Authorities and various experts on Monday presented the first part of a four-phase project intended to create and implement an urban and territorial development program for the greater Puerto Escondido area.
Municipal authorities from San Pedro Mixtepec and Santa María Colotepec, along with representatives from the federal Ministry for Urban Development (Sedatu) and the consultancy firm Grupo Imagen, collaborated in the first part of the project, which in its latter phases is intended incorporate concerns of the public of both municipalities.
The project is intended to function as a planning and public policy instrument that promotes the rational and balanced development of human settlements, responding to how they want to grow, and where and how that growth and development should be.
Francisco Aguilar García, general director of Urban Development, Land and Housing at Sedatu, remarked that the project will not only include citizen participation, but also seeks to give legal certainty to the public and private initiatives.
Aguilar added that while the process is long, its main goal is to improve the quality of life of all Puerto Escondido residents.
The consulting firm Grupo Imagen – made up of 15 specialists from different areas – will coordinate the project’s implementation.
The group explained that the program is divided into four phases and includes an equal number of meetings with the public of both municipalities.
The first of those meetings was held on September 13, with the other three to take place on September 27 and on October 11 and 25.
The second stage is now being developed and includes field visits to identify problems and to collect statistical and field information on urban, tourist and social matters.
The third phase consists of management and monitoring. Proposals, strategies and actions are to be developed to solve the identified problems, and a second planning workshop will be held with the public.
Once the study is completed, a public consultation will be carried out to seek approval for the plan.
Luis Morales Villavicencio, from Grupo Imagen, stressed that citizen participation is essential, which is why mobile apps and digital media will be used to facilitate contact with residents. He added that local authorities must form local committees and install inter-municipal working tables to analyze the problems detected in the Puerto area.
Specialists and officials representing the municipal, state and federal governments will participate in all sessions.
Aguilar said he hoped that the citizen workshops will be a learning process so that the traditional knowledge of the community that contributes to the balanced use of water resources or the management of solid waste is reflected in the consultation instrument.
With reports by NVI Noticias
