Mexican Metropolises and Mexico City Studio

International Planning Studio and Travel Abroad

School of Planning

Arizona State University

2006 Summer Abroad Program

July 6-20, 2006

The School of Planning 2006 summer study abroad program exposes students to major urban planning issues faced by the largest Mexican metropolitan areas: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Puebla. The program is divided into two parts consisting of three credits each, which can be taken separately for three credits or together for a total of five credits. It is designed to provide students with unique opportunities to observe and analyze the intersections of metropolis formation, globalization, sustainability and governance in a developing country. A student-centered pedagogy will emphasize in loco observation, discussion with practitioners, data collection, group reflections, and integration of theory with hands-on experience.

Part I and Part II of this program include the 2nd World Planning Congress to be held July 12- 16, 2006 in the Centro Historico of Mexico City. It will be directed by three Professors Drs. Francisco Lara, Hemalata Dandekar and Carlos Balsas in the School of Planning at Arizona State University. They collectively bring to this program some sixty years of firsthand professional planning experience in third world planning in quite diverse regions of the world.

Students will explore:

• The complex social, political and economic context of urbanization and urban planning in Mexico
• The richness of the urban fabric and landscape of Mexican metropolises
• The legacy of pre-colonial and colonial past on present urban form and functions
• The challenges of globalization and sustainability for metropolitan planning
• The visions, strategies, and practices of Mexican planners
• The perspectives of local actors, including neighborhood residents, business leaders, politicians and scholars

Educational objectives:

• Introduce students to Mexico 's rich and diverse economic, political and social contexts that explicate the various processes of urbanization and metropolis formation in this developing country
• Expose students to the diversity and scope of the Mexican planning practices and their connection with contextual and historical factors
• Enhance key planning skills, including field research, critical analysis, strategic analysis and project development
• Develop strong intercultural skills based on a clear understanding of challenges faced by city planners in rapidly urbanizing developing nations
• Establish networks and close professional practice relationships with international students and planners attending the World Planning Conference and involved in the culminating studio

Rationale:

In the 1960's, Mexico 's population became mainly urban and today, 75 percent of the country's people reside in cities, and a further 44% reside in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million inhabitants. Mexico City (Ciudad de México) continues to expand as the country's “primate city”, its urban node containing about 20 million people in all. Mexico's second ranking urban area is Guadalajara (3.6 million), the regional center of the west. The City of Puebla consisted of almost 2 million people in 2000.

An extensive movement of people from rural to urban areas continues to be a major force of metropolitan growth in Mexico. Rapid urbanization has led to an increasing number of large metropolitan areas that have, in many cases, overwhelmed the regions environmental resources and spawned huge peri-urban slums. Metropolitan authorities struggle to provide infrastructure and basic social services to cope with these developments. The environmental impact of these new developments is pervasive. The inherent challenges planners face are often compounded by institutional and legal loopholes that constrain planning and the enforcement of municipal codes and regulations.

Program:

Phase I (3 credits) Study tour and World Congress

Participants will visit the cities of Guadalajara, Puebla and Mexico City, where they will have the opportunity to do field research, interact with local planners, hear from local experts, visit barrios and other places of interest, and participate in discussions with local experts in the field. Travel will culminate in the 2nd World Planning Congress held in Mexico City, July 12 to July 16. Students will be required to register for the World Congress and attend at least four panels and three guided tours relevant to their area of specialization.

Phase II (3 credits) World Congress and Mexico City Studio

Participants will register for and attend the World Congress as described above. After this event, they will apply the acquired knowledge in a three day, SWOT-like planning studio in the Centro Historico of Mexico City to one of several thematic foci to be addressed. These include historic preservation of city fabric, tourism development, mixed use/housing, safe and gendered city, sustainable transportation, safety and security street vendors, conservation of historic monuments, and traffic congestion - issues which are of great concern in the revitalization of the Centro Historico of Mexico City. North American students from planning programs across the country (ASU, Illinois , MIT, Virginia , S.C.) will work in teams with students from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), host and organizer of the Congress and other Latin and South American planning programs.

Phase I and Phase II may be taken together for a total of 5 credits

Local experts will lead the guided tours and workshops during the congress and define the critical parameters of the planning problems to be addressed. Students will work in a palacio in the Centro Historico, live in accommodations there, and conduct surveys, observation, analyses, and develop strategies and recommendations to help revitalize/enhance the Centro Historico from a variety of perspectives. Renowned US and Mexican University professors attending the congress will participate as studio instructors and guest critics for some or all of the three days of the studio.

Dates and location:

Phase I

• July 6-9 Guadalajara (c. 1542): Perhaps the most Mexican of Mexico's cities Guadalajara is the second largest urbanized area in Mexico. The city refers to itself as the Silicon Valley of Mexico and is well know for its cultural and architectural traditions.

• July 9-12: Puebla (c. 1531). Although modern Puebla is highly industrialized, its historic downtown remains a Spanish-colonial treasure filled with elegant 17th and 18th century European architecture and art.

• July 12-16: Mexico City (c. 1521) – World Planning Congress: The World Congress of Schools of Planning will be held in Mexico City July 12-16. The congress will be held in the beautiful Palacio of Mineria in the Centro Historico of Mexico City. In addition to paper sessions, roundtables, and displays, the program will include mobile workshops in Mexico City and the surrounding area.  

Phase II

• July 12-16: Mexico City (c. 1521) – World Planning Congress (See above)

• July 16-20: Mexico City (c. 1521) – World Planning Studio: The metropolitan area of Mexico City is one of the largest in the world. It is built on the ruins of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, and is the commercial, industrial, financial, political, and cultural center of Mexico .

Lead Faculty:

Drs. Francisco Lara, Hemalata Dandekar and Carlos Balsas are professors in the School of Planning at Arizona State University. Lara has a PhD in planning from the University of Michigan and his expertise includes the study of urban development and environmental policies on the US-Mexico borderlands for more than 15 years. Dandekar is the Director of the School of Planning at ASU. She has a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA; she is a licensed architect in California and her expertise includes the study of urban-rural linkages, gender, affordable housing, and third world development. Balsas has a PhD in planning from the University of Massachusetts and his expertise includes urban revitalization and sustainable transportation planning.

Dr. Francisco Lara
School of Planning
AED 73
Phone: (480) 965-0496
Email: fcolara@asu.edu

Dr. Hemalata Dandekar
School of Planning
Phone: (480) 965-7167
Email: hema@asu.edu

Dr. Carlos Balsas
School of Planning
AED 77
Phone: (480) 727-7336
Email: Carlos.Balsas@asu.edu

Grading:

Final course-grades will be made up of a combination of short trip writing assignments (i.e. logs of field study and travel), a final team-based studio report at the end of the trip, and students' overall participation in discussions and day-to-day field activities.

Cost of Program:

$2,478 (subject to change) includes airfare (for students attending both Parts I & II), lodging, some meals, local transportation in Mexico, World Congress Fee, some course related excursions and studio use. Not included: ASU Tuition and fees, most meals, course materials and personal expenses. (The cost for students attending only Part II is $1,161, not including airfare or tuition).

Recommended Readings :

Skidmore, T. and Smith, P. (2005) Modern Latin America , Sixth edition, New York : Oxford University Press.

Gwynne, B.; Kay, C. – Eds. (2004) Latin America Transformed: Globalization and Modernity, 2nd edition. London : Arnold.

Gilbert, A. - Ed. (1997) The mega-city in Latin America . New York : United Nations University Press.

Registration:

Students are required to enroll in PUP 494/598 International Planning Practice through the online application process by going to:

http://www.asu.edu/ssc/abroad/application/onlineapplication.htm

Useful Websites and Downloads:

World Congress

- Main website: http://wpsc-06.webstudio.com.mx/

ASU School of Planning Study Abroad Program

- Description: http://www.public.asu.edu/~cbalsas/mexico.htm

- Online brochure: http://www.asu.edu/ssc/abroad/summer/mexicoplanning.html

- Downloadable brochure: PDF