Mnica

Adriana Lpez Hernndez UID 804243963 Urbanization in the Developing World Department of Urban Planning, 235A Fall 2012 Essays framework

Project Title:
Planning suburban areas as a strategy for risks reduction in Mexico City Metropolitan Zone.

Background:
Mexico Citys location and soil composition makes it vulnerable to earthquakes and volcano eruptions. The first threat is related to the closeness to the Guerrero gap (just 175km1 ), created by the Cocos plate subduction, some centimeters every year, beneath the North American Plate. This fact frequently converts all the pressure in waves that travel long distances. When this waves reach Mexico City can be enlarged due to the swampy soil that constitutes most of the downtown area, leading to important earthquakes. The second threat that can make the city vulnerable is the Popocatepetl volcano, just 72km2 away from Mexico Citys downtown, but within a shorter distance to the recently established suburban areas. The volcanic activity might have as a consequence the delivery of volcano dust in the cities affecting the drainage systems and telecommunications. Additional to the natural threats, we should consider other facts deeply affecting the suburban areas population: The city is the largest one in Mexico and very attractive for the people willing to search for working opportunities. Most of the people that move from the rural area to the city establish in the periphery due to the prohibitive prices in the city. The suburban areas have grown fast in recent years escaping from strict building regulation and suffering a lack of services such as access to water, sanitation and health services. Most of the people establish in the periphery are working in the city. The commuting time is usually around 2-3 hours to get to work and the same time to return to their house. The reduction of 4-6 hours of their spare time per day affects deeply the quality of life of the families. Some suburban areas become dormitory cities, due to a lack of mixed used land policies. It also complicates the satisfaction of the residents demands for leisure, cultural activities, sports and even groceries. A cultural idea suggests that everybody should own their piece of land to be able to inherit something to their families and be less financially vulnerable. As a result, the city grows larger because. People prefer owning a piece of land where they can build freely rather than living pilled up in apartments.

The topic is relevant because over 50% of the inhabitants of Mexico City Metropolitan Zone live outside Mexico City. (Over 12 million inhabitants3)

1 Crdenas, J. R. (Unknown) La brecha de Guerrero. Proyecto Temas de Ciencia Contempornea. 2 Information taken from Centro Nacional de Prevencin de Desastres (CENAPRED)- National Disaster Prevention Center. 3 Data from the National census 2010. By INEGI. Retrieved from: www.inegi.gob.mx

Question
What do we know about prevention disaster management in suburban areas and the policies already implemented? What do we know about support for local business to avoid the people moving to Mexico City downtown? What are the improvements to make the commute less hampered?

Objective:

Observe suburban issues and its engagement with the urban policy proposals. For this purpose we are undertaking approaches to different types of risks faced by the communities established in the Periphery. This research is relevant due to the number of people living on suburban areas and the related economic impact.

Methodology:
Primarily desk research that includes, but goes well beyond the multi-disciplinary development literature to also cover current policies implemented and search for existing project proposals. Observe the recommendations by NGOs and research institutes. Suburban zones to observe f would be selected based on ranking of risk zones in Mexico City Metropolitan Zone.