By Carola Rico
Having a sustainable city requires repeated effort and constant work by all residents. Living in an environmentally friendly way is the result of actions that continually advance economic development. Creating a sustainable city implies modifying practices and adopting new lifestyle habits.
San Miguel de Allende is an example of a city that has managed to carry out actions with the help of government and civil society organizations.
The Plan de Ordenamiento Ecológico Territorial (Ecological Zoning Plan) was created in 2009 and was the brainchild of the former director of ecology and environment Helio Bastién Partida, in coordination with civil society organizations and city administrators.
Bastién Partida, a former independent councilman in the administration of Luis Alberto Villareal, led the Environment Department from 2009 to 2021. He spoke exclusively to Atencion about the factors that typify a sustainable city, and the projects he promoted when he served as the city’s Director of Ecology and Environment.
Bastién Partida recalled the Fondo Verde (Green Fund) initiative; a successful project created by PAN (National Action Party) member Gerardo Arteaga and Don Paterson, both also city department directors. When Bastién Partida took over the Environment Department, he looked into this fund. As a result, resources were assigned to parks, green areas and projects focused on renewable resources.
Funding was also given for delivery of solar heaters, rain harvesting, and the garbage separation program. In addition, the sanitary landfill was upgraded and an emergency solar cell was built. As Bastién Partida noted, these programs and projects were not his work alone, but were part of a coordinated effort supported by the city administration.
Under his direction, the Ecological Zoning Program was proposed and included the participation of city department directors and civil society. The plan was a great success and led to another program: the Programa de Ordenamiento Urbano y Territorial (Program for Urban and Land-Use Planning). From those two programs, the Programa de Desarrollo Urbano y Ordenamiento Ecológico (Urban Development and Ecological Planning Program) was created.
At that time, Bastién Partida remembers, a plan for a brickyard park and a clinic for the protection of domestic animals and wildlife was promoted. Many injured eagles and cacomixtles (a mammal native to Mexico, sometimes called a ringtail) were turning up in San Miguel. Although land was obtained to build the clinic, in the end the project was abandoned.
Once the Ecological Zoning Program was approved, funding was granted for appropriate land use and environmental zoning management was solidified. The program defined which areas were for subdivisions, which for agricultural uses, which for ranching and livestock, and which for parks.
Bastién Partida describes a sustainable city as one with a good education system, security, air quality, accessible health centers, water management, good public transportation, mobility… in other words, everything that is indispensable for the city’s residents.
The Ecological Zoning Program is mandatory for all cities in Mexico. With backing from Don Paterson and Gerardo Arteaga, this plan became a blueprint for the state of Guanajuato. And thanks to Bastién Partida’s efforts, San Miguel was the first city in Guanajuato to comply with the program, and the second city to register with SEMARNAT (Mexico’s national Secretariat of Natural Resources).
The program’s achievements are indebted to the many civil society organizations, former city administrators and environmentalists who joined together to ensure that objectives were met. Although there are always divergent interests, San Miguel de Allende has understood how to achieve and preserve sustainability.
For the plan to become successful and to serve as an important foundation for sustainable development in San Miguel, Bastién Partida mentions that a landmark study was carried out to define how to renew the available resources.
There is currently a serious problem in San Miguel de Allende: water shortage. To address the problem, environmental groups, civil society organizations and water specialists have suggested a number of measures. These include a wastewater treatment plant, creating awareness about the importance of rainfall and water storage, construction of pits or dams to filter water, and the preservation of the city’s groundwater.
Some of the city’s governments have focused on reforestation. The last administration planted more than 500,000 trees throughout San Miguel, under the supervision of Francisco Peyret (Director of Environment and Sustainability).
Bastién Partida emphasized that it is sometimes difficult to comply with regulations when private interests are involved. An example, he mentioned San Miguel de Allende being promoted as a tourism destination for weddings and nightlife. The noise pollution late at night from these events affects those of us who live here. Yet the work it brings also represents a great economic benefit for hundreds of San Miguel families.
An effort by the government is fundamental for a sustainable city to succeed, according to Bastién Partida. Each city department plays an important role and is part of the chain. Ideally, a sustainable city would be compact enough to promote greater social interaction. In San Miguel there are still neighborhood areas where this takes place. Sadly, in other areas social life has diminished because the neighborhood bakeries, the corner store, the glass shop, all have disappeared.
Bastién Partida pointed out that the permits given by the city councils to commercial chains have an impact on society. The example he gave is the OXXO stores: once they are established in a neighborhood, small family stores are forced to close their businesses because they cannot compete.
Finally, Bastién Partida emphasized the importance of providing lower income areas with parks, libraries, public health clinics, additional fire stations or something that can benefit the area and integrate the community. This, he said, requires political will, citizen participation and recognition of the work by different city governments that contribute to sustainability.
