Retail-led Urban Regeneration in the Central Area of CDMX

RETAIL-LED URBAN REGENERATION IN THE CENTRAL AREA OF CDMX

Alvin Chi MSc. Urban Strategies & Design University of Edinburgh May 2020

Page 3 AIMS AND METHODOLOGY Page 4

Basic Information

Page 5 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Page 5

Goals of Urban Regeneration

Page 7

Take an Integrated Approach

Page 7

Key Elements

Page 9

Strategies

Page 11 Case Study: Seoul, South Korea Page 13 Case Study: Solihull vs. Birmingham, UK Page 15 CONTEXT Page 15 Density Map Page 17 Stakeholders and their Concerns Page 19 Lessons from Failed Policies Page 22 Urban Regeneration and Inclusive Housing Program Page 26 STRATEGY & APPLICATION Page 35 Project Specific Measures: Overview Page 37 Retail-led Regeneration Practice in the Central Area Page 40 CONCLUSION Page 41 REFERENCE LIST

During the research conducted by the Housing & Habitat Team, students found the housing conditions are not satisfactory for most residents and the city are facing several key challenges, such as natural disasters, lack of infrastructures (Gutierrez 2019), low densities in the central area versus expanding urban areas, fragmentation (Bayón and Saravi 2013) and so on. It’s getting harder for a big portion of citizens to obtain their own houses in CDMX and a lot of residents are suffering from low-quality housing conditions (Martin 2017). Most people can’t afford houses in central areas, but they do not choose the public housing provided by the local governments, which were recently built in the periphery of CDMX due to the mobility, insecurity and other reasons.

In the past few decades, several efforts and projects made by governments failed to better the situation or provide more access to high-quality housing for citizens (Reyes 2018). Many citizens ended up either building up informal settlements or infringing others’ legit housing ownership.

The team members realized the main causes are poverty and inequality, and the structural failure in politics and economics

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

Page 2 INTRODUCTION

In February 2020, students from MSc. Urban Strategies & Design went on a field trip to Mexico City, which was well-known as CDMX, the capital of Mexico, with the purpose of examining various urban problems and dilemmas during the rapid urban growth in this huge city where more than 15% of Mexican population live.

MSc Urban Strategies & Design students, Feb 2020.

leave the problem unsolvable in this complicated situation. Though it is hard to eradicate deeply rooted causes in the society and change the whole situation in a short time, as responsible students of Urban Strategies & Design, we have the ambition to look for possible solutions and strategies to ameliorate the housing conditions in CDMX. Therefore, among many urgent challenges, low densities in some urban areas became one problem that we could work on. Failed attempts of the local governments to regenerate the central area, however, made us realize how hard it could be. Increasing population density is an aim that needs to carried out with much consideration and systematic strategies.

In this report, the strategies are gradually developed from the theoretical framework of urban regeneration and thorough analysis of the socioeconomic context in CDMX, then accompanied and interpreted by detailed policies, and finally applied to the central area with specific plans and projects. |2

AIMS & METHODOLOGY

this stage is to understand how urban regeneration can be effectively accomplished in CDMX and what goals it can possibly achieve.

Stage 3: Strategies and application In the last stage, I will develop integrated strategies incorporating a series of actions which improve the current ongoing regeneration projects in CDMX. During the application of these strategies and actions to the selected site, methods will be slightly adjusted according to the actual conditions, aiming at truly improving the environment and living quality in the surrounding area.

Basic Information

The ultimate target of the report is to develop suitable integrated strategies to carry out the urban regeneration in the central area of CDMX by which government could improve the better the overall living condition as well as local economy, and correspondingly, attract more citizens to reside. This target will be achieved by setting out three stages and periodical aims for each stage.

Stage 1: Theoretical framework In the first stage, I will collect information about urban regeneration by reading papers, doing research on the realistic cases and listening to relevant lectures to develop a clearer understanding of the definition of urban regeneration, activities happening as a part of it, and the expected outcomes of these activities. By identifying the relevant contextual processes, mechanisms and factors that contribute to achieving these outcomes, I will be able to pick up all important factors and content that need to be prioritized to build up my own theoretical framework.

Mexico city (CDMX) consists of 16 administrative boroughs. The city has gained more than 20 million inhabitant during last 70 years and correspondingly vast land was developed and urbanized. The urbanized area, however, expanded rapidly around 20 times and the huge contrast of growth rates between population and urban area is well illustrated in the figure 1. The unrestricted expansion of urban area has created a series of urban problems. Citizens are suffer from mobility issues, water shortage, worse environmental condition and other problems (detailed in the report submitted by Housing & Habitat Team).

A number of citizens work in the central area but they have to live in peripheral areas due to limited and expansive housing resource in the central area. (The central area refer to Cuauhtemoc and its neighboring boroughs including Venustiano Carranza, Iztacalco, Benito Juarez, Coyoacan, Miguel Hidalgo and part of other adjacent areas. ) To curb the expansion and improve economic, environmental and social conditions, this report will look for feasible strategies and plans to regenerate the central area of Mexico City.

Stage 2: Socioeconomic background In this stage, I will learn more socioeconomic background about CDMX by analyzing all collected information including the first-hand information from the field trip (photos of urban fabric, notes and videos of lectures and interviews...), and second-hand information from other sources (papers, news, public opinion survey...). The aim of

Figure 1. Historical trends in population, urbanized area and surface water area.

Source: Qiwei Song

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Urban Regeneration is “ a comprehensive and integrated vision and action which leads to the resolution of urban problems and which seeks to bring about lasting improvement in economic, physical, social and environmental condition of an area that has been subject to change.”

Goals of Urban Regeneration As the idea of regeneration was evolved from redevelopment in 1990s, it started to include more factors into the consideration rather than simply physical investment, which focused on public realm investment, construction of infrastructure, and acquisition and developments of sites (Douglas, 2011).

Well-conducted physical investments can build up a strong foundation for the further investments in commercial and residential areas. As the demographic

- Roberts 2000

and urban growth in 21st century, more urban challenges took place and planners started to notice the relationship between the physical factors and non-physical factors. They realized it was necessary to include social factors into the regeneration projects to alter the urban fabric and achieve the sustainable development (Dempsey et al, 2011).

Both physical factors and social factors can be key goals of urban regeneration and the emphasis among these goals will be adjusted according to different environment.

On the other hand, goals of urban regeneration can also vary due to different stakeholders. As Colantonio and Dixon (2011) stated, urban regeneration have different meaning to different people and it can be large-scale activities promoting the local economy but it can also be neighborhood intervention to improve the life quality of local residents’. Urban regeneration can be various and will involve multiple stakeholders. Each group of stakeholders will have different priorities on its goals. Planners should be aware of requirements from these clients and set up inclusive goals of the regeneration projects.

Residents care about their living conditions and income source. They would see those tangible physical factors, such as decent housing, accessibility, and local amenities, and they can feel non-physical factors, such as safety, social justice, sense of community as well. At some levels, those non-physical factors may have deeper influence on residents’ daily life.

Besides the need from local residents, the requirements from other stakeholders, such as investors and developers, also need to be valued in the regeneration plan. For those who finance the regeneration, they look for adequate economic benefits with appealing prospects and low investment risks supported by political aids and good infrastructure. High level of housing demand generated from huge increase in local population, job openings, and average incomes (Huston and Darchen, 2014) is an

essential element to bring on adequate economic boom in the regenerated area.

This means that regeneration projects should be institutionally robust and inherently attractive with a number of economic opportunities and competitive markets. The wise planners should identify the unique characteristics or highlights of the local economy, and set out a series of plans around the stimulus.

Governments look for well-structured plans with growth prospects. The criteria of life quality advocated by Pacione(1982) may demonstrate their main concerns: • transport and mobility • community benefits • economy and work • buildings and land use • resource use For government officers, they also value the economy and work as investors do.

Meanwhile, they would consider the human wellbeing and resource use at a broader level. This means the regeneration projects should be strategic and comprehensive. The projects should blend minds from various stakeholders, experts and public voice to express the common expectation on urban regeneration.

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Take an Integrated Approach Urban regeneration deals with many multidimensional and interrelated challenges and participators have their own thoughts and aspiration. It becomes necessary to generate an integrated and holistic approach to meet various needs and requirements.

An integrated approach means a more strategic and schematic focused plan from the local government (Douglas, 2011) and the better cooperation among stakeholders to create expected outcomes.

A more strategic and thematic focused plan requires a thorough understanding of the socioeconomic context. Planners should determine the main theme among all possible opportunities and focus the effort on the main theme. Beyond promoting physical factors and investments, planners should be aware of social factors which make the site more distinctive and attractive for its unique roles in cultural, leisure, employment and service functions.

The integrated approach can involve more than buildings and public realm. It will encourage the development of business performance, preservation of cultural heritages, sense of pride and belonging to the community and social capital (Dubos, 2017). The integrated approach can be, however, very complicated if each opinion from stakeholders are equally valued. The better cooperation among stakeholders will effectively erase much dispute (Roberts et al, 2016) and help lead to a common sense about which theme should be picked as the key stimulus to the local site.

Key Elements Clear visions and strategies Urban planners could not finish the planning without realistic information from sites and other stakeholders. Similarly, stakeholders could not accomplish the project without following the instruction from proposals and action plans. A comprehensive vision with clear strategies and plans is the key to the success of urban regeneration. Especially in most cases in CDMX, the influence of political context needs to be treated seriously. To avoid possible argument and misunderstanding, the clarity and legibility of visions and plans are essential. On the other hand, planners should state a number of priority actions in the short term in order to concentrate investments and achieve small goals in the early stage.

Effective partnership The partnership is highlighted in literature papers (Bailey et al, 1995; Roberts et al, 2016) though the partnership approach remained limited description in terms of how works(Findlay and Sparks, 2009). It is commonplace in urban regeneration but it works well when stakeholders from public, private and third sectors can share their expertise, and actively involve residents and businesses. The agreement achieved by most stakeholders before the construction will minimize the likelihood of discontent.

On the positive side, it will result in more active involvement of local businesses.

Sometimes, partnership may be useless

Figure 2.1. Source: Project for Public Space

and time costly if stakeholders fail to make it clear about each one’s roles and responsibilities. The local government and the design institute could include the description of each one’s responsibilities and works in action plans, which will make it easier to start the cooperation when some stakeholders are sharing the same task.

Placemaking Placemaking is a powerful tool which involves thoughtful consideration of the physical, social and environmental aspects and context of a site in order to achieve an integrated and sustainable development vision (Edward, 2020). The good placemaking means creative and innovative

design, which can also be sustainable and adaptable. For developing the central area, good placemaking can create more attraction to businesses and residents, because it has a balance among its social functions, daily uses, access and aesthetics (Figure 2.1).

Planners should keep it in the mind and carefully illustrate the plan using the tool to create a harmonious experience of living in or visiting this area for residents and visitors. It will have much positive impact on citizens’ wellbeing and the strong sense of place created by placemaking will strengthen the sense of belongings for local residents.

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Strategies Strategies of urban regeneration have been constantly evolving, absorbing new approaches and ideas concluded from practice in rapidly changing urban situations. They general strategies can be categorized as following points (Singhal et al, 2009): • Property-led • Event-based • Entertainment-led • Retail-led • Local economic development • Culture and the creative industries (Montgomery, 2008) Each strategy has its emphasis and common approaches, and planners can pick the suitable one according to distinctive urban fabric. In the consideration of the typical characteristics and strong points of the central area, retail-led strategy stands out as a guiding theme due to the profound impact of retail.

What is Retail-led?

Retail-led regeneration, where retail sector is the leading role in the regeneration (Findlay and Sparks, 2009), could be expressed by various forms,including shopping streets, centers, malls, stores, markets and modern complexes, etc. Retail-led regeneration prioritize the retail sector in the plan with multiple other factors also being considered.

For instance, Centro Santa Fe in CDMX contains business offices, hotels, a cinemax , a theme park, a fitness center besides malls and shops. The investment on the retail sector can be seen as a start point to improve places. Business offices, residential houses, entertainment amenities and infrastructure could be added into the site to fulfill diversified needs. It has been a competitive strategy for last few decades because it matched most urban based situations and it resulted in more positive influence than the negative ones.

Why Retail-led in CDMX? Generally, retail sector provides necessary service to residents and visitors. Moreover it creates plenty employment positions and these positions can be an job option for nearby residents. The central area in CDMX have had more solid economic foundation compared to the peripheral areas. Many citizens live in the peripheral areas but spend their daytime in the central area, which means more customers and employees than in any other places for the retail sector. Most purchasing behavior take place in the central area. Another reason is that most visitors will visit the central area during the daytime as well. They are a huge source of customers. Sellers in malls, shops, markets and even street vendors prefer to earn income in the central area.

Possible impact The results of retail-led regeneration can be two-sided as the urban system is complex and interacted. Planners should be aware of possible impact before making the decision.

Impact on retail structure • The existing retail structure will be altered. Owners of small shops are vulnerable to negative influence of the alteration, but the negative influence on the existing structure can be minimal if the new development attract more population flow.

• The change through new retail formats may be able to revitalize the area.

Impact on employment • The impact could be positive if the new retail formats create more employment needs. Retail-related jobs, like shop assistants, will be favored by nearby residents with little professional skills.

Impact on community • Increased accessibility to foods, clothes and other commodities.

Impact on a wider range • A good start point to exert the influence on neighborhoods and boroughs with rapid cash flow return on investment.

• Promote other industries in the service sector for it increase more population flow.

Figure 2.2 Twin Reforma Towers in CDMX. Source: Design Boom

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of Global Seoul” (Seoul Metropolitan Government, 2009). Planners designed four northsouth axes and assigned specific themes to corridors (illustrated as figure 5), including history, digital media, green areas, and creativity. Each axis has special landmarks, such as squares, constructions and parks, to demonstrate their uniqueness. For example, the Cheonggye Creek project created a network of green walkways connecting to touristic attraction in the axis of historic corridor. It enhanced the spatial quality and became world renowned. Different identities conferred by projects increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of the whole region and leave space for the further development.

Figure 2.3 Seoul Urban Landscape. Source: Executive Center

Case Study: Seoul, South Korea

plans which successfully reshaped the urban fabric and functions in historical districts. Though this top-down planning Seoul, a large metropolitan with approach which radically completed the approximately 24 million people living in its regeneration was criticized for lacking metropolitan region, has gained the fasted demographic growth during last 40 years by public participation and social implications (Monclus, 2000), the more than 9 million “Urban Renaissance inhabitants (Kim and Han, Master Plan”, a visionary 2012). Surprisingly, the urban generation plan overall density didn’t for the entire Seoul, increase in response to gained huge economic the population growth due benefits, improved the to the decentralization city image, and policies (Schuetze and revitalized areas. The Chelleri, 2016). Several plan affected a 7.2 Figure 2.4 Seoul Urban Transition. Source: Google Earth business and industrial 2 km area, where around 30 thousand districts were set up outside the central people live in more than 2240 buildings, districts of Seoul. Different metropolitan and the daily traffic flow is more than sub-centers boosted the economic boom 1 million vehicles in this area (Schuetze and intensified the intra-city competition and Chelleri, 2016). The vision of at the same time. The business activities in sub-centers surpassed the ones in historical “Urban Renaissance”plan was to build a “competitive international center ... and the districts. Therefore, city governors set vitality of a dynamic culture at the heart out a series of urban mega-projects and

Reflection

Figure 2.5 “Urban Renaissance Master Plan” highlighting the four strategic corridors.

Source: Seoul Development Institute

By looking at the “ Urban Renaissance” plan, it’s very astonishing that the local government showed their determined mind and powerful means to carry out this large-scale project. The way they communicated with local residents and businesses owners are worthwhile learning for the city government of CDMX. As for planning, the projects demonstrated how a distinctive regeneration project could successfully overcome urban challenges and positively influence the whole region. The clear theme for each axis magnified the effect of cluster-based economy. The interaction and cooperation within the axis increase the overall competitiveness. In addition, the economic expectation was fairly met with enhancing the cultural and environmental conditions, which is very inspiring to the regeneration in CDMX. | 12

Figure 2.6 Solihull Town Center Masterplan. Source: UKCentral

Case Study: Solihull vs. Birmingham, UK Solihull was a relatively small satellite city on the periphery of Birmingham. It became the prime retail destination in Midlands (Lowe, 2005) after a regional shopping center was built up at the town center as a flagship regeneration project in 2001. The shopping center, together with high street retail and another mall, formed an integrated corridor which attracted shoppers from nearby cities and areas. The regeneration project filled the market gap in surrounding areas. It created a pillar industry (figure 2.7) in Solihull and the economic spillovers benefited other local industries, forming a diversified economic structure which resulted more inhabitants and job vacancies (Geyer, 2011). In addition, the traditional high street retail mode merged with modern shopping culture, and created a sense of place.

Figure 2.8 Birmingham Retail Strategy. Source: Birmingham City Council

The retail-led regeneration such as Mailbox development and Bullring was launched in the late 1990s to face the increasing regional competition (Claxton and Siora, 2008).

The Bullring regeneration scheme adopted similar strategy as Solihull’s and formed a pedestrian corridor within the shopping area (figure 2.8). In this way, different retail offerings were integrated and started to spurred the local economy. Nowadays, the shopping corridor in the city center attract over 2 billion pounds expenditure annually.

Reflection The retail-led regeneration has mixed results. It could lead to the local prosperity but it could intensify the local competition as what Birmingham and Solihull experienced. The best way to avoid the negative competition among retail-led regeneration projects is to pursue the differentiation, as Birmingham focuses on high-end luxury while Solihull offers more daily used commodities. Moreover, Integrating business, residential, entertainment and other functions into the project can help the differentiation and increase its targeted customers. The integration of retail sector with other functions would form an appealing place where people can do everything they want.

Figure 2.7 Percentage standard retail value above best values in Solihull, 1996-2006. Source: Geyer, H.

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CONTEXT

Population density in Districts Data Source: INEGI

79.5 units, 182 persons/ha 185 units, 440 persons/ha

39.1 units, 108.4 persons/ha

Uninhabited Housing in Districts Uninhabited

Figure 3.1 Population density of CDMX. Source: INEGI, Science 2010

Density in the Central Area CDMX is a metropolitan. Its population density is approximately 6,000 people per km2 which is relatively low in the comparison to 10,194 in NYC, 21,500 in Paris, and 5,600 in London (Chi et al, 2020). As a capital, CDMX has merely a middle-level density. When examining the population density map (figure 3.1), we could notice many orange patches within the central area, which stands for several districts with no more than 8000 people per km2. The field trip reveals the existence of plenty low-storey buildings in the central area. The density model also demonstrates the uneven distribution. This density pattern implies the low efficiency of land use.

Inhabited

Figure 3.2 Density Model of CDMX. Source: Michelle Sinclair Colman

Three sites are chosen from the same borough but they show different densities. The population density in Tlatelolco is the highest because of social housing there is mainly high-rise buildings. The population density correlates with building height and coverage rates. The density and occupancy rate of private housing in La Condesa shows an average level in the central area. The informal housing in the center is used for commercial activities and storage.

Fewer people actually are living in these Vecindades. | 16

Stakeholders and Their Concerns In the regeneration projects happening in the central area of CDMX, many groups of stakeholders will be involved.

All three levels of government have their roles in the projects. The federal government will act as a main regulator. All guiding policies and forceful laws published by the federal government will be the best reference for the project plans. The CDMX government and its housing department will be the main enforcer. Planners from the city government will design several projects for certain sites in different boroughs to meet the general goals of urban regeneration in CDMX. Officers from housing department and municipal governments will take charge in the development management and ensure that projects will run in the expected ways. All government officers concern about if projects could create space for more residents and commercial activities and eventually boost the local economy. The strong point of the central area is that the central area have had great economic foundation. Because there are high population flow during the daytime, the most commercial activities happen in the central area. The local governments also hope to solve the urban challenges, such as mobility, low densities, poor living conditions, through

the regeneration in the central area. Thus, another responsibility for governments is to providing more high-quality local services and environmental amenities, including schools, parks, hospitals, police stations, mail stations, government offices, etc.

These amenities and local services are key to improving the sense of community and life quality.

The challenges for local governments are to mediate differences among stakeholders participating in these regeneration projects and coordinate the work for each stakeholders.

Developers from private sectors, such as real estate agencies, contractors and design institutes, will take part in the construction stage. For the aspects of real estate, the house prices in the central area have been a huge attraction for developers.

They hope to make adequate profit from building up new houses and offices . The problem is that some residents in old houses (vicindades)are not willing to move away due to the house ownership and safety concerns. These developers need to figure out a better solution which will be acceptable for both sides.

Public sectors, mainly including banks and funding offices from governments will provide financial aids for people who have intention to move in but haven’t enough money. The public funding can positively ensure the affordability of new-built houses and balance out the influence from raised housing prices resulted by the private sectors.

Meanwhile, NGOs can provide aids to help current residents move out and build up temporary houses for those ones in need.

The businessmen play an important role in providing necessary services for residents.

Small shops, big malls, and similar markets form a big part of the local economy and also provide daily service for citizens. The attitude of businessmen, however, are divided. The small-scale retailers who are using the current spots are not willing to move out because it will cut out their income. Some of them don’t have the legit ownership and they won’t even get the compensation. For those big retailers who are aiming at moving in are happy to get new spots in regeneration projects.

Planners need to give specific instructions in different projects to deal with the concerns from businessmen.

Residents are key targeted groups.

Successfully repopulating the central area requires the support and agreement from local residents.

In the early research stage, teammates in Housing & Habitat have realized that most residents objected regeneration projects because they were afraid of losing their house ownership, access to the nearby infrastructure and their income. Thus, the local government and developers need to pay extra effort to communicate with existing residents and understand what they are worried about. Good local environmental amenity and accessibility will be crucial for local residents. Beyond physical factors, urban planners need to prioritize the social justice, sense of community and belonging cohesion, safety and employment, which all profoundly improve the degree of satisfaction in the community. | 18

Lessons from Failed Policies Initially introduced in December 2000, the Bando Dos policy was aimed to repopulate the central area of CDMX by providing more affordable housing. The policy concentrated growth in four central boroughs, including Benito Juarez, Cuauhtemoc, Miguel Hidalgo and Venustiano Carranza, while other boroughs were excluded. The local government offered incentives, such as construction licenses and expedited approval procedure, to developers regarding to construction projects taking place in the central area, but the approval procedure of projects outside these four boroughs were halted (Tamayo, 2007).

The original purpose of the Bando Dos was that it could stimulate the construction of low-income housing and the poor would have chances to live in the center, but it never served that purpose. On the contrary, it was utilized by private developers to implement wild and unplanned projects, ignoring the restrictions that the policy imposed. From the day of issue until it was banned , of the total of new homes built in the city, only 5% were of social interest and the other were of medium or high interest (Heraldo 2017) because the local government ignored the strict application of construction regulations. Citizens realized that those buildings were built on false premises, without vigilance in compliance

with policies, and they were sold for expensive market prices. As result, the Bando Dos led to a real estate boom, and it “ended up intensifying some of the problems it set out to solve” (Ortega 2006).

There were several noticeably negative outcomes. In 2000, the average housing price in the central area was around 700,000 pesos and by 2008 it had risen to more than two million (Benlliure, 2008). After the policy was banned, house price returned to the normal growth rate in a short time and remained the same pace as inflation in next 5 years(figure 3.4). From 2000 - 2010, around 5 - 7% of residents in four central boroughs had to move to the periphery. Most of these poor residents couldn’t afford the cost of rebuilding housing which were damaged during the earth quake and they couldn’t afford another house in the central area due to the rapidly increased housing price. Public expressed the strong opposition and the policy gained much critique.

Reflection The failure of Bando Dos was partly resulted from the absence of an integrated approach to planning and development. The policy was published without clear strategies or action plans. Politician pushed the publish of policy without consulting with urban experts (Heraldo 2017) or involving the public participation. The unexpected outcomes were originated from mayor’s strong willing to honor his promises to his voters. It demonstrated the importance of partnership in urban planning and regeneration. The better planning should have both top-down and down-top approaches involved.

The other lesson related to urban planning is that only with well-conducted development management, a project can be carried out. The lack of restriction or supervision in the phase of development, like the city government ignoring those inappropriate means adopted by private developers, is highly likely to cause unexpected outcomes or an utter failure.

The supervision department should have taken responsibility and look for any misconduct during the development of a project. It’s the duty to report any mistakes and ask developer to correct them before it’s too late.

Figure 3.4 Source: SociedadHipotecaria Federal (SHF), Global Property Guide.

| 20 Figure 3.3 2000 - 2010 Population Flow in CDMX. Source: INEGI

Urban Regeneration and Inclusive Housing Program In order to provide more afford housing options, the city government unveiled the program for Urban Regeneration and Inclusive Housing at the end of 2019, which is aimed at the redensification of the city in the long term, through the construction of 12 urban corridors.

The 12 urban corridors will be located near the office or business districts to provide easy access for workers to their workplace and the corridors are generally in areas with infrastructure and services, as the government ensure the existence of urban equipment, hydraulic feasibility, and massive public transport services (CDMX Government).

In the 12 corridors, around 800 empty lots are currently underused (on average 50% of their potential) with deteriorated urban social fabric (Benlliure 2019), and thus they became perfect possible sites for urban regeneration.

Figure 3.5 12 Corridors in CDMX Source: CDMX Government

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Advantages & Limitations Clear vision and criteria The government published very clear vision about aims, strategies and approaches of this project. The proposal showed the government’s ambition and consideration.

The idea of urban corridor has been demonstrated its potential to make a successful regeneration project. The requirements and criteria given by the governments will guarantee the high-level living condition which fulfills social and environment needs.

Restrictions on buyers To ensure that apartments are only purchased by people who really need them, the government applied various requirements to buyers. The buyer cannot have other properties; the house cannot be used for rent; the buyer must have a salary in a certain range. The government is seeking to put locks on houses bought with credits from public funding departments in order to prevent immediate reselling and discourage the increasing price of public housing.

Transparent process The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing will carry out the constant review and evaluation until the time of the delivery of the houses to guarantee certainty to the beneficiaries. To avoid client abuse and practices, the participant registration processes and the allocation of future inclusive homes can only be done through the program’s electronic portal.

Limited spots The number of new social housing units constructed by this project in next 5 years will be between 7,500 and 10,000 (CDMX Government). Ironically, the INEGI data estimated that each year 18,000 lower income capital families have been forced to move out of the capital. The need is far more than the supply. The spots left for the poor are very limited, which means the social benefit of this project may be unsatisfying.

Social gap 30 percent of the project will have to be dedicated to the social housing and the price of these houses will be only 1/4 to 1/2 of the average price of other houses’ in the certain area. This will create a social gap that could do more harm than good. The integration of the social fabric is essential for inclusive communities to be formed and coexistence is the key to success.

Reflection So far, there is only one proposal get approved, which located in the Reforma Norte corridor. Private developers obviously has more enthusiasm for sites in business districts than other places, and various requirements intimidate their participation in this property-led regeneration. I think transforming some sites to retail-led will create more incentives for developers and they will be more willing to provide low price on the inclusive housing. On the other hand, we can consider some criteria in this project, which can make retail-led development another success.

Figure 3.6 Perspectives of approved proposal Source: Real Estate Market

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STRATEGY & APPLICATION

The goal of the Retail-led Regeneration Strategy for CDMX is to define priorities and identify opportunities for conducting retail-led regeneration projects in the central area. To address the main issues and challenges outlined in Context Chapter, the Retail-led Regeneration Strategy incorporates three aspects, economy, environment and society, each of which has different goals, methods and actions. All the goals are originated from key points concluded from theoretical studies and missing factors or misconduct noticed in the socioeconomic context.

To further understand how these actions would affect the site and what outcomes they would produce, the Theories of Change Model (figure 3.7) will be applied to analyze and predict possible outcomes of activities. Accordingly, all activities will be concluded to deduce their short term, interim and longer term outcomes. If some of these outcomes would improve the condition in the similar aspect, they would have more profound influence on better the overall quality of the site.

Figure 3.7 Theories of Change Model Source: Anderson et al.

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aspects

ECONOMY Economic benefit is an important incentive for both governments and developers. Only welloperated and nicely-rewarded projects can be long lasting and encouraging more similar projects in the society. The public will also gain the benefit from a robust local economy.

identified challenges/goals

1.1 Increase the rates of return on investment

Maximize the utilization of space Seek for new functions to buildings ...

1.2 Boost the local economy

New functions to fill the gap within the region Set up unique theme ...

2.1 Ensure the safety

SOCIETY Many influential factors are included in this aspect, such as culture, safety, and mobility...

Residents will have more pleasure as well as sense of belonging and safety if governments and developers could work on improving their living condition.

2.2 Improve the mobility

2.3 Protect the cultural heritage

2.4 Provide convenient service

ENVIRONMENT 3.1 Increase the green area In the context of CDMX, the regional environmental challenges and potential treats should be predicted and seriously taken because they would directly associate with residents’ physical and mental health.

actions

3.2 Reduce the contamination

Use necessary staff/tools to supervise Arouse the safety awareness Prepare for emergencies ...

Crisscross road network Provide an alternative transport means Build up Integrated mobility system ...

Selectively reconstruct Preserve the heritage ...

Include important infrastructure/social capital Meet the most daily needs ...

Offer space for social contact Add other green space ...

Encourage the trash recycle Recycle water in buildings ...

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ECONOMY 1.1 Increase the rates of return on investment Seek for new functions to buildings Activities: Mixed-use design Responsible Parties: Design companies, SEDUVI Participants: SEDUVI, private developers

Many buildings and houses in CDMX are facing the problems of being void. As an officer from historical preservation office said, a number of people abandoned their houses because houses were damaged by earthquake,they bought new houses,or they migrated to other countries. The regeneration project need notice the fact that most people desire cheap and affordable houses in the central area but expansive ones are not always highly demanded. Seeking for new functions of buildings rather than making it full of residential houses is a good way to increase the economic return from the investment. This is also another important reason to adopt retail-led regeneration instead of property-led one. The mixeduse buildings, which already have had millions of successful cases, are a good choice. The down-up layout of “retailoffice- residence”, “retail- hotel- residence” and many other similar design could maximize the potential profit gained from the construction. In addition, given the location information by existing

regeneration project, space for retail must be welcomed. The shop owners are willing to pay for rent considering the project locations and daily population flow.

Maximize the utilization of space

Activities: Clear masterplan with adequate details Responsible Parties: Design companies, SEDUVI Participants: SEDUVI, SEDATU, private developers According to the survey done by Housing & Habitat Team, some space in the central area is not fully utilized due to unorganized planning and construction. It should be a lesson learned for the regeneration project.

Every area in the site should be clearly stated about its size, purpose and usage.

Spared space can be used for parking, amusement, sports or as open space and green space. The increased function will make this site more attractive. Wisely using up every inch of space will vastly increase the value of the whole project.

1.2 Boost the local economy New functions to fill the gap within the region Activities: Mixed-use design; Innovative design Responsible Parties: Design companies; SEDUVI Participants: SEDUVI, private developers

As what warned by the competition between Birmingham projects and Solihull projects, similar retail-led regeneration in a close distance will bring negative influence on each other. The key to boost the local economy is to find out what function/part is missing in the local economic system. Retail-led can be achieved in various forms and finding a gap which is ignored by other people in this region, will make plan a good start.

Set up unique theme

Activities: Innovative design Responsible Parties: SEDUVI Participants: CDMX Government, SEDEMA, SEDECO, CULTURA, private developers The “Urban Renaissance” demonstrates the power of being unique. For 12 urban corridors, each of them should has a special theme which can distinguish it from the surrounding urban environment. Plans with identical or similar ideas won’t work well on developing these sites. Each borough in CDMX has its own special characteristics and the retail-led regeneration can be modified to embody these special characteristics.

Acronyms: SEDUVI - Ministry of Urban Development and Housing SEDEMA - Ministry of Environment SEDECO - Economic Development Ministry CULTURA - Ministry of Culture SEMOVI - Mobility Ministry SEGIRPC - Ministry of Civil Protection and Comprehensive Risk Management Figure 3.8 Liverpool department store in downtown area Source: Google map

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SOCIETY 2.2 Improve the mobility 2.1 Ensure the safety

Use necessary staffs/tools to supervise Activities: Public security staffs; CCTVs Responsible Parties: private developers

The personal safety always needs to be seriously treated in CDMX. Developers should take the responsibility to keep house users’ safety. Using necessary tools, like CCTV system, or hiring adequate public security staffs will construct a safe environment which is a plus for future buyers.

Arouse the safety awareness

Activities: Educational propaganda Responsible Parties: CDMX Government, private developers For the city government, it’s never enough to emphasize the importance of building up the safety awareness in every citizen’s mind. It’s a metropolitan with millions of residents and thousands of visitors. Getting them informed about most dangerous behaviors, unsafe areas and new type of crime which people should pay attention to, will prevent many crime and accidents. In the development plan, developers can leave out a spot for an information desk/board to spread important information or notice to residents and shop owners.

Prepare for emergencies

Activities: Emergency plans/routes for the community Responsible Parties: SEDUVI, SEGIRPC, private developers,property management companies

Build up Integrated mobility system

Activities: Traffic transfer spot Responsible Parties: SEMOVI The Ministry of Mobility can combine up bus stops, parking lots, taxi spots near some subway entrances to generate small-scale traffic transfer spot where people can easily choose which traffic means they are going to use. The seamless switch from one traffic means to another vastly enhance the mobility experience. It also benefits the large-scale generation projects. The smooth traffic experience can bring more population flow and make residents’ life more convenient.

Provide an alternative transport means

Activities: bike spots Responsible Parties: private developers; Participants: SEMOVI, SEDUVI Riding bicycle is encouraged in CDMX. There is a considerable number of bike riders and there are more and more shared bikes. Setting up a bike spot for shared bike and bike parking near the site will make it more accessible for people living within 5 km2.

Crisscross road network

Activities: Road reconstruction; Road’s Obstacle Removal Responsible Parties: private developers; Participants: SEMOVI Driving cars is a top choice for some Mexican families though it encounters the traffic jam easily. When the regeneration project happens located in the place where the connection to the road network is deteriorated, private developers should report the issue in time for the obstacle removal or road reconstruction if necessary.

The emergency routes are an indispensable part of the plan. Both government departments and private developers should take care of the existence of emergency routes in projects. A clean emergency route is key for the arrival of fire fighting trucks or ambulances. On the other hand, the planners should set up detailed emergency plans in case of unexpected natural disasters.

Figure 3.9 Subway entrance. Source: Wikipedia

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2.3 Protect the cultural heritage Preserve the heritage

Activities: Focus point; Maintenance Responsible Parties: private developers; property management companies Participants: CULTURA The whole historic center is covered in the regeneration project. When dealing with a cultural heritage in the site, developers could choose to keep the heritage and create the focus point on it. It will be saved for the sightseeing with the daily maintenance provided by property management companies. In this way there will be more visitors.

ENVIRONMENT

Selectively reconstruct

Activities: Reconstruct the heritage Responsible Parties: private developers Participants: CULTURA If there exists a damaged cultural heritage, such as a statue and wall painting, developers could reconstruct the scene to provide a good viewing point. If it’s a part of the construction itself in the site, developers can rebuilt the construction and the mixed building styles could possibly create a landmark of the area.

2.4 Provide convenient service Include important infrastructure/ social capital

Activities: Construction of schools, hospitals and other infrastructure Responsible Parties: private developers; Participants: SEDUVI When developing a large scale regeneration projects, the inclusion of some infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, will add new functions to the community and increase residents’ happiness.

3.1 Increase the green area Offer space for social contact

Activities: Parks,squares, and other social places Responsible Parties: private developers Participants: SEDUVI, SEDEMA Developers need to build up parks, squares or other kind of social places in the site.

These places with green cover create perfect environment for social contact and they also meet residents’ need for relax and leisure.

Add other green space

Activities: Trees planted inside the site Responsible Parties: private developers Participants: SEDUVI, SEDEMA Beside parks, planting trees along roads inside the site is another way to add green space. Green plants are good for people’s physical and mental health and they decorate the whole site, adjusting the micro-climate and beautifying the environment.

3.2 Reduce the contamination Meet the most daily needs

Activities: Water and power supply network; Water tanks Responsible Parties: private developers; Participants: SEDUVI It may be a little difficult to install the water ducts in old town areas, but it meets the most daily needs for residents. Water tanks are also necessary due to the limited water supply. They would save tons of water annually. Another basic need is the safe power supply. Replacing the old wires with new ones can help avoid the electric shock.

Encourage the trash recycle

Activities: Recycle bins in the site Responsible Parties: private developers; Participants: CDMX Government EPA estimates that 75% of the waste is recyclable, but there does exists a systematic trash recycling in CDMX. Most trashes are burned or buried instead.

Private developers could place recycle bins in the site to encourage people to recycle.

In addition, CDMX Government should set up recycle bins in the public space as well.

Recycle water in buildings

Activities: Public water tank and recycle system Responsible Parties: private developers; The water is scarce in CDMX. A retailled regeneration project will consume a huge amount water everyday. Therefore, setting up public water tank to decrease the evaporation rate and installing water recycle system in buildings can save much water and guarantee the enough water supply for residents and other users in buildings.

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Project Specific Measures: Overview Objectives/Activities Maximize the utilization of space

Seek for new functions to buildings

Outputs Improved civic space for events meeting & interacting

Increased income for house owners

New functions to fill the gap within the Stronger competitiveness region

Set up unique theme

Use necessary staff/ tools to supervise

Arouse the safety awareness Prepare for emergencies

Crisscross road network

Urban corridors with different themes

Short Term Outcomes

Interim Term Outcomes

Locals & visitors use space, meet more & interaction increases

Increased footfall; satisfaction/pride with local area; Increased community cohesion; improved economic, physical & mental health for residents

Improved life quality

Good rental returns;increased inward investment

Increased income

Improved retail quality & retail income; higher density letting; increased inward investment & sustained job opportunities

Improved retail quality & Attract more visiretail income;improved tors and residents; business performance; increased footfall increased investment by & local spend local businesses

Increased quality & safety of public space; Improved/ safer access/ environment for pedestrians/cyclists

Increased perceived safety

Increased awareness

Increased perceived safety

Increased quality & safety of public space

Locals perceive the community has an improved image

Satisfaction with local area

More visitors

Increased footfall & local spend

Better connection to the road network

Low crime

Low crime/ASB enhanced safety/security

Longer Term Outcomes

Stronger Economy

Stronger Economy - Developers are more willing to develop retail-led regeneration projects, which would provide more afford inclusive houses

Objectives/Activities

Outputs

Short Term Outcomes

Interim Term Outcomes

Longer Term Outcomes

Better walking & cycling linkages

More journeys made on foot/ cycle

Easier access to key services via sustainable modes of transport

Improved health (increased take up of healthy lifestyles within the community)

Smooth experience of transferring

Improved traffic quality

Enhanced visitor experience

Stronger Economy

More visitors

Increased awareness & knowledge of culture heritage; increased footfall;improved business performance

Stronger Economy

More visitors

Increased awareness & knowledge of culture heritage; increased footfall;

Stronger Economy - Pride with local area

Include important infrastructure/social Provide high-quality service capital

Improved economic, physical & mental health for residents

Places where people want to live and work

Meet the most daily Adequate water needs and power supply

Satisfaction with local area

Improved physical health

Satisfaction with local

Increased community inclusion & cohesion

Provide an alternative transport means Build up Integrated mobility system

Selectively reconstruct the heritage Preserve the heritage

Renewed/protected heritage

Protected heritage

Stronger Economy

Stronger Economy - Robust local economy with diversified structure

Stronger Economy - Increased community cohesion

Offer space for social contact Add other green space

Improved physical health

Improved physical health

Encourage the trash recycle Recycle water in buildings

Improved civic spaces for events meeting & interacting

Locals use space, meet more & interaction increases

Improved environment

Enhanced visitor experience; local use space, meet more & interaction increases

Increased environmental sustainability & reduced Reduced Carbon Footprint pollution

Resource conservation

Increased environmental sustainability & reduced Reduced Carbon Footprint pollution

Resource conservation

Increased environmental Reduced Carbon Footprint sustainability

Stronger Economy

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Retail-led Regeneration Practice in the Central Area

Figure 3.10 Reforma Towers in Mexico. Designed by: Richard Meier

MIXED- USE BUILDING PROTOTYPE

CURRENT PERSPECTIVES

Residence Section

Office Section

Retail Section

Figure 3.11 Site views. Source: Google map

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Green Space

Traffic Flow

PLAN VIEW The location of the selected site is perfect. It’s close to the main street and bus stops and only 7-minute’s walk to the subway station. The bicycle spot is set up at the corner to enable the cycling which can be an alternative way to get here. The tourist spot Three Culture Square sits within a walkable distance. It’s predictable that retail stores and shops will have adequate daily population flow. Therefore, the rent from retail section and office section will “compensate” for the economic loss due to provision of inclusive houses in the building.

The nearby green space wasn’t satisfying, and the south corner was developed as a park. It can also be seen as the place for social contact.

The a part of land was originally used as the parking lot. The regeneration won’t involve too much demolishment or house removal. This is a small-scale practice of urban regeneration and some strategies were modified to conceive the plan. The application of strategies will vary according to the different scale and type of the project.

Housing Unit

The housing in Mexico City has been a heavy topic for most poor people and young students who make very little income and dream to have their own houses in this megacity. The poverty and uneven distribution of fortune are the two rooted factors which hardly can be eradicated.

The good news is that the government launched the Urban Regeneration and Inclusive Housing program which may be the silver lining for the poor who are living in the informal housing and afraid of the potential safety hazard. Therefore the aim of this report was to provide useful strategies to help the project succeed.

The housing price is the key factor used to evaluate if one type of regeneration project would be suitable.

Strategies, like the property-led regeneration, which may boost the housing market, were ruled out.

The retail-led regeneration was chosen mostly because the economic return from the retail section can support higher percentage of inclusive housing in a project.

In addition, recommended action plans were concluded from the worldwide successful cases and reasons for failed policies in Mexico City.

All of these strategies and suggestions may enhance the process of the regeneration project.

CONCLUSION

SITE INVENTORY

On the other hand, we must realized that the relentless inflow of population from other cities has been increasing the demand for houses. Bando Dos and similar policies fueled up the housing price.

Besides economic and social factors, the hasty policymaking is also a part of reasons. We could say that the cause of high housing price is multifaceted, and the way to make real change to it also requires wide collaboration.

The well-organized partnership between the public sector and private sector can really maximize influence of the regeneration project and provide more afford houses to people in need.

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