At CoRe Urban Forum, participants united in stating that public spaces must be inclusive
- Revolucion and Patriotismo streets serve as examples of something that needs to be done when Metrobus starts operating in Paseo de la Reforma.
- National and international speakers agreed on the need to turn public spaces into inclusive zones with the people as their focal point, including the development of the Reforma Corridor.
Mexico City, December 6, 2016.- The second roundtable at CoRe Urban Forum CDMX 2016 approached the theme of public spaces, with Jose Castillo, curator of CoRe Urban Forum, serving as moderator. The panel included Ethan Kent and Camilla van Deur as main speakers, with Tatiana Bilbao, Guillermo Buitano, Fernanda Canales, Aliza Chelminski, Lili Haua, Amy Kaufman, Tanya Muller, Pakiko Paillie Pérez, Belinda Tato and Luis Zamorano, as participants.
At first, participants agreed that, in order for a public space to work flawlessly, it must have proximity to infrastructure and offer access for locals and visitors, essentially being designed for pedestrian use.
Alberto Martínez talked about the need to discuss the city and public spaces as one: “to think how we can keep strengthening the design of public spaces and review the normativity. We suffer from overregulation, which has let public spaces fall by the wayside. We need an extensive and accurate picture of public spaces”. He used the Reforma Corridor as an example of “the pending goal of connecting different zones. The challenge is a matter of inclusiveness”, he ended.
Camila van Deurs, associate director and team leader with Gehl, mentioned that other cities have struggled with the same problems that the Reforma Corridor is trying to address. “We are trying to have a holistic approach”, she said, adding that “in order to achieve something in the public space, a change needs to happen in the streets. It is a low-cost first step, compared to aspects such as mobility and infrastructure.”
She noted that sharing experiences is crucial, given that cities learn from each other; and pointed out to short-term successes, such as the Times Square transformation Project, since it had a real impact on this important part of Manhattan.
Ethan Kent, Senior VP for PPS, said that his appreciation of cities lies in the great potential they offer. “We are thinking increasingly every day on how to improve cities”, he said, focusing on the fact that public spaces must include everyone. “We need to turn public spaces into places that allow us to bring people from different segments together”, he said.
Kent gave the example that a city needs to have 10 important public spaces with 10 things to do there. He said accomplishing this must be a clear goal and said this model could be met around Reforma.
Architect Tatiana Bilbao said the public spaces of the Reforma Corridor are designed with visitors and local employees in mind but that local residents are not often considered, which must be corrected. “Public spaces must involve local residents and become an extension of residential spaces,” she said.
During her intervention, Aliza Chelminsky, a representative for the Cuauhtemoc Delegation of Mexico City, stressed that public spaces also involve the social responsibility of private companies. “It is necessary to have neighbors participate and own the space, to feel a shared responsibility,” she stated. “The citizens must bring culture to the public spaces, talk to those around the public spaces”. She finished stating that the responsibility of government, aside from regulating investments, is to provide safety, apply the law and regulate commerce.
Up to this point, all participants in the panel agreed that the public space issue must be an inclusive argument which considers all actors.
Tanya Müller, Mexico City’s Secretary of the Environment, said that the streets around the Reforma Corridor must include everyone: pedestrians, cyclists and cars. She added that this was achieved in the examples of the Revolucion and Patriotismo avenues. She also highlighed what will be necessary once the Metrobus starts operating along Reforma, and that “we need to include everyone in its re-design”. Lili Haua, from the Bosque de Chapultepec trust, as a representative of the area where the Reforma Corridor ends, also agreed.
Architect Belinda Tato stated that the better a public space is, the more democratic it becomes since a better space can better support citizens. She restated that much more remains to be done along the Reforma Corridor, regarding the social aspect rather than architectural design.
Experts in social participation, authorities, private sector representatives and urban development specialists concluded that the Reforma Corridor must be made into a space which is welcoming for visitors, locals, commerce and employees in the area.