Fragmentary industrial areas and urban renewal: The case of an industrial axis in Guadalajara, Mexico

Author: Álvarez, José Javier Gómez

Source: Urban Design International, Volume 14, Number 3, 2009 , pp. 172-187(16)

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Abstract:

Fragmentary, degraded or abandoned industrial inner areas in cities of developing countries, such as Guadalajara, Mexico, generate urban effects that are strongly connected to the increasing spatial fragmentation in such cities. Paradoxically, conditions for the transformation of such areas into urban public spaces often exist within this context. The significance of fragmentary industrial areas is that the interplay of conditions derived from their configuration, location, which is problematic and potential may either propel their renewal and transformation into spaces for housing, commerce, culture and entertainment, or on the contrary, hinder the renewal of such areas. This affects the overall development of cities by either rebalancing the urban system, or increasing its fracture and discontinuity. The importance of this field is not only the widespread occurrence of fragmentary industrial areas during the past decades, but also their extensive transformation. This research is made by looking at a series of industrial inner city areas along the west section of the railway axis of Guadalajara, Mexico, and draws conclusions on their significance for the urban development and renewal of Guadalajara, which can illustrate analogous cases in other cities. The research aims to find spaces in which `the city' can be reconstituted in this increasingly fragmentary urban realm.URBAN DESIGN International (2009) 14, 172-187. doi:10.1057/udi.2009.17

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/udi.2009.17

Affiliations: 1: aEscuela de Ingeniería y Arquitectura, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara, Av. General Romon Corona, 2514 Colona Nuevo Mexico, 45201 Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico

Publication date: 2009-01-01