CTS-Mexico Director Adriana Lobo gives a presentation about solutions for sustainable mobility and improving quality of life in cities.

Urban planning and development experts discussed strategies for transit-oriented development (TOD) in Mexico last month during a workshop hosted by the Center for Sustainable Transport Mexico (CTS-Mexico).

The group of 13 people convened on January 30 as the newly formed Advisory Committee for CTS-Mexico at La Hacienda de los Morales, a historic building in Mexico City. During the workshop, committee members recommended specific guidelines on how to integrate transport and urban development along the Eje Central corridor in Mexico City, a project funded by the British Embassy to promote dense development, mixed land use, high quality public spaces and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.

Guidelines for the project are currently being developed as a joint effort between CTS-Mexico, the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (SEDUVI -- Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda), and Mexico City's Public Space Authority (AEP -- Autoridad del Espacio Público).

"The Advisory Committee is an important part of the project," CTS-Mexico Media Coordinator Jonathan Vasquez Betancourt says, "not only for helping to develop a set of recommendations that point out barriers and implementation mechanisms for TOD, but also to build new relationships with the most expert and influential people of the urban planning and development sector."

CTS-Mexico will work to finalize the guidelines by April and assist the AEP to implement them for the renewal of Garibaldi Plaza, an emblematic public space in the city.

The Advisory Committee includes representatives from the following organizations:

• British Embassy in Mexico
• The Institute of Geography, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM -- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)
• Private Sector Center for Sustainable Development Studies (CESPEDES -- Centro de Estudios del Sector Privado para el Desarrollo Sostenible)
• Mexican Association for Municipal Planning Institutions (AMIMP -- Asociación Mexicana Institutos Municipales de Planeación)
• New Urbanism degree program, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Querétaro
• Casas GEO
• San Pedro Municipal Planning Institution
• Softec S.C.
• Secretariat of Social Development (SEDESOL -- Secretaría de Desarrollo Social)
• Federal Mortgage Society
• C+ Degree School
• Metropolitan Commission
• Zapopan Municipal Planning Institution