Nutritious Landscapes: Building Healthy Food Environments in the Metropolitan Periphery of Mexico City

Abstract

Based on analysis of factors that determine accessibility, availability, and acceptability of food services, this work explores the food environment in Mexico City´s metropolitan periphery. The method aims to shed light at possible integrated approaches in planning that can promote food security for vulnerable communities. The conceptual redesign of five public areas was presented in an effort to open the discussion on main challenges and opportunities related to implementation of urban garden projects, focusing on four axes: water, biodiversity, mobility and public space. The projects were done by students during the Capstone Projects II architectural studio in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, and were supported by the Municipal Deputy Director of Urban Planning and Regulation, the Chief of Risk Information Systems of the National Center for Disaster Prevention of Mexico, and a permaculture expert. By enabling critical thinking, setting the base of action on social justice, and encouraging the use of social media, the method turns students into active agents of social change and provides an important contribution to the necessary, but still uncharted, paradigm shift in architectural education from object to people-driven design.