footbridge

Walkway Bike lane Bici station

Interactive LED light pole

Multimodal pergola

Bike laser light

Mural + Light

Ground light

Light furniture

Local night business

Interactive publilc art Mural + light art

Lightened block Church Stall Mural wall

Pergola at Aqueduct

Light and Cohesion

C Pergola at bus station

The overall corridor strategy is built upon the trail, which spans from the aqueduct and goes along the existing pedestrian walkway and new pedestrianized connectors. Along the corridor, there are lightened blocks highlight the roof and facades of local businesses and mural arts that stress neighborhood identity. Multimodal pergolas serve as new communal spaces where locals can gather to enhance community cohesion. They are placed at multiple intersections where new and existing QroBici bike share and bus stations are situated. In addition to landscaping, night activities such as mural tour, laser bike ride, and interactive light shows are programed out based on temporal activity intensity. Pergola at plaza

INTRODUCTION

PM Mall BRT/Bus Light Trail Bici Laser Light Mural Light Show I nteractiv e Shadow Wall

Neighborhood Projects

Nighttime Programs

MULTIMODAL PERGOLA Pergola Bici Station Bus Station

Nighttime Programs PM Mall BRT/Bus Light Trail Bici Laser Light Mural Light Show I nteractiv e Shadow Wall

Puerta la Victoria

Lighting Concept of Commercial Connector

Lighting Conc

The night corridor sees existing infrastructure, new development, and the neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich culture as opportunities by connecting San Francisquito with the nearby historic center, transit hub, and commercial activities. The overall strategy is to use lighting as a low-cost and easy-to-implement method to bring changes to the neighborhood. It aims to encourage more active use of public spaces along the north-south Avenue Insurgentes Queretanos, especially during nighttime. Lightened walkway

Nighttime Programs

Design Concepts

Laser bike navigation

Extended footbridge

NIGHT TRAIL

Walkway Bike lane Bici station

Interactive LED light pole

Multimodal pergola

Bike laser light

Mural + Light

Ground light

Light furniture

Local night business

Interactive publilc art

Mural + light art

LIGHTENED BLOCKS Lightened block Church Stall Mural wall

Pergola at Aqueduct

Pergola at bus station

Pergola at plaza

MULTIMODAL PERGOLA Pergola Bici Station

Bus Station

Lighting Concept of Commercial Connector

Lighting Concept of Historic Connector

Extended sidewalk New Bici station

Pedestrianized trail

Avenue Insurgentes Queretanos

200 meters

70 meters

Interactive light show Multifunctional light pole

Puerta la Victoria

Lighting Concept of Focal Plaza Acueducto

50 meters

Avenue Insurgentes Queretanos

Neighborhood Projects

200 meters

280 meters

End Matter

About the Authors pg 73 Acknowledgments pg 74 End Notes pg 75

This book and the projects the work within it were developed by eleven graduating Master of City and Regional Planning students at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design: Juan Pablo Benitez Gonzalez, Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Planning Jake Berman, Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Planning Danielle Dong, Community and Economic Development Rachel Finfer, Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Planning Kathleen Hanley, Urban Design Meiqing Li, Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Planning Yayu Liu, Urban Design Jiajing Mei, Urban Design Thomas Orgren, Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Planning Sean Scott, Urban Design Xuanmin Xu, Urban Design

END MATTER

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

End Matter

The students of the public realm studio would like to thank our instructors, Erick Guerra and Stephan Al, for their guidance and feedback throughout the citywide analysis, site visit and design phase of our projects. We would also like to especially recognize the support of our client, the Secretaría de Movilidad of Querétaro (SEMOV), in particular Juan Alfonso Garduño Jardón, the Strategic Urban Projects Director, as well as Marcelo Sánchez Gutierrez and Alonso Bravo Mendoza, Strategic Urban Projects Analysts. We also want to express our gratitude to the different partner organizations that helped us during our visit to Querétaro in March: Professor Antonio Barreda and his students from the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro; Ana Cristina Suarez from Techo; Carolina Martinez, Francisco Paillie, and Chucho Ocampo from dérive LAB. We also would like to thank Marja C. Hoek-Smit, Adjunct Professor of Wharton’s Real Estate Department and Director of International Housing Finance Program, and Allison Lassiter, Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning, for taking the time to speak to us during the spring semester. Finally, we would like to conclude our final project as graduate students by acknowledging the special support of Kate Daniel and the faculty of the Department of City and Regional Planning throughout the multiple reviews of this studio and during our time at the University of Pennsylvania.

END NOTES 1. “Estado de Querétaro,” Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México (Centro Nacional de Desarrollo Municipal), 1986), http://siglo.inafed.gob.mx/enciclopedia/ EMM22queretaro/historia.html. 2. Diana Teresa Pérez, “Violencia desata migración silenciosa provocada por el narco,” Excelsior, April 16, 2012, http://www.excelsior.com.mx/2012/04/16/ nacional/826723. 3. Francisco Flores Hernández, “Aumenta inmigración en Querétaro; al día llegan 63 personas de otras entidades,” El Financiero, May 27, 2013, http://www.elfinanciero.com. mx/economia/aumenta-inmigracion-en-queretaro-al-diallegan-63-personas-de-otras-entidades. 4. “Informe Anual Sobre La Situación de Pobreza y Rezago Social” (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social and Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social), accessed May 7, 2018, https:// www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/46162/ Queretaro_014.pdf. 6. “MAV destaca crecimiento económico del Municipio de Querétaro,” Periódico Debate Político, November 12, 2017, http://www.periodicodebatepolitico.com.mx/ mav-destaca-crecimiento-economico-del-municipio-dequeretaro/#.WvDIo4gvyCg. 7. “World Bank National Accounts Data” (World Bank, n.d.), https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP. CD?locations=MX. 8. “Informe Anual Sobre La Situación de Pobreza y Rezago Social” 9. Malena Hernández, “Querétaro ocupa el 8o lugar con mayor nivel de paz,” Código QRO, April 5, 2017, http:// codigoqro.mx/2017/04/05/queretaro-ocupa-el-8o-lugarcon-mayor-nivel-de-paz/. 10. Carlos Arvizu, Ramón Abonce, and Malcolm Quantrill, Space and Place in the Mexican Landscape: The Evolution of a Colonial City (Texas A&M University Press, 2007).

End Matter

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

11. Ibid 12. Gonzalez-Navarro, Marco, and QuintanaDomeque, Climent, (2012) “Paving Streets for the Poor: Experimental Analysis of Infrastructure Effects.”

PENNDESIGN DEPARTMENT OF CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING | SPRING 2018