Urban planning, housing and water mark the main challenges of Clara Brugada in Mexico City

( Spanish) –– The administration of Clara Brugada in Mexico City, the capital of the country where more than 9 million inhabitants live, will have among its main challenges conducting urban development planning, meeting the demand for housing and seeking sustainable mechanisms to guarantee access to water, considered specialists consulted by .

Brugada assumed the Head of Government this Saturday and promised that during her administration, from 2024 to 2030, she will continue the policies of her predecessor, the current president Claudia Sheinbaum, and will promote measures to—among other objectives—improve public services, mobility and security.

Josefina Mac Gregor, director of the civil association Suma Urbana, considered that the first challenge for the Brugada administration is to promote an urban development policy that takes into account the opinion of citizens, something that — in her opinion — the governments did not do. previous.

“The city is a gigantic challenge and, according to what we have been actively working in the field for 25 years, participatory planning of the city is the greatest challenge,” said the specialist, who urged that the citizens of the capital be consulted in the preparation of the General Development Plan (PGD) and the General Territorial Planning Program (PGOT), two instruments that must define how the city will grow in the long term.

Pablo Lazo Elizondo, global director of Urban Development and Accessibility for the World Resources Institute (WRI), considered that development policy must consider the effects of climate change in the capital.

“Many jobs, housing, businesses, infrastructure will depend on how equipped and trained the city is to face challenges generated by climate change,” he said.

As an example, he mentioned that authorities can think of ways to avoid the formation of “heat islands”, points where higher temperatures are felt that can affect people’s health.

For Lazo, another key challenge for the new government is “how to make an affordable social housing model viable,” in a context in which houses have become more expensive in recent years.

In the first quarter of 2024, the price of housing in the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico – which includes Mexico City and the suburban municipalities of the neighboring State of Mexico – rose 6.8% compared to the same period in 2023, according to figures from the Federal Mortgage Societya government agency.

Another challenge for the new administration, specialists warn, will be to address the problems of access to water in the capital, which this year set off alarms among authorities and residents due to the decrease in the levels of the dams that supply the city.

Mac Gregor considered that the infrastructure of Mexico City should be maintained and the fees should be reviewed, so that the local government charges more to those who consume the most.

“If I don’t pay for water and it doesn’t cost me, then I’m not aware of the level of water consumption I’m making. I believe that the approach to water has to be a human right, it has to be an approach of access to water for the entire population, but also an obligation for everyone to use it responsibly,” he said.

Lazo agreed with this point of view. For the expert, it is not only necessary for the local government to invest more in hydraulic infrastructure, encourage the reuse of water and protect aquifers, but also for citizens to pay more for this resource.

“(Attention to the problem) has to come hand in hand with the awareness of all people and the entire population that the cost of having water is a much higher cost than what one actually pays and that this subsidy, while not gradually decrease, what will continue to happen is that there will continue to be more risks of lack of water as happened in this last drought season throughout the city,” he said.

During her first messages as head of Government, Brugada said this Saturday that “she will propose long-term policies to address the great challenges of the metropolis, such as water, security, poverty, air, mobility and gender equality.” “, according to a statement released by his press team.

Regarding water, he announced that he will present legislative initiatives “for the sustainable management” of this resource. In social development, it will propose creating a care system that cares for children, older adults and people with disabilities.

To improve mobility, he said that his administration will invest in the Metro, build two new Metrobús lines and five more Cablebús lines, while in security he promised a strategy focused on preventing theft in public transportation and extortion, and assured that in During her mandate, 100 “Utopías” will be opened, community centers that she promoted in Iztapalapa when she was mayor of that district between 2018 and 2023.