3. Task Definition

Area Around Old Train Station

Task Definition.

Elop*8 has chosen the Area of the Tepetate Neighborhood and La Otra Banda Neighborhood in Querétaro, México as site for the project because of the unique and complex conditions it offers for a trans-disciplinary project. The area has an opportunity to overcome its current deprived state and become a rejuvenated neighborhood.

Contrary to the Historic Center, citizens and government officials have paid little attention to the area, making it difficult to receive funding for urban renovation. These fringe conditions have made the Tepetate area a depressed place.

Today's problems are a consequence of the site's history: deprived economy, lack of public spaces, urban abandonment, irregular and informal settlements and a lack of affordable housing.

Areas of Study

Approach

The potential to renovate the area socially, economically and spatially is remarkable and ambitious. Historically in Mexico, large master plans do not work. Local governments do not have enough time or money to develop complex actions. It is suggested that all proposals should be feasible, realistic and holistic. In recent times, some community projects have been successful because of their “bottom-up” strategy. Rather than creating ambitious plans by the government that have not been approved by society, some communities have gathered to work together for collective benefit.

Risks

There have been plans to invest in its urban renewal. However, there is a risk of altering the social and economic structure and the neighborhood's identity that could lead to “gentrification”. This long due revitalization could improve its public safety, the local economy and its urban image, but could provoke the displacement of local inhabitants because of the possible increase in property prices.

Students should be aware that depending solely on the inclusion of Financial Investors in their proposals, could lead to negative effects. However, if students decide not to include any developers, it would be difficult to create profound changes in the community. It is suggested to consider different and alternative solutions for the positive transformation of the social and urban renewal of the neighborhood: creation of “co-ops”, external funding, “bottom-up” strategies, some Real State developer’s presence, governmental support, etc.

Key questions

This project aims to respond to a variety of questions and to elaborate a holistic proposal that empowers its inhabitants and transform the deprived area into a safe, vibrant, beautiful, resilient and equitable neighborhood. As part of the holistic strategy it is important to consider:

How to initiate change in the area?

How can the inhabitants be integrated in the transformation of the neighborhood?

How can the team's proposals empower the community equally? 

How can small actions trigger big changes in the community?

Therefore, students face interesting dilemmas for this ELOP challenge. 

What would happen if no investment or urban renovation occurs in this area? 

Is local investment possible without gentrification? 

Who could invest in the area: the community or Real Estate developers? 

Can the community work together to improve the existing conditions of its neighborhood?

Can developers consider social and environmental benefits and not just financial returns?

Old Train Station

Starting point.

The area of study is large in scale. About 12'000 inhabitants live there. This site is made up several “colonias”, barrios or neighborhoods. It is important to primarily focus on the Southern area, which includes the old Train Station, The Alcanfores Park and the Tepetate Market and its relationship to the UNESCO site and other surroundings. 

It is up to each team to explore the connections among each site or to fully develop a solution for a specific problem. Since this is a large and complex area, it is not expected that each team works on all areas or to fully develop proposals for all locations. Actually, it is recommended that the different teams understand and complement each other's proposals. The sum of all ideas could become a strategic repertoire of urban, social and environmental solutions.

Goals

The ultimate goal is to provoke a positive change in the community by creating proposals that are holistic, inclusive, feasible and realistic. These proposals do not need to be large in scale, but rather small actions that can trigger big changes over time. It is recommended that the proposals include the involvement and empowerment of local inhabitants to produce locally rooted actions and the mitigation of negative aspects of gentrification.

The vision

Since Mexico is vulnerable to drastic changes due to political and economical uncertainty, it is difficult to accomplish long-term proposals. Therefore, it is very important to reflect how small inexpensive actions could eventually improve and dignify the quality of life of the local inhabitants. Due to the lack of resources and law regulations, it is common to build in Mexico over time (in construction sequences or phases). For instance, a small public plaza could become a community garden and eventually a community center that includes the public space and green areas. Another example is the one-story houses, that evolve into larger homes (2 or 3 stories high) and eventually the bottom floor becomes a family-owned commercial facility.