● The Head of Government highlighted that the comprehensive management plan allows the use of the historic center by preserving, rehabilitating and promoting improvements that benefit the people living in its streets.
● The plan is composed of six axes that guide the programs to be implemented: Habitat; Economy and Tourism; Historical and cultural heritage; mobility and urban activity; Citizenship and Civic Culture; and institutional strengthening
Government President Marti Padres Guadarrama presented the 2023-2028 Comprehensive Management Plan for the Historic Center, a tool that outlines the development of progressive and comprehensive development plans for one of the country’s most iconic locations. Its history and promoting its use.
“The Comprehensive Management Plan for the Historic Center 2023-2028 is our guiding axis for maintaining and achieving a more progressive comprehensive development of the Historic Center. Through this plan, we seek the preservation, rehabilitation, use, enjoyment and development of our historic center. (…) We have an obligation to take care of it so that it can be enjoyed in all its dimensions,” he highlighted.
Mardi Padres pointed out that Mexico City’s Zócalo is a place of access to culture, art, diversity and political participation, which is why pedestrianized streets, smoke-free spaces, mass concerts and discussions of recovery have been encouraged. Places like Honduras 1 and 2 and Garibaldi should be turned into cultural centers.
“When Madero Street was pedestrianized, we immediately thought of the great benefits of taking over the public space, because a street where cars roll became a place for hundreds of thousands of people to move, but also benefited the economy. . (…) And, we already started other discussions, We opened the discussion about the Zócalo as a smoke-free place and really, and I’ll tell you more details later, but we made a lot of progress. Now, we’re opening another discussion, which is the pedestrianization of the Zócalo, that is, turning it into a big civic square where people can come, We are ready to take action and get feedback,” he said.
The management plan of the historical center is structured around six axes, the former four being: residential, preservation of public spaces, creation of decent and safe housing, pollution control measures and guaranteeing safety for citizens and passers-by. ; Economy and tourism, promoting small businesses, regulating night establishments and reorganizing trade in popular squares and public streets; Urban Mobility and Activity, which promotes the expansion of pedestrians, safe intersections, cycling infrastructure, regulation of cycle taxis, privileged transit and public parking; Promote citizenship and civic culture, community participation and healthy coexistence of people, workers and visitors.
For the 2023-2028 plan, two axes were added: historical and cultural heritage, which seeks to identify, record and recognize tangible and intangible, scientific and technological heritage for its adequate protection; and institutional strengthening, which analyzes the legal framework that regulates regional planning and land use, guides the actions of the agencies and institutions of the historical center, and establishes the assessment of its community.
General Coordinator of the Commission of the Historical Center of Mexico City, José Manuel Oropeza Morales, said that cooperation between government agencies and civil society is necessary to protect the material heritage and to recognize the intangible heritage that makes up the area. Support networks are created to resolve conflicts and propose new ideas from the community itself.
“We have promoted some neighborhood networks that seem very important to us: the Chat Network or VIPPSC that we have in the historic center, which is a mechanism that allows us to manage security issues, civil defense, urban services on a daily basis. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to address all issues raised by citizens. “We are also building an initiative for a concrete history center based on civil defense; and a network of women peacebuilders to address the issue of gender-based violence in the history center,” she said.
Loredana Montes López, owner of Mexico City’s Historic Center Foundation, explained that after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the historic center a World Heritage Site in 1987, various government agencies explained. Mexico City is committed to developing strategies that allow a timeless coexistence between the past and the present, that respect historical and artistic monuments, while implementing modern projects. And place innovators who aim for the well-being of society.
He noted that some of the activities undertaken by the Foundation in compliance with these obligations are the rehabilitation of properties damaged by the 2017 earthquake, interventions on the facades of temples and historical buildings, as well as the placement of 800 signs and nomenclature elements on streets.
“A colorful world, intense in its dynamics, immense in its culture, ineffable in its collective existence, needs management, it needs a plan to navigate, to give it meaning, to build bridges for its citizens and its visitors. Such is the importance of a management plan for a historic center. (… ) The Mexico City government, aware of the above, has developed the current administration, strategies and policies, in a series of actions to restore public space, rehabilitating numerous properties, many of which are affected by historical heritage. Likewise, it has carried out cultural programs and social development, because these actions contribute to the well-being of the people and We know it has a tangible effect on social life,” he noted.
For his part, the Secretary of Works and Services of Mexico City, Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina, described the work carried out in the last five years, which resulted in 300 thousand square meters of intervention and 1,200 million pesos invested. Restoring public spaces, increasing pedestrian and cyclist space, increasing lighting and green areas in polygons A and B of the historic center.
The first intervention, he elaborated, was carried out in the neighborhood of Zoquiapan, providing maintenance to Santa María la Redonda Sur, Avenida Hidalgo, Eje Central and urban fountains; second in Santa María la Redonda Norte, AJ Central, Francisco Sarco and Balteras; Third in the neighborhood of San Hipólito, Republic of Chile, Tacuba, 5 de Mayo, San Ildefonso and different squares: José Martí, Solidaridad, Empedradillo, as well as Paseo de la Reforma; The fourth axis contemplated the Lagunilla and Reforma neighborhoods up to 1 North; And on the fifth stage the Plaza Garibaldi intervenes.
“In this vision of equality, in reclaiming the public space as a place where social structure exists, we are intervening at each of these stages and removing those boundaries. (…) an increase in the amount of lighting with 2,059 LED luminaires and realized front and rear; Alameda was off when we got it. (…) We prioritize pedestrian and sustainable mobility interconnecting modes. Now we have five more kilometers of bike lanes in different locations, including one already inside the Zócalo,” he explained.
Javier Delgado Campos, director of the University Program of Urban Studies (PUEC) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), commented that updating this document is an essential urban planning exercise to maintain the vitality of the historic center. Intervals.
“It allowed us to work more closely with the neighbors, with the people who work at the historic center, with the people who come to visit, the people who come to buy. We did that through nine participatory planning workshops, three exploratory workshops. It’s not just about asking for feedback, it’s about letting our officials translate the recommendations we’ve made to a greater level of interpretation. It’s about bringing it in,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anabeli Contreras Julián, promotion and dissemination coordinator of the Historic Center Foundation of Mexico City, said that this part of the capital meets the three UNESCO requirements to be considered World Heritage: its reticular structure, pre-Hispanic and exceptional. Architecture. For this reason, the Zócalo and the Center are places that allow you to travel back in time, visit different periods of history and appreciate their cultural wealth.
The presentation was attended by Secretary of Government Ricardo Ruiz Suarez; Secretary of Administration and Finance, Luz Elena Gonzalez Escobar; and Carlos Tejada Wright, Coordinator of the Cultural and Scientific Departments of the UNESCO Office in Mexico.
