Upgrading with a Redesign

 This is the final unit of my Urban Planning Class. In this unit we learned about flow the final piece of urban planning. Flow was all about making our cities run smoothly, efficiently, and sustainably with the power of effective designs. We learned about what makes architecture good or bad, the effects urban planning has on the development of a city, and even how urban planning has historically been used to segregate and separate but how we can also use it to unite and grow together as a city. On the more mathematical side we learned how to deal with scales in order to make scaled blueprints of areas and even redesign places with scaled drawings. As our unit came to a close it was time to start on our action project. For our final action project we were to pick an urban area to redesign preferably a neighborhood in the city we live in. I decided to go international and pick an urban area with a lot of meaning to my family and I. 

The Urban Area I chose to redesign is in my hometown Cuernavaca. It is located around a bridge very close to a community called Alta Palmira. The main use of this bridge is to connect Alta Palmira to the greater city of Cuernavaca. The area is mainly residential and is home to lower income residents. Most of the area is open terrain with no current use, meaning there is a lot of flexibility on adding infrastructure, new buildings, and any other necessities to improve living in the area. Many residents of this area are not in close proximity to any shopping malls and often have to travel into the city to have access to one. There are also many who do not have access to clean water and the one of the biggest problems is they have to go through an awkward path that involves crossing a bridge and turning in order to connect into the main roads that lead to the city. I talked to my mom and dad who had lived around the area and own some terrain north of it. They both agreed living in the area came with its difficulties. Oftentimes there are power outages, sometimes the water stops running during dry seasons, and according to my mother, “There was no trash collecting system the people of our area could rely on”.

With these problems in mind I started brainstorming ideas on possible design solutions to help the community my family had been a part of for decades. For starters I looked at solutions the government was planning on executing. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador visited the bridge two months ago and called it a “result of the past corruption in our country”. He plans to connect this “ghost bridge”,as he called it, directly to the Autopista sol which is the large highway right in front of it. He also plans to commercialize the surrounding area with shopping malls and other business related buildings. While this is a great idea to improve job opportunities in the area it won’t completely fulfill all the needs of the community. This is why in my redesign I decided to incorporate both a commercial aspect and a community aspect. With a total of 7 parts making up my redesign, each part strives to work towards Sustainable Development Goal number 11 “make cities and human settlements inclusive, resilient, and sustainable”, a goal set by the United Nations. They more specifically relate to indicator 11.1 “By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums” as basic services is something I strived to include and Indicator 11.7 “By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities” as green space is also something I strived to incorporate in my redesign

So what exactly are the 7 parts of my redesign? They are as follows:


1- Directly connecting the bridge to Autopista Sol and add a new road with a direct connection to Alta Palmira- This will allow a more direct and easy access to the city Cuernavaca.


2- Build an urban shopping mall - There are not many shopping malls in the area and so adding one will create employment opportunities for the community.


3- Add a community garden green space- There are not many parks around Alta Palmira and so providing the community with one is essential to the wellbeing and health of the people. This idea was partially inspired by Millenium Park here in our very own city Chicago. I wanted to bring the green space into an urban space and combine them well just like Millenium Park does allowing park goers to enter into a green space but just as easily exit it.


4- Build a trash collection office building- This idea was inspired by my mother who suggested a community run trash collection system to make up for the lack of such programs provided by the government and city.

5- Build solar panels to generate electricity- My mother suggested this idea as a solution to the power outages as Cuernava is a very sunny city. 

6- Add a water storage building- This is in order to provide the community with water during dry seasons or when there is no access to water. According to Mexico News daily "Every three days a neighborhood in the city of Cuernavaca has no running water" and about " 57% of the city’s population suffers interruptions in the supply"

7-  Add more residential homes - The purpose of this is to make full use of the empty terrain and there is plenty of space. These homes will have very easy access to all the infrastructure listed above.   


Currently this is what the area looks like:

 

Google Maps Cuernavaca, Google, 2022  

The red highlighted area is the area I would be redesigning. It measures 640 meters on the longer sides and 400 meters on the shorter sides. This gives it a total area of 256,000 m^2.

Originally I drew my redesign looked like this:

Original Redesign, AAG,2022

But after talking to group of architects from Whitney Architects new ideas formed from that conversation. They pointed out that maybe it would be better to place the shopping mall in a more accesible place to the community in Alta Palmira and create a more direct road in order to make acess easier. I thought this was a great ideas as the main reason I was including a shopping mall/ commercial area was for the people of these communities that did not have many nearby. At the last minute my mother also suggested I add more residential homes around the area in order to bring more life into it. So I took their advice and created a new and improved 2-D sketch . It ended up looking like this. 

Redesign of Ghost Bridge, AAG,2022

To make this 2-D scale drawing I made each square represent 20 meters by 20 meters.  Once I had drawn my 2-D scael drawing it was time to make a 3-D scale model. So I gathered lots of cardboard and bought some materials to help me add a little bit of life. For my 3-D scale I decided to give each 1in by 1 in block the same value I gave my 2-D blocks, 20 m by 20 m. After much measuring and gluing I finished my 3-D model. Here is my final result:

3-D Scale Model, AAG,2022

                                                3-D Scale Model Different Angle, AAG,2022

After finishing up my 3D model I caluculated the volume of two of my structures, the water storage facility and the trash collection office. 

Water Storage Facility, AAG, 2022

Trash Collection Office, AAG,2022

Water Storage Facility Volume:

Width = 40 meters 

Height = 40 meters 

Length = 40 meters 

Volume = 40 x 40 x 40 = 64,000 m^3 

Trash Collection Office Volume:

Width: 60 meters 

Height = 60 meters 

Length = 60 meters 

Volume = 60 x 60 x 60 = 216,000 m^3

And with those calculations this AP came to an end. While I did struggle in the beginning with my scales and picking redesign ideas I am really glad I was able to come up with a final product that has the best interests of the communities of my hometown, Cuernavaca, in mind. Urban Planning is a lot, but that is why it has the power to change a community, a city, a state, and a country in such a large scale. This AP wraps up the school year, I learned a lot, shed a few tears, and struggled alot  but there was not one moment where the struggle made me dislike learning, the challenge only made it funner. A big thanks to my Urban Planning teacher who was very patient with my class and taught us lots of cool things. Summer is here, until next time folks! - AAG

Sources Cited

“Water Supply Issues Affect 57% of Homes in Cuernavaca.” Mexico News Daily, 12 May 2017, https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/water-supply-issues-affect-57-of-residents/.