Mexico City Resilient Community

Rainfall from 1985–2024, slopes, soils and drainage paths identify exposure of vulnerable settlements and public facilities. Concentrated risks inform priorities for reinforcement, drainage, repairs and new housing.

The research supports design comparisons and intervention priorities, rather than real-time warnings. Roads, homes and public facilities are considered together with equipment locations, maintenance access and phased implementation.

Buildings support different community activities. Digital access and mobile classrooms provide technical infrastructure; practical skills, online learning and entrepreneurship support education; shared spaces, childcare and flexible hours form a community support network. Training, coworking and continuing support are organised around residents’ abilities to improve use of the same public building.

The existing Alheña centre becomes a base for community digital services within a walkable catchment. Training rooms, services and support spaces occupy the ground floor; coworking, shared equipment and collaboration spaces occupy the upper level, connected by the existing stair. Reliable electricity, ventilation and high-speed internet are supported by solar backup, security and maintenance space.

Dry-season activities include training, skills assessment and follow-up. In the rainy season, checked monitoring data enters an alert process with household notification and delivery confirmation. Two treatment options compare solar-assisted hybrid systems with passive gravity treatment, integrating first flush, filtration, disinfection, separated storage and equipment foundations, with maintenance and phased delivery in mind.

Roads, riparian buffers and public spaces connect neighbourhood renewal and water infrastructure. Primary roads, secondary roads and footpaths use approximate widths of 6 m, 3 m and 2.5 m. Permeable paving, drainage channels and native planting support everyday public activities.

Two-storey dwellings accommodate changing household needs through semi-public thresholds, alternative entrances and plan subdivisions.

Envelope, thermal mass, ventilation and rainwater collection work together. Adaptable foundations beneath a repeatable upper structure accommodate different slopes.

I coordinated spatial strategies, housing prototypes, technical interfaces and budget studies so that interventions at plot, public-building and household scales could be discussed and implemented in phases. Proposals include collaboration with community governance and participatory budgeting, accounting for training, maintenance, quality checks and contingencies. Course estimates of EUR 470 and 342/m² differ by about 27%; this has not been verified through construction.