Human culture in Tlahuac, Mexico City, was formed by and depended on the existing structures of the landscape – the mountains, lakes, forests – as evidenced by the culture of the chinampas, the pre-Columbian method of farming on constructed islands. There was a legible congruency between the structures and functions of the natural and human-made environments. Since the Spanish conquest of Mexico, ignorance of environmental processes led to the “silting-up” of the landscape structures, the consequences being the myriad environmental and social problems plaguing Mexico City today: subsidence of land, desiccation of lakes, pollution of water and air….Yet, there still exist certain landscape “traces” that can be capitalized upon. The master plan, as a landscape infrastructural scheme that can be incrementally implemented over time, is conceptualized to reinstall structural order and legibility to the landscape, so as sustainable capitalization and habitation of site can be fostered. This overarching concept is premised upon the guiding principle of building upon existing landscape traces and resources. Finally, visions are suggested for possible individual site-specific design interventions, such as providing a landscape framework to structure informal settlements.
Location: Tlahuac, Mexico City