By Alejandro Angulo
I have received various comments from Chiapas, Mexico City and the Bajío area as well, regarding the debate about the environmental function of the city. Francisco Fernández from Mexico City, expressed the following: “The city is an ecosystem dominated by humans and the environmental functions in this ecosystem are to enable, enrich and beautify human life and species that do not conflict with this purpose. Of course, clean air, clean water, gardens and recreational spaces, concrete hives as living quarters, technological population distribution circuits, production and consumption spaces, logistics nodes for goods and services must exist in this ecosystem; as well as abundant availability of energy and systems dedicated to waste and water treatment: the city is an ecosystem dominated by humans where they prevail or survive, and adapt to their conditions.”
Alexis Rulfo Morales, a student in Master of Environmental Law, in Chiapas, stated: “In my opinion I consider that the part of human consciousness towards nature is something important. There is still a lot of work to be done with society, since it is the link for the care and optimization of natural resources, based on the services and activities that are carried out in a city. Without this factor, cities will never become sustainable…I consider very important the part of the regulation of the systems and services that are necessary for a city…having a permissible limit for each area, as required and, in some places, having restricted areas in order to help that part to prevail. I believe that in order to reach such processes it is necessary to modify some laws and reforms, making them less permissible and stricter in terms of environmental care and procedures. For this, it is necessary to work in an environmental triangle—society, legislation, and nature.
Another voice from Chiapas, Dany T. Arguello commented: “Since human rights are born from cities…within the utopia of the city itself, it needs to prioritize the optimization of natural resources and services. Standardized indicators to regulate companies are good, because politics can create such proposals and others; like the creation of a comprehensive environmental reform, with institutions set up to monitor the entire process. Above all, take into account where environmental state tax is applied. It would promote transparency, accountability and, very importantly, let the public know what they are paying for. If we do not know, it is difficult to create a culture of environmental payment in our country, especially since there is a lack of it.”
Eng. Emiliano Sánchez, Director of the Cadereyta Botanical Garden, stated: “One of the first courses I attended, when I began my professional practice, in 1986, at the ITESM Campus Querétaro, was called “The city as an ecosystem.” It was organized by the renowned architect Óscar Olea Figueroa, at the Palacio de Minería in Mexico City. The effects of the earthquake were still being felt in the skin and bones of the urban center… the question of the patterns and functional processes of the «urban ecosystem,» at least in Mexico, continues to be a matter little understood and less attended to. The Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER) has remarkable insights and approaches. Querétaro, the city, has one of its last opportunities to reverse the course that is making it head toward an urban catastrophe (monstrosity). A restorative vision is urgently needed for Queretaro City and its citizens. Thinking about the city of the future is not a minor thing. Most of the population will be concentrated there, demanding natural resources, energy and food. Well, let’s see what is happening today to the state of Arizona, in the United States, which has to reduce its use of the Colorado River by 21% as of 2023. Agriculture will be the most affected by these cuts in the supply of Water. Nearly three-quarters of Arizona’s water goes to agriculture, which has already been affected by the current Tier 1 shortage. As early as 2015, water use in Arizona had been declining, and was reduced by 3% with respect to 1957. However, its population increased by nearly 500% during that time period. The Colorado River and its tributaries support 40 million people and more than 400 bird species, but are declining due to climate change and overuse of the resource.
“A sustainable future is not possible if one does not start now and reflect on the necessary criteria to plan the cities that will be required in the future. For this, it will have to gradually advance with urban-environmental overlaps. The two main aspects to take into account are ecological and digital. The second will depend to a large extent on the first, because no matter how much digital technology is available, environmental problems will not be overcome by being ignored. It is not possible to imagine excessive urban growth that exceeds carrying capacity, as in the current case of Arizona, where the volume of water is already insufficient to supply all the uses of a huge population. Thinking that technology will allow desalinated water to be conveyed to the cities of Arizona is not feasible because the energy cost will be enormous. Plus there will be other negative environmental results such as salt residues. It is time for real estate companies to change their vision. Instead of thinking about the number of homes to sell, they must now think about people’s quality of life, building a community, sustainability, carrying capacity and costs. Now is the time to advance along a path that combines horizontal and vertical growth, and moderate densities based on the availability of natural resources in the area for a given finite time, and based on a local economy.”
Meanwhile, public discussion must grow, not simply to achieve majorities, but in order to enrich the approaches that open the door to the near future.
