Shifting Perspectives
A Post-Industrial Conundrum: Evaluating the Historical Value Versus the Redevelopment Potential of Monterrey's Industrial Neighborhoods
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Juan Jose Reyna Monrreal
In order to understand the phenomenon of the city it is imperative to analyze the diachronic transformation of its space and society. For instance, Monterrey, Mexico, developed exponentially over the twentieth century thanks to the emergence of industries such as the steelworks Fundidora de Fierro y Acero and the brewery Cuauhtémoc. These companies, among others, drove the sprawl of Monterrey through the development of formerly-suburban industrial neighborhoods during the mid-1900s. As the city expanded and merged with the surrounding municipalities, these highly-equipped communities became absorbed by the ever growing metro region. Though the original industries have closed or changed, their housing developments, schools, and parks, have consolidated within the city's central vicinity. Over fifty years later these neighborhoods face the duality of representing significant pieces in the urban history of Monterrey as some of the first fully planned communities in the country, and on the other hand, having the potential of being redeveloped as mid to high-density districts thanks to the extensive infrastructure that was provided by their funding companies. The ideas of the garden city that entered Mexico during the 1950s, mainly through imitation of post-war American suburbia, make these neighborhoods prime in terms of landscape and infrastructure, while the land prices remain affordable in terms of real estate due to the stigma they carry as former working-class communities. The present study will analyze the historical and recent transformation of these neighborhoods in order to visualize their potential for redevelopment through a sensible understanding of their uniqueness.
Redefining the Potential of the Interstices of the Lamaçães Valley
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Joao Brandao
The district of Braga has experienced rapid population growth in the last thirty years, well above the rates of the country in general.This change was brought forth due to the amendments made to the land uses, that were once predominantly agricultural and forests, which, in turn, led to a significant increase of urban building since the early nineties. Today we still find fragments of the old rurality in the expansion areas, as is the case of the Valley of Lamaçães.The main objective of this research is the creation of a strategy for intervening in the area in a way that would regulate the construction of new buildings to salvage the aforementioned fragments, while proposing new uses that would increase the quality and quantity of public/open spaces in the valley. To accomplish this task it is necessary to draw both the natural and urban features that shape the valley, topography, hydrography, street network, parcel structure and use, as well as identifying points of interest. Through the use of archival images (since1948), we can see how these elements change over time. This allows us to better understand the current interstices, parcels, and empty lots that were once large farms, and plan the construction of new roads and parks that bond with the existing ones. This way it may still be possible to avoid the total loss of heritage and identity through the implementation of an urbanization plan that compliments both the need for housing and commerce as well as recreation and nature.
