4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Sign Up Log In

E N G L I S H original language

F RO M T H E C O M M U N I T Y / H E A LT H A N D W E L L B E I N G
8 min read    •    February 4, 2022

How doughnuts can help development

A vision of development in Mexico City through doughnut economics

SHARE

This post is written by Diana Alarcón, Eduardo Zepeda, Juan Angel Martínez, Juan Carlos Molina and
Marco Antonio Ramírez at the Coordinacion de Asesores y Asuntos Internacionales del Gobierno de la
Ciudad de Mexico. The paper reflects the personal views of the authors.

The problem: One of the greatest challenges for sustainable development is the implementation
of consistent policies over the long term.

Why it matters: Failure to do so will not address the structural problems that perpetuate
inequalities and environmental degradation.

The solution: Building a shared vision of the city we want in the future provides the social
consensus needed for a consistent allocation of resources and efforts over the long term.

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 1/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Mexico City is a thriving city. Its history, architecture, museums, universities and much more bring
visitors from around the world. Its historical buildings, a sophisticated and diverseSign Up tradition,
cultural Log In
the
wealth of museums, and rich gastronomy are among the features that attract national and international
tourists.

Beneath a dynamic city, however, lies a very unequal metropole across all dimensions of welfare.
Inequality goes well beyond income distribution to include access to proper housing, water, education,
health services, transportation, green areas for recreation and security. Economic and social inequality
deepened in the last 30 years of neoliberal policies characterised by a retrenchment of the economic and
social role of the state, shrinking budgets for social infrastructure, and privatisation of basic urban
services.

"Building a prosperous and sustainable city for all requires a shared vision
and dedicated resources over the long term to reverse entrenched
inequalities and to restore balance to the natural environment."

In December 2018, a new government was inaugurated in Mexico City. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo
is introducing a completely different vision of development inspired by the radical transformation led by
President Lopez Obrador at the national level. The government program 2019-2024 for Mexico City
builds on the promise of decreasing social inequalities while restoring environmental sustainability: a city
of Innovation and Rights.

The city government is faced with multiple challenges. About half of the working population is in the
informal sector; about one quarter of households do not have water at home on a regular basis, even
though they have a connection to the city water supply system; public schools are in need of regular
maintenance and new high schools and upper education facilities are needed to enroll young people in
marginalised areas; one in five families live in crowded housing and poor neighborhoods often lack
proper sidewalks, street lighting, parks and green areas; people, especially poor people in the periphery,
invest one hour and more to go to work. These are among the main social challenges the current
government is set to address.

Equally challenging problems need to be resolved to bring environmental sustainability to a city that has
been consuming its rich endowment of natural resources. Water sources are overexploited; hundreds of
hectares of forest are lost every year to illegal logging and unregulated real estate development; air
quality does not meet WHO standards three-quarters of the year; more than three-quarters of waste in
the city is disposed in sanitary confinements without treatment; and a rapid loss of biodiversity is a
threat to indigenous animal species.

Building sustainable development pathways

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 2/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Building a prosperous and sustainable city for all requires a shared vision and dedicated resources over
Sign environment.
the long term to reverse entrenched inequalities and to restore balance to the natural Up Log In

The Mexico City government’s programme from 2019-2024 has started addressing some of the most
pressing development challenges. Public investment increased substantially, when compared to the
previous city government. The Covid-19 emergency was confronted with an unprecedented expansion
of health facilities and universal access to the health system. Modernisation of urban infrastructure is
focusing on the most marginalised areas to improve public transportation, water and sewage systems,
street lighting and school maintenance. On the environmental sphere there are ambitious programmes
for the restoration of green areas and public parks, substantive support to rural areas and people
working within; restoration of remaining live rivers in the city; among many other actions. But building an
equitable and sustainable city requires the continuation of these kind of actions into the future.

Citizens in Mexico City will soon engage in the discussion of a 20-year Development Plan that will be
submitted to the City Congress later this year. It presents a great opportunity to generate the social
consensus needed for the implementation of a long-term development plan able to guide the allocation
of financial resources towards building an equitable and sustainable city. The figure of the “Doughnut”
provides a very useful graphical representation of where we are and where we want to go to address the
development challenges facing the city.

Kate Raworth’s "doughnut economics" provides a powerful tool to communicate development

challenges. The circle in green represents a situation where all basic needs are met and there is
sustainable use of natural resources. The green “doughnut” is the ideal society where people want to live.
Figure 1 presents a "doughnut" for the current situation in Mexico City. It incorporates 11 social
dimensions and seven environmental challenges.

"A long-term plan with a clear vision of the direction in which we want to
take the development of the city can be represented in the “doughnut” 20
years from now"

Filling in the gaps

The gaps (in red) in the inner circle represent the effort that needs to be done to go from the current
level in each particular dimension of welfare to the level where we want to be in the future. Taking the
example of education, the proportion of youth that has completed 15 years of formal education (middle-
high school) in the city in 2020 was 27%. If we want to increase that proportion to 80% in 20 years, we
know we have a big gap to fill. Furthermore, taking that proportion to 99% of young people would
require additional efforts beyond the 20 years plan. Following the same logic for each dimension, we
have a good representation of the challenges to be met in all priority dimensions of welfare; all the red

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 3/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

flags in education, health, poverty, housing, water provision, the conditions of labour, public
transportation, air quality, and security. Sign Up Log In

A similar logic applies to the red areas outside the doughnut: they represent infringements on
environmental sustainability. In Mexico City, overexploitation of water resources, for example, is
compromising water availability in the future; restoring sustainability to water resources will need a
great effort to reduce overexploitation of the aquifers and a more efficient water distribution system
until we touch the outer perimeter of the doughnut and the water balance is restored. Similarly, public
policies would have to address the key dimension of the environment to restore sustainability: GHG
emissions, the loss of biodiversity, and waste disposal, to name a few.

A long-term plan with a clear vision of the direction in which we want to take the development of the city
can be represented in the “doughnut” 20 years from now (Figure 2). The implementation of ambitious yet
realistic policies in all priority areas would result in a much better place to live in. Still some gaps, mainly
in the social dimensions of development, will require the continuation of effective policies to reach the
aspirational level of development. Comparison between the current and future “doughnuts” provides a
clear and powerful image of the efforts needed to achieve socially desirable goals for improved welfare
and environmental sustainability. These graphical representations help to stimulate a discussion about
the policy options and the cost of closing current development gaps.

Clearly, 20 years are not enough, but smaller gaps (red areas) in both the social and environmental
dimensions of development are pointing in the right direction. Ending corruption and an efficient
management of public resources, consistent with a shared long-term vision of development will take us
much closer to the green area of the circle, the space where we all want to live in.

The purpose of this exercise is to present a suggestive picture of our development challenges and to
facilitate the public debate on policy options and the cost of alternative routes to development that will
help us identify the issues to tackle by public policies now and in the future.

Figure 1. Mexico City “Doughnut” in 2020

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 4/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Sign Up Log In

Figure 2. A plausible “Doughnut” for Mexico City in 2040

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 5/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Sign Up Log In

👋 You can create a post like this one! Share your thoughts with a community of public servants.
Learn more

(Image Credit: Unsplash)

Unlock unlimited articles and personalised recommendations

Log in

Sign up

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 6/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Sign Up Log In
S I M I L A R S TO R I E S O N A P O L I T I C A L

F RO M T H E C O M M U N I T Y / C I T I E S , T R A N S P O RT A N D I N F R A S T RU C T U R E

City planning: How to put citizens' wellbeing first

Opinion: Happier citizens are healthier, more collaborative and more productive

Read this article

To solve climate change we need leadership: cities are taking …

How citizen engagement helps Costa Rica fight climate change

Mass tourism is ruining historic cities. Only government can s…

How Cape Town stopped the taps running dry: lessons from a wat…

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 7/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Sign Up Log In
Conservationists and ranchers protect 200 species in Colorado

Innovative US Bill tackles climate change, local pollution and…

EXPLORE MORE STORIES

C O M PA N Y

Our story

Meet our team

Careers

Partner with us

Get in touch

PRODUCT

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 8/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Events Sign Up Log In

Courses

Q&A

Articles

C O N TA C T

UK ADDRESS
PUBLIC HALL
1 Horse Guards Avenue
London, SW1A 2EP
United Kingdom

BERLIN ADDRESS
Torstraße 220
Berlin 10115
Germany

PHONE

+44 203 608 2241

FOR PLATFORM SUPPORT

concierge@apolitical.co

FOR BUSINESS INQUIRIES

hello@apolitical.co

WRITE FOR US

Our members contribute opinion articles on the best new innovations in government. Reach out to us to hear
how you can share your insights.

Find out how

LEGAL

Privacy policy

Terms & Conditions

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 9/10
4/4/22, 10:14 AM How doughnuts can help development

Cookie policy Sign Up Log In

DATA PROTECTION OFFICER

dpo@apolitical.co

EU DATA PROTECTION OFFICER

dpo.agl@apolitical.foundation

Copyright © 2022 Apolitical Group Limited

https://apolitical.co/solution-articles/en/how-doughnuts-can-help-development 10/10