Angangueo, a city that was formed by the river and the topography of the valley reminds us of a typical European historic grown city. Heavy high waters and erosions destroyed it in may 2010 the long extensions of this city that needed to be evacuated. The commission was to develop a new ‘city’ for 586 families that needed relocation.
The new urban development is located in a high plateau in former agricultural use. The existing structure of that site is used to create the base of that new urbanization. Connected with the surrounding by 3 main entrances the new center creates a synthesis between old longitudinal city and the new centralized situation of the site.
Following the inner structure of the topography this city extension creates its urban network with an own sub center and eleven “centros de barrios” including its entire public and private infrastructure. Hereby the rural city re conquest the public space of the streets from the cars for the pedestrians: they don’t only connect square A with square B, they contain the squares within themselves. Leveling the sidewalks with the streets and giving the same stone pavement for both make unity of them. In this unity the irregular rural forms of the sidewalks create a flow of public spaces that encourage urban life in the streets and lower the traffic.
Three green fingers let flora and fauna enter in the urban development. Respecting topography, surrounding, original structure of exterior and interior urban network, typical local materials makes here from a social housing subdivision an autonomic and interactive living urban structure. The “Barrio Monarca Sustentable” made the step from an emergency suburb to an organism in which its habitants can live, work, recreate and do all the facets of daily economic, cultural and functional life and personal development.
