Mexico City: A Transformed Waterscape in the Process of Reconfiguration

Abstract

Mexico City was founded in 1325, under the name of Tenochtitlan, in the center of the lake system of an endorheic basin. Its geographical position was fundamental in the conception of its form: a settlement of dredged channels and constructed pieces of land, called chinampas, which determined every aspect of habitability and use. The history of this metropolis has been a conflicting one, profoundly affecting its landscape and urban form. Today, far from having a waterscape, the development of the city has transformed its context into an earth and stone setting with severe effects resulting from this mutation. The 22 million-megalopolis, built upon the unstable ground of a lakebed, continuously floods, has depleted its freshwater sources, and suffers from profound ground subsidence related problems. However, not all traces of the above mentioned city of channels are lost. The southern part of the basin, the former towns of Xochimilco and Tlahuac, still have a lifestyle that relies on the understanding of the benefits that the original landscape provided, economically and socially dependent on the system of chinampas. Despite the fact that it is impossible to recover this type of urban fabric around the basin, these burrows set a paradigm of an urban design fully blended with water. Beyond these examples, several other cities around the world have managed to successfully deal with their waterscapes, making of water an asset instead of a menace. This condition raises an opportunity and an obligation for the design related professionals as it is in their sphere to provide solutions that guarantee the city’s future viability. This article tells the story of an ongoing effort to design for and with water in the apparently dry landscape of Mexico City.

Keywords

Channel / Chinampa / Water / Flood / Resilience

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press