Approaching solutions for socially sustainable

Approaching solutions for socially sustainable gated communities: a study case in collaboration with Mexican local developer AUTORES: José Andrés Maldonado Duran, Emanuele Giorgi COAUTORES: José Luis Gutierrez Jauregui, Carolina Hernández Valtierra ABSTRACT

Due to many factors and situations, many cities in Mexico are opting for segregated and privatized urban fabrics, as the called gated communities, which, as the name says, are spaces surrounded by walls and other security systems that act as protection for people who live there. However, they became a physical and social barrier within the city, are creating urban archipelagos that are only fragmenting the territory. This phenomenon is expanding a lot, due to the fact that the supply of this kind of dwelling, today, is not just offered to the high class, but also to the middle-low class, which see in this option, a safe environment to escape the insecurity. For the reason of simultaneous unsustainability and high desirability of the model, we are strongly convinced that a new method for the development of the gated communities is needed in the contemporary cities. So, this research wants to investigate the main features that this method should have and, to do so, we started to analyse the sustainable practices of the existing gated communities of the cities, ranking and applying them to a new project that a construction company is going to develop in the city. The result is a list of sustainable methods applied to a practical case, compared with the real and coldly economical needs of a construction company.

Debido a varios factores y situaciones, muchas ciudades en México están optando por tejidos urbanos segregados y privatizados llamados en México “fraccionamientos privados” que, en sí, son comunidades cerradas las cuales, como su nombre lo menciona, son espacios rodeados por paredes y otros sistemas de seguridad que actúan como protección para las personas que viven dentro. Sin embargo, estas comunidades se han convertido en barrera física y social dentro de la ciudad y están creando un archipiélago urbano que está fragmentando el territorio. Este fenómeno se está expandiendo a gran velocidad debido al hecho de que el suministro de este tipo de vivienda, en la actualidad, no sólo se ofrece a la clase alta sino Arq. José Andres Maldonado Durán [email protected] PhD, Emanuele Giorgi [email protected] Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Arquitectura, Arte y Diseño

también a la media baja que ven en esta opción, un ambiente sano para escapar la inseguridad. Por la razón de insostenibilidad simultánea y una alta deseabilidad del modelo, estamos fuertemente convencidos que un nuevo método para el desarrollo de las comunidades cerradas es necesario en las ciudades contemporáneas. Por lo tanto, esta investigación pretende investigar las principales características que este método debería tener y para hacerlo, empezamos a analizar las prácticas sostenibles de las comunidades cerradas existentes de algunas ciudades calificando y aplicándolas a un nuevo proyecto que una empresa de construcción va a desarrollar en la ciudad. El resultado es una lista de métodos sostenibles aplicados a un caso práctico comparado con las reales y frías necesidades económicas de una empresa de construcción.

KEYWORDS Gated communities, private subdivisions, sustainable development, Mexico, developer, responsive environment. Comunidades cerradas, fraccionamientos privados, desarrollo sostenible, México, desarrollador, ambiente responsivo.

Arq. José Andres Maldonado Durán [email protected] PhD, Emanuele Giorgi [email protected] Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Arquitectura, Arte y Diseño

INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION 2. METODOLOGY

+ Study of sustainable community projects and definition of best practices. + Definition of best practices applicable in contexts such as the city of Leon. + Work with the construction company to evaluate what are the best practices that a company would be seriously willing to consider for a realization. + Application of strategies to the gated community project and observations. 3. CASE STUDIES + East Clayton, British Columbia, Canada + Rancho la Salud, Chapala, Jalisco, México. + Ravens’ Roost Cohousing, Anchorage, Alaska. + Rancho Amigos, Jalisco, México. + Pachamama, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. 4. AIMS & BEST PRACTICES + Introduction. + Table aims & best practices. 5. DEVELOPER AGREEMENT + Approach + Table of best practices applicable to the project and the design solutions.

6. RESULT: PROJECT + Background. + Master plan. 7. CONCLUSIONS & COMENTARIES 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY


INTRODUCTION

The topic of gated communities is a very hot subject in the Mexican contemporary architectural and urban debate. An increasingly strong incentive to find housing solutions in closed areas within cities implies to the construction companies to offer this type of solution that, as demonstrated by several studies, has strong implications for many urban systems: from the transport, to the social relations, to the public health. The here research proposed comes from an academic exercise held in the course "Final Project" of the degree in Architecture at the Tecnologico de Monterrey in Leon, School of Architecture, Art and Design, during the last semester, in the period January- May 2018. The proposed exercise was concentrated in the request to develop an architectural-urban plan for a closed community in the municipality of Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, working in contact with a construction company interested in actually developing the project. The exercise, which was focused actually in the realization of urban architectural proposals for the design of sustainable closed communities, consisted of an initial phase of study on the concept of community and relations with the territory and, subsequently, a phase of transposition of the results of the study to the real world, through a series of meetings with a local construction company. The aim was precisely to address a complex subject as the urban gatedness - with respect to which academy is often rigidly closed - and to try applying the found theoretical solutions to the real world of construction. The idea was born from the awareness of the risks that architects are facing during their professional activities: the fight between their ideal sustainable solutions and the demands of the construction market, whose interests for the overall well-being of the cities and the territory are more and more often distracted by the strong requests for housing solutions in closed communities. Specifically, for the Final project, the work was in the municipal area of Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, developing the project with the local developer named EMCA. The final career project had to analyze the phenomenon of the gated communities, understanding the main issues and the consequences, with their non-sustainable practices, to society. Many times, in the contemporary architectural debate, the term "community" is abused, so that also the type of settlement we are taking about, are considered as "communities". Actually, it is very difficult to consider them as being inspired by the principles of community. However, if we exclude some - not few for the true - social and motivational factors, we can speculate to a comparison, at least with regard to a potential spatial and functional distribution, with the complex and variegated world of cohousing: solution sustainable housing, based on the free will to participate in community practices of sharing spaces, times and activities. Between these two realities, distant in terms of social and environmental sustainability, the authors try to see which best practices can be borrowed from cohousing to be applied to the design of closed communities. Accordingly, after a mediation process with the constructors, seeing which best practices of sustainable community cases can be implemented for the sustainable practice of gated communities. The final aim is therefore to understand how local companies can improve their project proposals and, thus, develop responsive environment for the users and for the city, with sustainable practices.


METODOLOGY

To obtain the results that the research proposes, the investigation team decided to divide the work into different phases, so as to have different specific partial objectives, which push the research from defining international best practices concerning the theme of urban architectural design of community, to the selection of the best practices that can be applied to similar contexts to those of the city of Leon, up to the definition of strategies applicable in reality, derived from a comparison with the constructor. As mentioned, in order to obtain these sub-sections, the work has been divided according to the following steps: 1- Study of sustainable community projects and definition of best practices According with the scientific literature, 20 case studies of community settlements, considered sustainable from the social and environmental point of view, have been selected. This means that in previous research, these urban solutions have proven to have a relatively low urban impact, to limit the damage caused to the environment and to promote socially sustainable coexistence practices. These cases, analysed through study cards, were compared and the common design actions (at urban and architectural level) were gathered in a list and organized according to the four macro categories of community, territory, environment and health. 2- Definition of best practices applicable in contexts such as the city of Leon This list of international best practices for community settlements was then re-opened, extracting the only practices that are suitable, for climate, culture, territory and other local peculiarities, to the territory of Leon, Guanajuato. This process was carried out through a subjective selection of the points, consulting different architects who have long local experience in the field of construction. This list, which strictly refers to the city of León, however, can be applied without problems to similar contexts. 3- Work with the construction company to evaluate what are the best practices that a company would be seriously willing to consider for a realization the best practices that refer to the city of Leon, therefore, have been proposed to the constructor EMCA to evaluate which of these ideas would be willing to consider for the realization of the gated community. In a series of meetings, the observations of the constructors were transformed into a draft of strategies that referred to the best practices presented. 4 - application of strategies to the gated community project and observations These strategies defined in agreement with the constructor have therefore been applied to the project, keeping the relationship - in this case of support / consulting - with EMCA. The project thus ended, was finally compared with a first initial pore based only on the guidelines derived from best practices and, finally, a comparison between the two projects was realized, so as to arrive at conclusions that would highlight how the real process is dependent on the market and financial needs of the companies. In fact, from a series of best practices Arq. José Andres Maldonado Durán [email protected] PhD, Emanuele Giorgi [email protected] Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Arquitectura, Arte y Diseño

concerning the reality of sustainable community settlements, the research comes to define the urban architectural strategies applicable to projects of gated communities proposed by construction companies. In particular, the fact of having a dialogue with a company directly involved in constructive reality offers the possibility of bringing to the reality the best practices, which often take place at the level of vision / hope. CASE STUDIES

As anticipated in the previous discourse on the methodology, the first phase of the research consisted in the search for 20 case studies of residential communities considered by the scientific community as sustainable. The choice of case studies has fallen on different communities spread all around the world so that the selection of best practices can be as wide as possible. The idea of sustainability is related with the concept of responsive environment: an-idea that the environment should provide its users with an essentially democratic setting, enriching their opportunities by maximizing the degree of choice available to them. In a second moment, these best practices can be skimmed, shifting attention to the context of the city of Leon. It seems important, before presenting the case studies, to highlight how these are of different nature: some are cases explicitly of gated communities, others are globally considered cohousing cases, others are cases that can be considered a cross between cohousing and gated communities. Anyway, all are characterized by a strong sense of community and their practices are considered sustainable. For all these cases, urbanarchitectural actions, which have made it possible to reach this level of sustainability, have been extracted and a summary table has been drawn up. Following are presented, for reasons of production of the text, only five of the selected projects.


East Clayton, Surrey, BC Address: 72 Avenue, 188 Street, 74 Avenue and 196 Street, East Clayton (Surrey) Canada Setting: Urban Status: Built and approved in 2004 Dimension: Area of 65 hectares (160 acres) Developer: City of Surrey Planning & Development Department Landscape Architect: James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Livable Environments at the University of British Columbia. Facilities and features: Housing, parks, schools, commerce, network of streets Target: Families Website: https://www.surrey.ca/default.aspx

This study case can be considered to demonstrate the principles Canadian developers, take in design consideration to make a sustainable development. These principles arose from a series of workshops in 1995 conducted in Surrey in association with the James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Livable Environments at the University of British Columbia. The sustainable development principles were endorsed by City Council in 1998 as a policy direction for the planning of new urban communities in Surrey in support of the global and regional sustainability objectives and formed the basis of the East Clayton Neighborhood Concept Plan. This new suburban community is designed with an interconnected street grid, greenways and a natural infrastructure system reinforcing the existing streams, and a mix of housing types. The community includes schools, commercial and industrial uses, and recreation opportunities.


Rancho la Salud, Chapala, Guadalajara, MX Address: Carretera Chapala Jocotepec 1259, Ajijic, Jalisco. CP: 45820. México Setting: semi urban Status: founded in 2010 Dimension: Developer: Sara Villalobos & Rick Cowlishaw Landscape Architect: Rick Cowlishaw & Denia Navarro Facilities and features: Garden homes, Town homes, duplexes, pool suites, common house, conference center, community garden, vehicle parking and the administration building. Target: Families Website: http://rancholasaludvillage.com

Rancho la Salud Village was founded in 2010 by Jaime Navarro and his wife Sara Villalobos, along with green architect Rick Cowlishaw. Prior to moving to Ajijic Rick had 15 years of experience designing and living at Harmony Village Cohousing in Golden, Colorado. In the next few years he mentored Sustainable Architect Denia Navarro (Jaime’s daughter), and together they both created the Master Plan and architectural drawings for Rancho La Salud Village.Rancho las Salud is a unique community which combines the well-known attractions of the Lake Chapala area with the latest in sustainable community design, focusing on healthy living and life-long learning. La Salud Village is an experience for people who are enjoying life to the fullest. practicing good health, engaging in learning, and valuing their neighbors. With the desire to educate and help each other in life-long learning. Multiversity is the vehicle for achieving this. Honoring each person’s background as an opportunity to learn from each other. Classes, seminars, workshops and guest speakers on various topics are all encouraged on a regular basis. The foundation of the community’s social interactions on all levels are based on compassionate communication.


Ravens’ Roost Cohousing, Anchorage, AK Address: Abbott Rd. at Little Brook St., east of Lake Otis, 9085 Nuthatch Place, Anchorage, AK 99507 Setting: semi urban Status: open market in 2016 Dimension: 6.2 acres Developer: Mary Miner & Terri Pauls, The Petersen Group, Anchorage developer and builder Landscape Architect & architects : Chuck Durrett , Kathryn McCamant Facilities and features: 3800 square-foot Common House, kitchen and dining area, library, a kids’ play room, two guest rooms, and a laundry room, child care, transportation, bike trail, workshop equipped with tools, ski waxing & bike repair areas, and fitness equipment, shared and private gardens, fruit orchard, root cellar and kids’ outdoor play area. Target: To create a sustainable and enriching life, intending to decrease the ecological footprint through energy and material efficiency. Website: http://www.abbottcoho.org/

In September 2011 Mary Miner and Terri Pauls gather a small group to create cohousing in anchorage bowl, on august 2016 Ravens’ Roost became an official Home owner’s association and homes go on sale on the open market. Ravens’ Roost Cohousing is a neighborhood that creates connections and nurtures relationships. In order to create that sense of community, Ravens Roots neighborhoods consist of 20-40 private homes, clustered among shared facilities, fostering a village feeling. The Common House offers a large kitchen and dining area for optional shared dinners 2-3 nights/week, a kids’ play room, living room with library, guest rooms, laundry, etc. Courtyards, gardens, a workshop, fitness room and recreational open space are shared. The design of the neighborhood encourages spontaneous interaction, including conversation, movie nights, the playing of games, dancing, etc. they intend to decrease the ecological footprint through energy and material efficiency in buildings, transportation, and personal choices. they consider least-toxic alternatives because they value clean air, water, and soil. they aim to minimize the impact on the land and on the wild creatures that share their space.


Rancho Amigos, Jalisco, México Address: El corrido is located 65 miles from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, México. Setting: rural Status: open to market on 2013 Dimension: 300 hectares Developer: village people architect: village people Facilities and features: agriculture fields, Lake, river, common spaces, edible forest, fully sustainable eco-village. Target: to create a sustainable eco-village that enriches life, by promoting field work and agriculture. Website: http://www.ecovillagemexico.com/

Rancho Amigos is strategically located far enough from city life, located approximately 65 miles (108 kms) from Puerto Vallarta. The location has 300 hectares of pure tropical rain forest and wilderness, near to the river that feeds one of Mexico’s nicest and best kept secrets Lake Cajon de Peña, in Tomatlàn, Jalisco Mexico. The ranch is accessible by boat and vehicle. The main concept of Rancho Amigos is to create community with in an ecovillage, that has self-sustainable farms, where everybody becomes part of the process of being sustainable. Neighbors are in constant contact with each other because of the agricultural labors. It was necessary to start planting trees and vegetation years before they built homes. You will find fruit trees like Yaca, Wild Plumbs, Noni, Avocados, Mango, Papaya, Guanabana, and more. Each home has it own garden, where it depends on the season, but mainly 365 days of the year it has food available a couple of meters from the kitchen. Also, the common crop field, grows sugar cane and corn. Homes are constructed by their own people, with vernacular materials and techniques. Having the purpose of getting back to their roots, rediscovering who they really are, with the aim of preserving their culture.


Pachamama, Guanacaste, Costa Rica Address: Pachamama is located 15 km from Nosara on the costal road to Tamarindo, between the villages of Ostional and San Juanillo Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Setting: rural Status: founded in 1999 Dimension: 500 acres (2,300,000 m2) Developer: Tyohar & village people architect: Tyohar & village people Facilities and features: agriculture fields, common spaces, edible forest, fully sustainable eco-village, natural sanctuary, 50 private houses, modern bungalows. Target: PachaMama is a natural sanctuary for the sou, a spiritual community united in the intention to live a life o reverence, meditation and harmony with nature. The community also has a pre-school, kindergarten and primary years schooling program. Website: https://www.pachamama.com/

PachaMama is a natural sanctuary for the soul; a spiritual community united in the intention to live a life of reverence, meditation and harmony with nature and the elements. Located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica in a forested valley, PachaMama was founded in 1999 by Tyohar and a cluster of fellow travelers, following a vision to manifest an intentional community, embracing an alternative way of life. Since it was founded, the village has become an international gathering place, a colorful and unique energy field comprised of diverse personal and cultural backgrounds. As an eco-village, PachaMama continuously creates projects to increase biodiversity and sustainability, and to minimize its carbon footprint. The principles of permaculture, waste reduction, soil regeneration, water retention and recycling, to name but a few, are explored and applied in the village. PachaMama is totally committed to providing nourishing healthy food that is kind not only to the body but to the Earth as well. Superfoods, fruits and leafy greens grown in the village are 100% organic and the community works in partnership with and supports local farmers using responsible growing practices.


AIMS & BEST PRACTICES (global + local) Next we made a list of aims and practices that ensure the best sustainable techniques for local and also global communities, underlying the applicable practices for our case in Leon, with the aim to provide a practical tool for architects, urban designers, landscape architects and also developers. In other to help them achieve a responsive environment and a sustainable community life.

AIMS

PRACTICES

1.A - Providing equal opportunities for all, creating

SOCIAL INTERACTION

COMMUNITY

IDENTITY

SECURITY

innovative programs and services that ensure accessibility and inclusion, in order to inspire participation, create social connections, and foster lifelong learning. 1.B - By enhancing community spirit, and therefore social interaction between residents. 1.C - Providing a hierarchy of connected circulation routes and shared open spaces to create opportunities for people to meet face-to-face, so residents recognize their neighbors, the first step in building a real community. 1.D - Providing a place for cultural endings. 1.F - By enhancing sense of pride in, and therefore sense of responsibility to take care of, the shared environment. 1.E - Providing accessible community amenities. 1.F - Linking neighborhoods within the community. 1.G - Providing a place for special events and celebrations. 1.H - By increasing the sense of belonging. 1.I - Providing amenities with access to nature, within a five-minute walk. 1.J- Giving a sense of identity and shared community to residents within neighborhoods and within housing clusters. 1.K - By encouraging community watch. 1.L- Providing a sense of self-confidence, self-reliance, and neighborhood self-security, and therefore reduce tendency towards gated communities. 1.M - Providing places where residents can leave their own mark. 1.N - By providing good quality illumination in all the streets and narrow paths, to prevent acts of delinquency. 1.Ñ- By providing police stations with in a close range. 1.O- By providing public safety programs. 1.P- By providing public security force certified as a paramedic, emergency medical technician or firefighter. 1.Q - By controlling access points, with a 24/7 certified security force. 1.R - By providing security fences, and alarm systems. 1.S - To create physical (natural) barriers, which may be reinforced by actual gates if necessary.


1.T - By providing a range of housing options, thereby increasing diversity of residents. 2.A - By providing opportunities in the community for

OPORTUNITIES

TERRITORY INFRAESTRUCTURE

VARIETY

PRESERVE

ENVIROMENT REDUCE

RECYCLE

living, working, shopping, and recreation. 2.B - By providing services, public transportation, local commercial uses, and access to nature, within a five- minute walk. 2.C - By providing a range of transportation choices, with walking and cycling a viable option to meet most daily needs. 2.D - By locating parking conveniently and unobtrusively under and within buildings, and lining streets with front gardens and building entries. 2.F - By providing a hierarchy of connected circulation routes and shared open spaces. 2.E - By providing Small blocks with a network of finegrained, interconnected network streets to reduce traffic congestion and encourage narrow lots to allow as many homes as possible, rather than garages, to front directly onto and be located close to the streets. 2.F - An internal street grid defines neighborhoods averaging 200 m per side. 2.G - By providing a wide variety of housing types encouraged within the same area ranging from single family detached homes with or without second dwelling units, duplexes, row houses and townhouses to 4-storey apartments. 2.H - Providing opportunity for a variety of tenure, to accommodate a mix of family types and allow for people to stay within the community as they age and their housing needs change. 2.I - To link adjacent communities at public transportation hubs where commercial and service facilities are provided. 2.J - To share amenities of adjacent communities. 3.A - By enhancing and taking advantage of existing natural environmental services, including stormwater drainage. 3.B - By minimizing amount of water used, by naturally removing pollution from storm water, and by demonstrating how reuse of waste water can preserve municipal water supply. 3. C - By maximizing stormwater infiltration to recharge underlying aquifers. 3.D - By reducing amount and complexity of infrastructure. 3.E - By using passive solar design in orienting buildings, plus optimizing overhangs and shading devices and providing natural tree shading at strategic locations. 3.F - By improving the environment and microclimate, by combining landscaping and water features with a heavy tree cover to evaporate water, provide shade, reduce pollution, increase oxygen levels, and lower ambient summer temperature. 3.G - By incorporating Smart Building systems, and appropriate levels and types of insulation.


3.H - By providing narrow streets shaded by rows of trees in order to save costs and to provide a greener, friendlier environment. 3.I - By providing opportunities for gardening and urban agriculture. 3.J - By providing a range of options for daily trips, thereby reducing automobile dependency. 3.K - By reducing reliance on private automobiles. 3. L - By providing convenient services within walking distance.

RENEWABLE

HUMAN

4.A - Discourage the depletion of nonrenewable resources. 4.B - Encourage recyclable materials and encourage the use

BUILDING

of materials with low embodied energy. 4.C - To improve health and well-being by promoting walking and cycling. 4.D - By providing public safety programs. 4.E - By providing public security force certified as a paramedic, emergency medical technician or firefighter.

HEALTH

DEVELOPER AGREEMENT

The sustainable aims and practices we found in the case studies, not always are taken in consideration by local developers, because of company’s economical needs. The output of the research is to understand how these economical needs can match with sustainable solutions proposed by academia, approaching environmental and social problems from different perspectives. After several meetings, where the different practices and goals were exposed, sustaining them with the different successful cases, little by little the points of view of academia and developer started matching, defining design solutions. Following is a table that shows the best sustainable practices applicable to the Project, together with the design solutions that were reached with the construction company.

Best practices applicable to the project

Design solutions

COMMUNITY 11-21 1.A - Providing equal opportunities for all, creating innovative programs and services that ensure accessibility and inclusion, in order to inspire participation, create social connections, and foster lifelong learning. 1.C - Providing a hierarchy of connected circulation routes and shared open spaces to create opportunities for people to meet face-to-face, so residents recognize their neighbors, the first step in building a real community.

- All routes, paths and amenities, where design accessible for people with disabilities, including them in order to make them participate in everyday activities. - Signs on streets make clear to understand where all routes take to. - Each cluster has their own park, circulation routes connect them, by wide paths well illuminated and full of trees, to make a safer trip and a richer sensory experience.


1.D - Providing a place for cultural endings.

- Some of the clusters have designated spaces for

1.E - Providing accessible community amenities.

1.G - Providing a place for special events and celebrations.

1.H - By increasing the sense of belonging.

1.I - Providing amenities with access to nature, within a five-minute walk.

1.M - Providing places where residents can leave their own mark. 1.N - By providing good quality illumination in all the streets and narrow paths, to prevent acts of delinquency. 1.O - By providing public safety programs.

1.P - By providing public security force certified as a paramedic, emergency medical technician or firefighter.

cultural endings like, art exposure, religion, dancing and sports. - “El cauce” river has amenities design for all ages and mainly for people with disabilities. - the river is in a 5-minute walk from the further point in the community. - “El Cauce” river is full of life and vegetation, perfect for events and celebrations. - Each cluster have a designated open space for leisure, where the users easily can adapt it for especial events. - “El Cauce” river is the main icon of the community because of its richness, it creates opportunities like; agriculture, arts, leisure, commerce and religion. - The amenities are design for all users, including the communities adjacent to “El Cauce”. - “El Cauce” has 39 hectares which, 5 of them are designated to nature. - The river crosses the community connecting clusters with commerce and vertical housing. - The River will have infrastructure, designated to artisans, farmers and sports. - Photovoltaic cells installed in illumination post so the paths stay illuminated all the time. - Routes where design to prevent act of delinquency, making them wide and clear for security measures. - Each cluster will have its own community leader, that will be chosen by vote, with the aim to encourage security programs like; community watch, evacuation mocks and other safety measures. - “El Cauce residential” will have 8 clusters all controlled by a local security company that certifies its officers as paramedics, emergency medical technicians and firefighters.

TERRITORY 6-10 2.A - By providing opportunities in the community for living, working, shopping, and recreation.

-The residential project has a variety of uses; commerce, housing, religion, agriculture and recreation.

2.B - By providing services, public transportation, local commercial uses, and access to nature, within a five- minute walk.

- the complex has a main street that connects the river and the clusters with outside roads. - the circulation routes connect commerce, housing and the river within a five- minute walk. - Cycling paths are considered in the project, connecting clusters and nature.

2.C - By providing a range of transportation choices, with walking and cycling a viable option to meet most daily needs 2.F - By providing a hierarchy of connected circulation routes and shared open spaces.

- Each cluster has their own park, circulation routes connect them, by wide paths well illuminated and full of trees, to make a safer trip and a richer sensory experience.


2.G - By providing a wide variety of housing types encouraged within the same area ranging from single family detached homes with or without second dwelling units, duplexes, row houses and townhouses to 4-storey apartments. 2.H - Providing opportunity for a variety of tenure, to accommodate a mix of family types and allow for people to stay within the community as they age and their housing needs change.

- “El Cauce Residential” offers a wide variety of housing types; vertical housing, row houses, townhouses in different sizes to accommodate all type of families. - The master plan is design to provide opportunities with accessible amenities, variety of housings, variety of uses and open spaces, having the idea that the built environment should provide its users with an essentially democratic setting, enriching their opportunities by maximizing the degree of choice available to them.

ENVIROMENT 9-12 3.A - By enhancing and taking advantage of existing natural environmental services, including stormwater drainage. 3.C- By maximizing stormwater infiltration to recharge underlying aquifers.

3.D - By reducing amount and complexity of infrastructure.

3.E - By using passive solar design in orienting buildings, plus optimizing overhangs and shading devices and providing natural tree shading at strategic locations.

3.F - By improving the environment and microclimate, by combining landscaping and water features with a heavy tree cover to evaporate water, provide shade, reduce pollution, increase oxygen levels, and lower ambient summer temperature.

3.G - By incorporating Smart Building systems, and appropriate levels and types of insulation.

- Creating large open areas whit out pavement, creating natural filters, so rain could infiltrate through the soil and provide a “base flow” into water ways, helping aquifers recharge. -Use of rainwater and grey water for landscape irrigation. -Water reducing plumbing fixtures are proposed, such as shower heads, washers, and dual flush toilets. -Use of native landscape materials requiring minimal watering. -The design of the master plan allows the developer to exploit the existing landscape, without destroying any natural environment. - A hierarchy of connected circulation routes and shared open spaces, work hand by hand to utilize the less infrastructure possible. -Vertical housing is orientated to the south, to benefit of the sun movement. -Housing is designed to respond to local context, lifestyles, and climate. Passive solar orientation plus natural shading devices such as trees and arbours, combined with roof overhangs, louvers, and screens, plus water features, are used to improve the microclimate and cool building interiors. - Houses with critical sun exposure, have implemented shading devices and trees in strategic locations. -Buildings are designed to minimize artificial lighting demands and to feel comfortable with minimal use of mechanical air movement systems. - The master plan accommodated the houses in strategic locations, to take advantage of the existing landscape; trees, river and natural corridors. -At the level of master planning, the project provides a hierarchy of routes, for daily trips by walking and cycling, for a less dependence on automobile. “This is the greatest energy reduction strategy” -Buildings and houses are well orientated, also trees and architectural elements provide a fresh


3.H - By providing narrow streets shaded by rows of trees in order to save costs and to provide a greener, friendlier environment. 3.I - By providing opportunities for gardening and urban agriculture.

3.L - By providing convenient services within walking distance.

environment, so as cross ventilation strategies to reduce the need for air conditioning. -All types of houses; vertical housing and town houses have optimized their insulation levels. -Buildings are oriented according to best passive solar design practices, and building envelopes are designed to optimize thermal performance to reduce heating demand in winter and minimize use of air conditioning in summer. -Main paths where implemented with trees and architectural elements to make a friendlier environment.

-The river path and clusters have designated areas for gardening and agriculture. -Use of rainwater and grey water for landscape irrigation. -The project provides a hierarchy of routes, for daily trips by walking and cycling, for a less dependence on automobile

HEALTH 5-5 4.A - Discourage the depletion of nonrenewable resources. 4.B - Encourage recyclable materials and encourage the use of materials with low embodied energy.

4.C - To improve health and well-being by promoting walking and cycling. 4.D - By providing public safety programs. 4.E - By providing public security force certified as a paramedic, emergency medical technician or firefighter.

- Materials proposed are chosen for low embodied energy, low lifecycle cost, low off-gassing, from renewable sources, for durability, ease of maintenance and recycling, and appropriate to the local climate and market. - Housing is proposed to be built with exterior walls of insulated concrete, and with wood frame interior walls, floors, and roof structure. Windows are to be thermally broken double-glazed, with glazing shading coefficients, to reduce heat gain. -The project provides a hierarchy of routes, for daily trips by walking and cycling, for a less dependence on automobile. -“El Cauce” will have 8 clusters all controlled by a local security company that certifies its officers as paramedics, emergency medical technicians and firefighters.


RESULT: PROJECT “El Cauce Residencial”

The Project is located in León, Guanajuato, México. Altitude: 1838 m Latitude: 21°0828.27” N Length: -101°37´23.07” O León

Guanajuato

6.A

México

6.B

6.C

N

6.D

BACKGROUND “El Cauce” is located in the polygon of Medina, the most densely populated area of poverty one of the seven polygons of poverty of the city, large liabilities and lags in paving, infrastructure and in general conditions of life. In sociodemographic terms, the settled population has important characteristics of educational backwardness and illiteracy. pointing out that the area has important levels of poverty that have not been overcome.


Having a context so affected and complicated, the first goal was to understand it and so arrive to the best measures for designing the best possible result. After reaching an agreement with EMCA, a real non-utopian project was conceived. “EL Cauce” means: The fluvial channel part of a valley through which the waters flow in their course: it is the normal physical confinement of a water flow, being its lateral confines the banks.

6.E

The name comes from the existing river named “Arroyo al Faro”, that has a medium density flow that crosses the designated area, flowing down south into the city (6.E) and joining another important river named “El Granizo”. These two rivers provide with clean water the lake “la Trinidad”. Arroyo al faro is the heart of the project because of its richness, its connection with the city and with the people. Starting from this point, the master plan surrounds the river, implementing infrastructure to provide the users with accessible amenities. MASTER PLAN The team that was commission for the research had a clear vision and proceed to redefine the master plan scheme. To provide the project with all the design solutions agreed. The master plan is design to provide opportunities with accessible amenities (6.F), a wide variety of housings, variety of uses and open spaces. Having the idea that the built


environment should provide its users with an essentially democratic setting, enriching their opportunities by maximizing the degree of choice available to them.

6.F

“El cauce” has 39 000 square meters, divided by a main road that connects all the 8 clusters (6.G), with each other and with the river, each of these have its own access point, controlled by a local security company (6.H). A wide variety of housing and uses are implemented, to create opportunities in the community for living, working, shopping, and recreation.

6.G

All routes, paths and amenities, where design accessible for people with disabilities, including them in order to make them participate in everyday activities.


6. H

6. I

Creating large open areas whit out pavement, to create natural filters, so rain could infiltrate through the soil and provide a “base flow” into water ways, helping aquifers to recharge.

6. J


6. K

the river is the main icon of the community because of its richness, it creates opportunities like; agriculture, arts, commerce, religion and mobility; connects adjacent communities with the main roads for a better and closer transportation. The amenities in the river are design for all users.

6. L


CONCLUSIONS & COMENTARIES

This Project is part of a series of initiatives undertaken by students and professors from Tecnologico de Monterrey campus Léon, to introduce techniques, practices, and aims for the design of Sustainable Communities in México and in the world. The current form of community development in México, particularly in Leon, has followed an approach based on financial interests. Most of the gated communities that are built have a lot in common; exploitation of the most squae meters, bad mobility, very few common spaces, all the perimeter bordered, no permeability, no variety of uses and far walking distances. Actually this encourages the use of private transportation, creating unhealthy communities. Whereas the latest North American approach is to develop complete, walkable communities which are generally recognized as providing a healthier lifestyle for their residents than caroriented suburbs, and generally as being socially, environmentally and economically more sustainable in the long term. There is, therefore, an opportunity for Mexico to learn from the North American experience and begin building communities which will be healthier and more enjoyable to live in, will reduce energy, water and material demands, will contribute to lower pollution levels, and whose infrastructure will be more cost effective. The Sustainability Principles and Master Plan presented in this Report will contribute to a small but significant shift in how this “El Cauce” community would otherwise have been developed. It is recognized by all concerned that our master plan represents an idealized model for site development, particularly the concept of an interconnected neighborhood road layout. A concerned intend to promote the principles embodied in our plan in future community design in the México. In particular, Leon’s companies hope the prototype sustainable housing models than once built will demonstrate market acceptance for this approach. It is hoped that further implementation of sustainable community design principles will be incorporated step-by-step into future projects by local developers. Meanwhile, this project will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase co-housing style, green cities, healthy Housing models, a natural infrastructure, and a pedestrian-oriented open space network.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

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