The decline of health in public space in Mexico City (CDMX) includes a lack of walkability in sidewalks; the pedestrian mobility is poor. Enduring decay, the absence of authorities and lack of enforcement of citizens have turned the sidewalks in hazardous spaces: collisions, falls, erosion, environmental discharge, puddles, damaged trees, lack of lighting, cars parked on sidewalks, inaccessibility, no zebra crossing, no pedestrian lights, etc. all resulting in unsafe and impassable areas, unpleasant journeys –everything is unhealthy. The perception of discomfort along with isolated and contradictory actions from the public administration continue to determine health on the sidewalks. The Global Status Report on Road Safety indicates that pedestrians are vulnerable road users of traffic and that is not done enough to address their needs in pedestrian infrastructure (WHO, 2009).
Public space has been studied from different theoretical perspectives. Borja (2000) says the city is primarily public space, to the extent that the city has public space conflict over its use is also expressed. Treviño and de la Rosa (2009) define it from a citizenship point: its open and accessible character depends upon the ability of the citizens to formulate issues and ensure that they enter the gates of the system, so they can be reflected in government policies to acquire a public character. Public space is where public policy is created and recreated by highlighting the legitimacy and legality as elements remaining to any contemporary conception of public space. Duhau and Giglia (2008) characterizes it as the ideal public space in the modern city, endowed with attributes for public use, not booked by anyone, freely available. There reigns a condition of equality to the difference, everyone is entitled to stay and be respected; it is the place where the peace and equality coexist. In the revised literature so far, public space has not been related to Health Promotion. Therefore, this theoretical relationship I have named: healthy public space. In healthy public space the pedestrian has priority; its basis is safe and successful walkability, with total accessibility; its broad and immediate expression are sidewalks. The epistemological and pragmatic grabbing of Health Promotion and public space have led to study the public space in the materiality of pedestrian infrastructure.
In my status as a citizen who investigates and intervenes in public space, my specific research question is –what are the relationships between pedestrian mobility and values?. In order to answer it, I present two case studies:
The first case study, since 2009, aim is to regenerate a 264 meters long-sidewalk, with 45 years of decay, located in a dense and well-equipped tract that runs along with a high traffic road that carries people and goods from metropolitan areas*[1]. The second case study since 2013, aim is to generate a safe and pleasant pedestrian route from a subway and Bus Rapid Transit (BTR) station towards two neighborhoods inhabited by over 23 thousand people. Both studies promote healthy public spaces by citizen management able to demand qualified public works, as well as long term procedures: public administration –who must provide walkable sidewalks?, what they should be like?. Financial costs –how much does it cost to regenerate a sidewalk? How much does walkability cost?. Institutional –how long does a health process for pedestrian take?, who is publicly beholden to manage sidewalks and how?. Cultural –how do users engage with the current deteriorated public space and projected healthy public space?. The main question is –can it all be done?. From both case studies emerges one solution that is expressed by pedestrians in their willing implication towards public space in the binomial –authority and citizens– in that order, as a mere possibility of attracting obligations and rights to generate healthy sidewalks in CDMX.
I used qualitative and quantitative methods for both case studies. I traced the perception and meaning of government and social actors about walkability of healthy public space based on participatory action research and citizen action. I conducted a literary review of laws, programs, and diagnostic assessments to identify institutional obligations of the relation pedestrian-public space. I systematized the process based on the papers and minutes of meetings held with government authorities in order to identify the distribution of responsibilities in the process of healthy public space. In 2009 I approached twelve government agencies and 25 public officials. By the end of 2009, the study identified and brought in the authorities: the central level beheld by Public Space Authority (AEP, in Spanish) and local government in a ward named Gustavo A. Madero*[2] (GAM). These movements, mediated by me, I have called the citizen management of healthy public space. The two case studies happen in GAM which is the second largest ward in CDMX with 1.2 million inhabitants.
In both case studies I found institutional and citizenship constraints. With the above mentioned citizen involvement efforts, I sought to produce a means towards healthy public space. In the first case, in 2010 the AEP issued guidelines and monetary cost for restoring the long sidewalk. GAM did not fulfill its duty to request funds and its omission became a health determinant. There are no procedures in GAM to serve specifications from citizenship or other government agencies, as AEP also failed to aid GAM in getting the funds.
It can be argued that the mislaid interaction of public administrators endanger health in the public space. Uncertainty dominated over two years, time devoted for the sensitive and urgent part of investing for pedestrian infrastructure. In 2011, I obtained the funds for GAM at the local Legislative Assembly (ALDF, in Spanish). GAM hired a contractor for the work in late 2012 and early 2013. Unfortunately GAM did not comply with guidelines issued by AEP, resulting in a poor executed pedestrian infrastructure.
In the second case study, it is projected to create a healthy walking route to-and-from a subway and BTR stations for the walkability of thousands of pedestrians. For this, a citizen day dedicated for pedestrian mobility took place with three specific actions: 1) Mobility Law*[3] workshops based on pedestrian rights, 2) three pedestrian zebras-painting crosswalks on this connectivity node, and 3) a walk to study the pedestrian path. The painting of zebra crosswalks was interrupted by GAM personnel despite having their consent; the local police that at first looked after participants shifted when requested by GAM, startled to send to prison citizens if they continued painting*[4]. As for the walk, a diagnosis of 2.8 km pedestrian commuting infrastructure includes 67 sidewalks –42% deteriorated, 55% lightless, no curb ramps have universal access, no pedestrian lighting, existing illumination targets the vehicular stream. The citizen demand for this walkability route promotes pedestrian infrastructure with flat, broad, lightened, embellished with green areas, marking dangerous crossings and transit pacification.
Based on the above, the scientific questions I will try to answer are: Is the citizen management viable to produce healthy public spaces? What is the scope of citizen management for walkability on healthy public space in CDMX among a context of failure and local government interference?
Paradoxically, sidewalks being spaces driven to produce human mobility, this key feature is motionless due to decay and abandonment. The lack of procedure in the production of healthy public spaces causes ignorance, disengagement and waste among the parts involved.
For the first case, I seek to remedy the public work to turn it into «CDMX Healthy Sidewalk» by improving road safety, universal accessibility, integrating a biological corridor with a constructed wetland as treatment plant that provides environmental services; incorporating the complete-street model with healthy walkability to subway and BTR stations nearby the sidewalk and bicycle lane, together will highlight intermodal transport. For the second case, AEP is dedicating efforts along with my citizen fund demand to ALDF to produce a healthy public space. Also AEP has taken leadership in both cases by sustaining the projects via funds from private real estate developments.
Concretion of walkability on healthy public space in these two cases, will demonstrate reversal to omission and helplessness experienced by pedestrians on a daily basis. Citizen management promotes relationships between public space with institutions and people in order to create experiences that can be expressed in mutual recognition leading transformation of the pedestrian reality.
[1] See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiXh7G5U_fE
[2] Wards are administrative territories. CDMX is divided in 16 wards.
[3] Mobility Law was enacted on July 14, 2014 in CDMX, it is grounded as a right for users of the city and an obligation for the government, gives priority to pedestrians in public space
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