Cantera Park is a public space with an area of 26,534 m2 located in the Coyoacan Mayor’s Office, south of Mexico City, adjacent to colonies such as Santo Domingo that is currently considered a territory with a high crime rate, where the socio-economic level of the majority of its inhabitants is low. It is part of the "Planting Parks" project of the Government of Mexico City, through the Ministry of Works and Services (SOBSE).
The project occupies a land that for years was used as an open-pit volcanic stone mine, known as the "Asphalt Plant", which modernized its machinery leaving a large area unused. This opened the discussion to different approaches on how this space would be used, the neighbors opposed any option that was not for the full use and benefit of the community. Neighborhood tables were taken to arrive at the decision to build the park, meeting a neighborhood demand that had been made for 8 years, approximately.
Also, in the approach of the project a balance was sought between the recovery of the original landscape and the introduction of conventional, playful elements, so that visitors have the desire to stay in it. Likewise, interactive and entertainment areas were proposed that invite the user to enjoy both contemplative practices and sports activities. In other words, the social part of the project was prioritized, in terms of the design of children’s games, sports fields, the dog zone and the trotapista that were chosen to attract users with elements that recognize, thus vanish the old industrial image of the place to replace it with an atmosphere of trust and belonging.
Today, the asphalt plant has ceased to be a source of pollution to become a park that transforms the life of those who make use of it with leisure, sport and contemplation activities, as well as a detonator in the recovery of green areas with environmental value when recovering the endemic vegetation of the area.
The social impact seeks to recover and rescue many young people from the neighboring colonies where the levels of insecurity and poverty are high (Santo Domingo, Santa Úrsula, Ajusco, Adolfo Ruíz Cortines), through sports and cultural activities, that is, by taking violence away from a large group of people who find in this place a dignified, comfortable, ecological space and that allows to develop activities in a free and safe way. Likewise, it contributes to the regeneration of habitats for the flora and fauna of the area known as " Pedregal Reserve," where some species are endemic.
The park has become a landmark of the southern area of the City by filling the lack of public spaces and contributing to the social infrastructure, which in turn helps the regeneration of the social fabric through the use of a fully open and accessible space for all inhabitants of the place.
2019
2020
The Cantera Park is a pilot proposal for a recreational space, the result of which will detonate the next stages, since it reconstructs an industrial property through the implementation of ecotechnologies that promote caring for the environment and the balanced interaction between the natural resources that are conserved and reinforced, and the social dynamics of the scheme of activities that involve the community.
Among the ecotechnologies implemented and the processes that offers ecosystem solutions, it stands out the implementation of permeable ecocret in hard surfaces, the use of quarry stone from the site in the squares, container walls, water channels and furniture. In addition, the Water Trees, structures designed specifically for the project, with the objective of collecting water for the maintenance of the planted vegetation and storing it for later distribution through an irrigation system spread over the areas with the highest number of species.
Lina María Puerta Gaviria, Andrés Felipe Pastor Álvarez, María Guadalupe Mejía Guardia, Josefina Ponce Romero, Fernando Ventura
