Metropolitan urban forests

Introduction

The Tlaquepaque Urban Forest is a public urban forest run by the Metropolitan Agency of Urban Forests of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (AMBU), metropolitan OPD of the Government of the State of Jalisco,[1] which is located in the El Álamo area, within the Revolución Fractionation of San Pedro Tlaquepaque, Jalisco in Mexico, right at the southeastern access of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, with An area of more than 10.5 hectares, it is the largest public space in the entire municipality.

The main objective of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest is to mitigate the environmental impacts of the area, becoming a densely wooded space with the minimum possible infrastructure, contributing to the Climate Action Plan of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. All the tree species with which it has been forested are native to the region, with the aim of recovering our ecosystems in urban areas, attracting birds, reptiles, insects and mammals so that this can be their refuge, in addition to being a space that can capture and infiltrate rainwater, contributing to the recharge of the aquifers in the area.[2].

The Tlaquepaque Urban Forest was born as a result of a neighborhood movement in the Fraccionamiento Revolución led by the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest Neighborhood Collective at the beginning of 2020, which resumes the bases of neighborhood movements that emerged in the 90s, at the beginning of 2000 and in the 2010s in favor of the construction of the Tlaquepaque Metropolitan Park, which did not have the expected results. moment.

History of the land

The land where the forest is located is a state-owned land, at the intersection of the Calzada Lázaro Cárdenas and the Chapala Highway in Tlaquepaque, which since the 80s was used as a recreational area by the residents of the area, resulting in the construction of a public park in the 90s to provide environmental and recreational services to the inhabitants of the area of El Álamo, El Tapatío and Tlaquepaque Centro, the which would be built by the state government and would have an area of 20 hectares, until the project was abandoned in 1992 because the place served as the final destination for the debris from the 1992 Guadalajara explosions of the Reforma Sector in Guadalajara "Guadalajara (Mexico)").

Metropolitan urban forests

Introduction

History of the land

Neighborhood movement in favor of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest

In 2018, during the neighborhood assemblies of the Revolution Fractionation, the proposal to request the state government to resume the Tlaquepaque Metropolitan Park project on said land began to be discussed, but due to various priority issues to be addressed in the area by the settlers, the petition project was left on hold.

As a result of a large fire that occurred on April 18, 2020 within the land, the neighbors once again put into the local debate what would be the best destination for the land, with everyone agreeing to return to the initial idea from the 90s and promote the recovery of the land as a green public space. During the month of May 2020, the possible installation of the corralón on the land by the Secretary of State Administration makes the neighborhood movement gain more strength, which is why a process of citizen organization begins within the neighborhood to argue why the installation of the corralón was not viable and, on the other hand, why the land should be allocated for the green space desired for more than 30 years. This organization included neighborhood efforts to inform neighbors about the citizen initiative, efforts before municipal, state and metropolitan authorities, analysis of the context of the place on environmental issues, a road closure on the Chapala highway, protests outside the municipal presidency, community actions within the land such as cleaning the space, creation of community gardens, adaptation of areas for recreation, forestation of the land, installation of a Waste Collection Center for the collection of recyclable waste, carrying out citizen participation workshops for the creation of a forest citizen project, topographic surveys of the terrain, soil mechanics studies and citizen training program, all coordinated by the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest Neighborhood Collective, a neighborhood group that was born within this social movement.

On May 31, 2020, the land was peacefully taken over by the neighbors, thus beginning the process of appropriation of the space.

On June 4, 2020, the Chapala highway was blocked by a group of around 350 neighbors, demanding a dialogue from the state authorities, which was immediately attended to. In July 2020, the neighborhood project was presented to the Metropolitan Agency for Urban Forests, IMEPLAN and General Strategic Coordination of Territory Management, who see the project as viable, due to the foundation and approach of the neighborhood group, and these agencies were in charge of internally managing the construction of the

Tlaquepaque Urban Forest.[6][7][8][9][10].

On August 26, 2020, the land is visited by the Governor of the State of Jalisco Enrique Alfaro, the mayor of San Pedro Tlaquepaque María Elena Limón García, the General Strategic Coordinator of Territory Management Patricia Martínez Barba, the Director of IMEPLAN Mario Silva Rodríguez and other municipal and state government officials [11] with the objective of communicating to the Urban Forest Neighborhood Collective Tlaquepaque and other residents of the area to discard the installation of the vehicle corralón and instead, allocate the entire land for the creation of a new public park for the city, officially giving birth to the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest.

On February 26, 2021, the land was visited again by the municipal, metropolitan and state authorities to begin the works of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest in conjunction with the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest Neighborhood Collective and the residents of the area.[12] Which included an approximate investment of 52 million pesos, in which the regulatory basin was adapted to mitigate flooding in the area, the creation of a soccer, children's areas, walks, public furniture such as benches and lighting, rehabilitation of the office module and the afforestation of the land with endemic trees of the area, among which the ash trees, primroses, rosamoradas, guamúchiles, guajes, tepehuajes, parotas and mesquites stand out.[13].

On November 27, 2021, the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest is officially inaugurated,[14] attended by the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest Collective, residents of the area and with the presence of state, municipal, metropolitan authorities, as well as the Governor of the State of Jalisco Enrique Alfaro, the French Ambassador to Mexico Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian and the French Agency for the Development.[15][16][17].

Metropolitan Green Point of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest

During the community movement on the ground, the Neighborhood Collective installed a site for the collection of recyclable and organic waste, with the purpose of raising awareness among residents about the importance of correct waste management, which began operations in June 2020, being the first managed by neighbors in the municipality of Tlaquepaque.

This community action was one of the main actions that gave support from IMEPLAN and the General Strategic Coordination of Territory Management of the State Government for the recovery of the land in favor of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest.

As the months passed and the response from the neighbors, the Collection Center grew in the types of waste collected, currently it receives organic waste, PET, low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, aluminum, scrap, cardboard, paper, tetrapack, glass, polypropylene caps and in campaigns with the Tlaquepaque City Council, batteries, electrical and electronics are collected.

In September 2022, within the framework of the launch of the METRO RESILIENCE GUADALAJARA strategy, a joint project between IMEPLAN and Resilient Cities Network Latin America (R-Cities LAC), it is announced that the Community Waste Collection Center of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest was chosen to be the pilot "Green Dot", this as part of the call "Association for Sustainable Cities" carried out and financed by the European Union, which consisted of designing an operating model for the new Circular Economy Centers in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, which was worked together with technical support from the Barcelona Metropolitan Area.

The Metropolitan Green Point was inaugurated in July 2024 with the presence of Gautier Mignot, Ambassador of the European Union in Mexico, the Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, along with metropolitan and municipal authorities, authorities of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and the neighbors. It is currently operated by Imeplan, with a defined schedule, in which they receive different types of materials for recycling, along with environmental education activities, such as awareness talks, educational workshops on waste management, as well as activities focused on the circular economy.

.[18][19][20].

[21].

New Earth Mural

One of the main attractions of the forest is the Nueva Tierra mural, the creation of Jalisco muralist Priscila Martínez Almeida, who, with the help of her team, created this work of art during the months of June-November 2021.

The mural is part of the MÉTIS initiative of the French Agency for Development, which was part of eight initiatives worldwide, with the aim of “promoting social and environmental transformations through art.” The Tlaquepaque Urban Forest was the site chosen in Mexico to carry out this project, due to the great social and community struggle to recover the public space and initiate its environmental restoration by the Neighborhood Collective. The mural measures 100 square meters (5 meters high and 20 meters long), it is made with acrylic painting technique, its location is on the main esplanade of the Forest. It is dedicated to raising awareness and promoting biodiversity and proper environmental management.

To carry out the mural, the French Agency for Development held 3 participatory workshops in coordination with the Neighborhood Collective, in which residents of the area of all ages, SEMADET authorities, members of the Metropolitan Agency of Urban Forests participated, who helped guide the artist on the species of flora and fauna to capture within the work. These workshops aimed to learn more about the social process that occurred in the public space, its protagonists and the different community actions carried out during the peaceful takeover of the land.

Inside the mural you can see species of flora and fauna that inhabit the different regions of the state of Jalisco, such as the jaguar, parrots, opossums, pelicans, white-tailed deer, squirrels, bats, coatis, fish, monarch butterflies, ahuehuetes, myrtles, passionflowers, cocoa, pumpkin, corn, pitayas, dahlias, milkweed, pitahayas, etc. Likewise, you can see natural sites and buildings of the city, the municipality and the neighborhood, such as the Nevado de Colima, the Colima Volcano, the Huentitán Barranca, the Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Parish, the Municipal Presidency of Tlaquepaque, the Hospicio Cabañas, etc.

The mural is divided into 3 parts, the first of which is the contaminated city, then a woman (Mother Earth) is presented weaving a cloak with the biodiversity of the state of Jalisco, as well as the architectural elements that give location and context to the mural along with several people carrying out community activities, which represent the Neighborhood Collective acting and working physically on the ground for its recovery and environmental restoration, and the third part with a more natural projection of the state of Jalisco.

Within the details you can see how the natural myrtle tree located behind the mural is integrated into the work of art, giving a great natural effect to the mural.

Neighborhood movement in favor of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest

On May 31, 2020, the land was peacefully taken over by the neighbors, thus beginning the process of appropriation of the space.

Tlaquepaque Urban Forest.[6][7][8][9][10].

Metropolitan Green Point of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest

.[18][19][20].

[21].

New Earth Mural

Within the details you can see how the natural myrtle tree located behind the mural is integrated into the work of art, giving a great natural effect to the mural.

Navegación

Metropolitan urban forests

Introduction

History of the land

Metropolitan urban forests

Introduction

History of the land

Neighborhood movement in favor of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest

Facilities

Flora and Fauna

Metropolitan Green Point of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest

Jalisco Ficus Arboretum

New Earth Mural

References

Neighborhood movement in favor of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest

Facilities

Flora and Fauna

Metropolitan Green Point of the Tlaquepaque Urban Forest

Jalisco Ficus Arboretum

New Earth Mural

References