Tec de Monterrey--Rockforestation 2012

Tecnologico de Monterrey is one of Mexico’s best private universities and they produce a great many events in our city. One of which is the annual Rockforestation concert which raises money to plant and protect trees in the forested mountain areas of our city. This was the second year for this event and the first one with a corporate sponsor, Volkswagen who was promoting their “Think Blue” campaign.

Just as in the previous year, a popular band headlined the charity concert. Last year was Los Klaxons and this year it was Division Minuscula, a rock band that also dabbles in some radio friendly sounds. In attendance were over a thousand people, mostly Tec students, who were huddled under the steel roof of the outdoor auditorium. In contrast to the unusually cold and damp weather these people were warmed up and ready to rock. Even a freak hail storm with marble sized stones couldn’t trample their mood…….the loud clacking from above only seemed to lift the spirits of each of the fans in attendance.



I had the good fortune to meet with Gabriela Ortiz, Executive Coordinator of the fund raising event. Ms. Ortiz stated that last year’s benefit resulted in 6,000 trees, all native, being planted in the Cumbres region of Monterrey. For those who don’t know, Cumbres is a mountainous area on the west side of town. This year she expects that they will plant even more trees thanks to increased attendance at the concert and also in part to the corporate sponsorship of the event.

Rockforestation is an excellent cause which needs to be promoted to greater audience. Monterrey Tec’s culture can be somewhat insular so they don't always get word out to the general public about important events and fundraisers……….or at least as well as they should. If the last two years of this event are any guide, next year’s event should be bigger than years past. But wouldn’t it be great to see it promoted city-wide? Hopefully it will. Until then, I’ll still make a point to attend every year. If I can help the environment in some small way and see some awesome performances like Division Minuscula in the process? Why the hell not!? :-)

My first environmental survey in Mexico.

The weather was perfect. Clear blue skies and no trace of the usual heat that bakes our city crispy crisp. What a great way to usher in my first experience doing environmental planning field work in Mexico. For roughly eight hours I walked a 200 acre parcel with a small team from Assesoria Urbanistica y Ambiental. The parcel, located in the rural outskirts of Villa Juarez, sits on the edge of the rapidly expanding exurbs of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.



The landscape was a collection on rolling hills which were covered by the typical Tamaulipan mezquital which is characteristic of this region. The biome was similar to the lands that I had surveyed in South Texas, though much drier due to a combination of higher heat, lower humidity, and lower rainfall. Despite the drier characteristics of this part of the region, the area had a high level of biodiversity than I had expected. There were obviously dominant communities of plant species commonly seen throughout the site. The real surprises where in apparent mutations of the dominant plant species in the area.



Mutations were varied but the most common were plants growing much larger than their expected normal size as well plant varieties that should have had spines but did not. This was the case with a beautiful blue agave in which we found under the protected canopy of a blooming huisache tree. The agave should have had the same characteristics as all of the surrounding agaves on the parcel but it was smooth and without any hint of the jagged teeth so commonly found with this local species.



There was also evidence of animal life all throughout the property. Most notable were the sun bleached bones and the piles of javelina hairs (wild pigs) evident in various locations around the property. In addition to the javelina, there were many varieties of birds, insects, and tarantulas…….which are all for the most part harmless. Not everything that roams the countryside is harmless however.

A very real danger in this region is rattlesnakes and while I did not see any of these dangerous and territorial reptiles, I did encounter several instances of hearing the rattle while I was walking though the scrubby underbrush. The signature rattle sends a message that says, “back off or suffer a serious consequence!”…..which is the least desirable sound that one wants to hear when walking in the middle of nowhere………Through years of experience living in and roaming around the Mojave Desert, that signature rattle is something that always keeps me on edge and aware of my surroundings.

Everywhere throughout this property, the evidence of old road cuts could be seen. These roads had been unused for many years and thus were covered by thick piles of dry and spiny plants and grasses….no doubt a large portion of this growth coming from the heavy rains of 2010 brought about by the destructive arrival of Hurricane Alex.



All along these long abandoned roads were piles of illegal trash dumping, some of which were burned and others which remained intact. The most common debris was that of tires, beer bottles and plastic but construction materials and electronic equipment were also visibly present wherever we walked. Contamination of the site was obviously something that will have to be looked at closely by the builders.



The state of Nuevo Leon demands that all development companies must provide environmental surveys and reports for all new projects built upon previously undeveloped land. In order to meet this mandate, companies hire private organizations like the one I was contracted to work for so that they can collect data and produce reports that satisfy the requirements of all local laws. Once the report is produced and all regulations have been met, the builders will begin to prepare the site for the eventual construction of over 6,000 new residences. In retrospect I would have to say it was an incredible learning experience.

Urban Planning in Mexico

Here in Mexico urban planning is more of an afterthought. Sure, some good projects are being built but they are often completely privatized, with little or no community involvement in the planning process. Often such impressive projects fail to integrate themselves into the surrounding neighborhoods thus becoming a fortress that separates rather than connects with the areas around the project…….at least in Monterrey. Mexico City is a whole other animal.

Many times these projects are megaprojects with higher residential densities that would normally support public transit but are built to support only the use of an automobile. The end result is an awkward product that feels somewhat soulless. It seems as if the local government approves the project but makes very little in the way of demands as to how the project will impact and integrate into the community.

From all that I can see, a sort of honor system must exist in which it is expected that the developer will comply to all the rules…..though they seldom do. Either that or it is the result of corruption. From my experiences working on the border however I would have to say it is a combination of corruption and incompetence. By incompetence I mean that governments operate in a reactive not proactive mode and do not have the resources or the organizational infrastructure to effectively monitor the realization of the projects being constructed. I would also imagine that there is a breakdown of communication between governmental departments as individual governmental entities tries to jealously guard their information, something that I have had firs hand experience combating from all my years working on both sides of the border.

This of course is all anecdotal and opinion based. I hope to learn more as I further explore issues and broaden my contact with people working in and with governmental planning entities in Monterrey and beyond.

The Densification of Monterrey Mexico

In a recent statement from Fernando Gutiérrez Moreno, the Secretary of Sustainable Development for the State of Nuevo Leon, he estimated that within 10 years the city of Monterrey, Mexico will have a density that is similar to other large cities in Latin America; 250 inhabitants per hectare.

Monterrey, Mexico, long considered the most United States like city in Mexico has been going through rapid changes over the last several years as redevelopment projects and personal tastes have pushed development in the core of the city towards high-rise apartment living rather than low density housing.

The city of Monterrey has been following a policy of densification in an effort to redevelop abandoned and underutilized areas, a policy which seems to be working.

Mr. Gutierez explained that the basis for this goal are guidelines set forth in the Nuevo Leon State Redevelopment Plan for the years 2010 – 2015 which call for more densification in the urban areas of Monterrey. Mr. Gutierrez stated “This will happen as long as we have policies in place that encourage the vertical growth we seek.” He further went on to say that vertical projects will allow more people to live in the urban core of the city, taking just a few projects in underutilized areas to turn the tide towards growth.

Even before the plan was sanctioned by the government, vertical growth had already been underway. Many high-rise / mixed use projects had already been completed- not just in the core of Monterrey or in the hyper-affluent areas of San Pedro but in the south areas of the city as well. The recently completed tower and commercial center at Garza Sada 1892, located in the edge-city like neighborhood that surrounds Monterey Tech, has seen modest success even in these tough economic times. Several more towers are planned with the next phase of construction already started.

As with any good government plan, the key is to put it in front of the trends already taking place and the Nuevo Leon State Development Plan does just that.

The construction of these types of projects represent the changing tastes of younger buyers and renters in Monterrey who are well educated, having families later, and enjoying more disposable income than ever before. Also helping is the fact that Mexico has not been hit as hard by the economic crisis as other countries. Despite the economic difficulties of its neighbor to the north and the ongoing problems of violence and security due to the narcotraffickers and the illegal drug trade, Mexico has seen modest economic growth and very little slow down in investment from domestic and outside sources.

With many projects under construction and completed and many more planned, Monterrey is moving towards a future of high-density living.

While high-density is a good thing for urban areas, it must be conducted with special care taken towards public spaces, supporting public transit and lessening dependence on the automobile, something that the newest developments have lacked. Whether or not Monterrey will place a high importance on this matter is anyone’s guess but the city and people, being organic entities, will evolve. As the security situation improves and the high-density living becomes the norm. People will demand that more attention be given to high quality public spaces and outdoor environments; Baby steps to be explored at a later time.

Augmented Reality Maps

Augmented reality maps take online mapping to a whole new level. The technology is fascinating and its uses are endless. The wow factor on this new technology is huge! While exciting on some levels it is also terrifying on others. There is no telling the ways in which this technology can be abused. Every promising new technology can have a flip side that is very dark indeed. This is something to explore in a later article no doubt. Until then, check out the video above and see the thing for yourself. For good or bad there no one can argue that the technology is impressive!

Transportation porn!

A friend sent me this map of the federal interstate system depicted like a subway system. I don't know who the illustrator was but he or she put together a really cool looking graphic. Being fascinated with maps from an early age, I even contemplated printing it out and framing for my wall. To me it is a work of art that sends my thoughts into directions it might not otherwise go. Wouldn't it be great if that was the high speed rail network? Maybe one day. Let's keep our fingers crossed!!!

Often I do image searches on google and find interesting illustrations. Sometimes it gives me inspiration when I'm writing articles and essays. Several days ago I found another illustration that depicted a high speed rail network for Mexico. The idea of a high speed rail network has been tossed around in Mexico for years though it has never gone far beyond the idea stage. Several years ago a high speed rail line was planned between Mexico City and Guadalajara put the plans were dropped because it was too expensive at the time. Another dream perhaps but it would be a great reality. Until then I'll enjoy the dream and the works of art that result in the process.

Slumburbia

A new housing development in Lathrop in 2006. One in eight houses in the town are now in some stage of foreclosure.

Slumburbia

By Timothy Egan- New York Times- Februrary 10, 2009

LATHROP, Calif. — Drive along foreclosure alley, through new planned communities that look like tile-roofed versions of a 21st century ghost town, and you see what happens when people gamble with houses instead of casino chips.

Dirty flags advertise rock-bottom discounts on empty starter mansions. On the ground, foreclosure signs are tagged with gang graffiti. Empty lots are untended, cratered with mud puddles from the winter storms that have hammered California’s San Joaquin Valley.

Nobody is home in the cities of the future.In a decade, they saw real property defy reality in real time in these insta-neighborhoods that sprouted in what had been some of the world’s most productive farmland.

In places like Lathrop, Manteca and Tracy, population nearly doubled in 10 years, and home prices tripled. After inhaling all this real estate helium, some developers and their apologists in urban planning circles hailed the boom as the new America at the far exurban fringe. Every citizen a homeowner! Half-acre lots for all! No credit, no problem!

Others saw it as the residential embodiment of the Edward Abbey line that “growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.”

Now median home prices have fallen from $500,000 to $150,000 — among the most precipitous drops in the nation — and still the houses sit empty, spooky and see-through, waiting on demography and psychology to catch up.

In strip malls where tenants seem to last no longer than the life cycle of a gold fish, the bottom-feeders have moved in. “Coming soon: Cigarette City,” reads one sign here in Lathrop, near a “Cash Advance” outlet.

Take a pulse: How can a community possibly be healthy when one in eight houses are in some stage of foreclosure? How can a town attract new people when the crime rate has spiked well above the national average? How can a family dream, or even save, when unemployment hovers around 16 percent?

Yet if these staggered exurbs, about two hours inland from San Francisco, were an illness, they would not quite be Abbey’s cancer. Though sick, foreclosure alley is not terminal. This is not Detroit with sunshine. It will be reborn, remade, inhabited. The question is: as what?

Nationwide, a record 2.8 million homes received foreclosure notices last year — up 119 percent from two years ago. Just under 5 million homeowners — 1 in 10 mortgages — owe more than their houses are worth. The impulse is to walk away. Surrender. And many have.

What they leave behind, along with the gang presence, the vandalism and the absence of vested owners, is a slum. A new slum. In an influential article in the Atlantic in 2008, the writer Christopher B. Leinberger predicted that the catastrophic collapse of the new home market could turn many of today’s McMansions into tenements.

I’m not sure of that. After several days in foreclosure alley, this broad swath of the Central Valley that has been rated by some economists as the most stressed region during the Great Recession, I can’t see such apocalyptic forecasts coming true.

Yes, huge developments are empty, with rising crime at the edges, and thousands of homes owned by banks that can’t unload them even at fire-sale prices.

But through it all, the country churns and expands, unlike most other Western democracies. That great American natural resource — tomorrow — will have to save the suburban slums.

Through immigration and high birth rates, the United States is expected to add another 100 million people by 2050. If you don’t believe me, consider that we’ve added 105 million people since 1970. This is more than the population of France. More than Italy. More than Germany. Currently, we have a net gain of one person every 13 seconds.

At some point, the market will settle on proper pricing levels. At its peak, only 11 percent of the people in this valley could afford the median home price. In the meantime, during these low, ragged years, a few lessons about urban planning can be picked from the stucco pile.

One is that, at least here in California, the outlying cities themselves encouraged the boom, spurred by the state’s broken tax system. Hemmed in by property tax limitations, cities were compelled to increase revenue by the easiest route: expanding urban boundaries. They let developers plow up walnut groves and vineyards and places that were supposed to be strawberry fields forever to pay for services demanded by new school parents and park users.

Second, look at the cities with stable and recovering home markets. On this coast, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and San Diego come to mind. All of these cities have fairly strict development codes, trying to hem in their excess sprawl. Developers, many of them, hate these restrictions. They said the coastal cities would eventually price the middle class out, and start to empty.
It hasn’t happened. Just the opposite. The developers’ favorite role models, the laissez faire free-for-alls — Las Vegas, the Phoenix metro area, South Florida, this valley — are the most troubled, the suburban slums.

Come see: this is what happens when money and market, alone, guide the way we live.