By Carola Rico
Architect Sara Hernández is an activist and member of the San Miguel Architects Association. She gave an interview to Atención on issues that are pending to make San Miguel de Allende a sustainable city.
Hernández acknowledged that many civil organizations in the heritage city are genuinely interested in the environment. They are undertaking reforestation and protecting natural areas. Non-profit associations, such as Charco del Ingenio and Caminos de Agua, along with the Department of Ecology, have joined the effort to preserve and rescue San Miguel.
SMA’s growth has gotten out of control: permits granted to real estate companies have increased considerably in recent years, which has created serious problems for the environment. An example is the overgrowth of water lilies in the Allende Dam, caused by organic waste dumped there.
Architect Hernández stressed that fortunately, the SMA community is keen to help. An example is the forum organized by the Yo soy San Miguel association regarding the water lily problem. Specialists, doctors, researchers, and Director of Environment and Sustainability Alejandro Castro are involved. During the forum, actions to combat this problem were enumerated. Members of the College of Architects will attend the next forum; they too are eager to collaborate.
Another urgent issue for SMA is formalizing protecting the area of Los Picachos and the basin of the Allende Dam. An adequate management plan is needed to prevent organic waste from draining from poorly planned developments into the dam.
Water itself is another urgent issue. Hernández asserted that we, the residents of SMA, should be very interested in and concerned about this issue. Many communities have no water source, or insufficient water. If there is a well, that water is contaminated and causes people to get sick with kidney, teeth, and bone damage. She insists we have to raise awareness about this and act immediately.
Regarding traffic flow, Hernández says that the College of Architects has a proposal for the bypass. It maintains that instead of connecting the different points of the city, the bypass has divided it. Ivar Schake, a traffic expert at the Citizens’ Observatory, submitted to the municipality an analysis of the traffic lights that could be removed to cut municipality expenses. Hernández explained that members of the Citizens’ Observatory and the College of Architects have met with SMA’s traffic and security representative to discuss improving mobility in the city, but the proposals have not yet been implemented.
Hernández’ team has shared its analysis with Transit Department on vehicle traffic and road proposals that would avoid accidents. It has listed high-traffic-volume areas where traffic indicators are needed. The team has also offered ideas on how to better use the bypass. One proposal is to prohibit cargo trucks from entering the center of San Miguel because they are dangerous.
Regarding environmental issues, Hernández commented that SMA has definitely contributed to global warming. SMA has become a virtual heat island;:the city is full of asphalt and concrete. She applauds the action taken by the current government to replant the trees that had been removed a couple of years ago on Avenida Guadalupe and Avenida Independencia. However, she noted that they need to be watered. Hernández stressed that the arches erected on Avenida Guadalupe have no use and were very expensive to build.
Citizens’ Observatory studies compare the amount of green areas in European, Canadian, and American cities to the green areas in SMA. Hernández believes the percentage of natural spaces in the city needs to increase. She added that it is important to take back the donated areas of some subdivisions that were deeded to individuals so they can function as urban facilities. This could be by erecting a police booth, creating a green area, a field, or a community room for zumba or yoga classes. The permits that have been granted must be thoroughly reviewed to verify that they are legally complicit. Hernández pointed out the need for experts, which the previous administration had eliminated, to resume their work. Regulations are necessary to review new building projects in order to prevent, for example, shoddy housing construction, or to oversee that treatment plants work properly and comply with standards.
Hernández emphasized that something good about the current administration, headed by Mauricio Trejo, is the inclusion of specialists, such as those from the College of Architects, as they understand urgent issues. It is critical that the actions proposed by specialists be carried out and not left hanging.
