Planning Mexico City 1900-1940
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Green and Modern: Planning Mexico City 1900-1940 ALFONSO VALENZUELA Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos During the early decades of the twen-tieth century, urban structures and come to terms with urban a group of visionary planners undertook the physical modernity. transformation of Mexico City reinter-preting con- cepts from Ebenezer How-ard's Garden Cities, Jean Urban planning in Mexico City has been legitimized Claude For-estier's Systemes de parcs, to Patrick by ideological frameworks that have been used to Geddes' Regional Planning to provide green public manipulate and enhance power structures over spaces and comprehen-sibly enhance the quality of time. The idea of planning became part of the politi- life in the city. Miguel Angel de Quevedo, Car-10s cal agenda since the end of the XIX century, when Contreras and Jose Luis Cuevas Pietrasanta set the Porfirio Diaz (1876-1910) ruled Mexico following urban planning framework which addressed social, enlighten and hygienist models from Europe to functional and environmental issues during this pe- "modernize" the country by benefiting the interests riod, after which indus-trialization policies radically of the wealthy Elite. However, Diaz was to be sur- trans-formed urban planning into an in-strument to rounded by a group of cientifcos and highly eminent achieve economic devel-opment rather than a tool specialists in planning, such as Miguel Angel de to extend welfare. Quevedo and Jose Luis Cuevas Piet-rasanta whom, among others, were concerned about the quality Although Mexico City has always tried to embrace of life in the city and the provision of public open modernity as a recurrent aspiration over the centu- spaces2. Even more decisive for the undertaking of ries, the perception of the urban environment has the grand-stravaux was the intervention of Mr. Jose changed according to ideal views of social order, Yves Limantour, State Secretary of Finances, who material and cultural progress and the role of the worked his way up to the realization of the projects city within the nation-building project. However, the he had in mind from a land developer perspective importance of key planners of that period and the stated in his memoirs: breadth of their thought on the physical develop- ment of Mexico City has been overlooked as well as the major sources where they drew insights and "In politics, when you want to achieve an concepts. objective, it is always necessary to move ahead in zigzag or in curves [...I. It is not as 1. HAUSSMANN: THE MODERN CITY IDEALS in man-agement where if you need to get good results, the only way is the straight There is little doubt that Haussmann's interven- line." tions as Prefect de Seine in Paris granted him a widespread influence on planners in Latin America. Miguel Angel de Quevedo was ap-pointed as Head The Baron's spectacular transformation of Paris was of Mexico city's De-partment of Parks and Gardens soon embraced as unquestioned urban savoir faire in 1903, where he set up the task of raising the which strengthen the French predominance not standard of public space by creating more than 40 only in social and political thought but also in the parks, in-creasing the public space percentage up Fine Arts and city design. Mexican Elites worshiped to 15% of the total area and pro-viding open spaces Haussman's Paris as the ultimate model to follow at less than 500 meters from any given point in the in order to join the capitalist circuit of world-class city. Trained as an engineer in France, Quevedo was cities1. City reforms in general and urban renova- deeply influ-enced by the ideas Jean Claude Nicho- tion in particular, were part of a package to update las Forestier and Ebenezer Howard's garden cities4; GREEN AND MODERN 79 Moreover, he was convinced that cities would have Nevertheless, at the beginning of the XX century a to be healthier and serve the human needs of its more European model started to unfold when resi- citizens and be-came known as the 'tree apostle" dential 'Colonias" around public spaces and mod- out of his extensive reforestation cam-paigns, and ern infrastructures and services emerged. Roma, his efforts stressed the importance of an inclusive Juarez, Hipodromo Condesa, and Santa Maria la approach to policies, addressing social welfare Rivera districts were developed by private interna- concerns as well as the cultural sig-nificance of the tional investors who profited from the government new spaces in rela-tion with the existing context5. provision of li-censes and tax benefits to enhance Following similar organizations around the world, real state developments. he founded the Liga de la Defensa Urbana (Urban Defense League), as an entity aimed to protect and Under Diaz's dictatorship and with a stable economy, preserve parks and gardens within the city and also the city aspired to access world-class circuits, even was in charge of creating future public landmarks when income disparities and social inequalities were such as the Alameda park as well as the Santo Do- developing and strengthening a dual socioeconomic ming~,El Carmen and Vizcainas plazas. system. Before the revolution broke up in 1910, planning "Our Alameda is a place which provides had been character-ized by hierarchical decision- great benefits to a large number of citizens making, the legitimization of plans by group of who feel overwhelmed by urban stress, "experts" and international business-men taking every time more intense, sickening and a leading role. Industries started to locate near annoying. This park may help to restore the northern part of the city and simultaneously, a healthier physical and mental equilib- segregation was introduced through zoning: lower riumn6 income citizens in the north and east, middle in the center and the higher income in the west. As the Based on hygienic arguments, Quevedo would country's economic engine, Mexico City attracted complain about street vendors exposing food in an many people from the rest of the country which unsterilized environment, but also because they settled in the worst areas of the inner city, rental reduced public spaces and walking areas. Aesthet- housing known as "vecin-dades" or in the peripheral ics were also part of his agenda, and the creation areas, mainly as tenants. of promenades, boulevards and plazas formed part of an "embellishment" strategy that could take advantage of every opportunity to ameliorate the 2. THE "GARDEN CITY" MOVEMENT AND environment. OTHER KEY INFLUENCES It is worth noting that Quevedo looked closely to Despite Howard's publication of his influential book Frederick Law Olmsted interventions in Boston and "To-morrow: a peace-ful path to real reform" was Chicago for inspiration when de-signing metropolitan first pub-lished in 1898, it was its second edition parks, and was also influenced by Jose Luis Cuevas "Garden Cities of tomorrow" (the new title for the Pietrasanta's inclination towards Ebenezer Howard 1902 edition) which was the most influential in and his vision of garden cities as a possible solu- Latin America7. tion for workers' housing. These compounds were envisioned as suburban schemes for the emerging Ebenezer Howard stands alone as a social reformer industrial workers population and some remarkable concerned with im-proving the living conditions of examples were envisioned at "El Buen Tono" and the working classes. It was deeply influ-enced by "Colonia Ferrocarrilera" in Orizaba. Following the the utopian tradition of the XIX century (Owen, latest theories in England and the United States, Fourier) in their aims to create a perfect self-suf- sub-urban housing was intended to become natu- ficient and independent community although he ral enclaves where com-munities, work and nature had in mind its reproduction into conurbations of would merge altogether. The seminal idea of an hundreds of thou-sands of people. industrial and commercial center connected to the Howard's ideas were to be shaped during his sejour residential periphery was present in the minds of in Chicago from 1872-1876, in which he may have planners and public officials all over the country. experienced the post-fire rebuilding process (after Owen's attempts to centralize all finances proved 1871) as well as being aware of Frederick Law to be far too overwhelming for the community and Olmsted's Riverside garden suburb just outside of after nearly five years of its foundation, the experi- chicago8. However, one particular book have been ment simply fell apart. credited to influence Howard's ideas deep inside: Edward Bellamy's Looking backwards 2000-1887 Howard assembled his ideas from all these sources (1888) which was very critical of capitalism and and advocated for de-centralization of society in proposed a society organized on moral principles residential communities of no more than 30,000 struc-tured around central planning. Regarding this people surrounded by a green-belt of factories, last volume, Howard reflected on the living condi- farms and parks. A critical issue in the ideal com- tions of his fellowmen in London: "...there came to munity plan was the appropriation of the surplus me an overpowering sense of the temporary nature re-sulting of the rise in land values created after of all I saw, and of its entire unsuitability for the the originally agricultural land would be transformed working life of the new order -the order of justice-, into semi-urban land. First, the money would go to unity and friendliness" 9. repay the original investors, then to purchase the bonds issued for the construction and finally, the Howard decided to apply these ideas within the well- rents could be used to fund schools, hospitals and defined scale of a city and published his influential other services for the com-munity14.