“The city of Nogales is committed to improving environmental conditions to increase the quality of life of its inhabitants. As such, we have made significant progress in protecting forests and ensuring their sustainable use to ensure their permanence and long-term use. We have also promoted the development of green infrastructure in the city, as we are convinced of its invaluable benefits, and have been renovating large-scale spaces like the Represo Park. All of these measures must be furthered, but only by elevating these efforts to a global scale will we be able to solve the challenges that the future holds for us.”
—Jesús Antonio Pujol Irastorza, Municipal President, Nogales, Mexico
Success Story
The city of Nogales, Mexico fostered greater social cohesion in the city by transforming a stormwater detention basin into a multifunctional city-scale park of over 3,500 m2. Located in a marginalized neighborhood, the basin was polluted by wastewater and solid waste, its banks posed a risk to nearby dwellings and its only true benefit, flood control, was jeopardized by the accumulation of sediments. Through an integrated design, the basin was restored and turned into a park that hosts sporting events and recreational activities, as well as an urban forest. The basin now provides multiple environmental benefits to the city, including improved water and air quality, aquifer recharge and heat island mitigation.
