“When we think about densification we need to coordinate questions of density with questions of open space. Density in itself can be quite oppressive without a clear strategy for the development of open space. In New York we are fortunate to have, in places like Harlem, small – what we call pocket – parks that are no more than 30 or 40 feet wide and provide an opportunity for the public to be engaged with social capital and social cohesion and for a sense community to be built. In the South Bronx we have the beautiful botanical gardens and public golf courses, things that are open and accessible to the public. There are also initiatives such as the reclamation of the Hudson River Waterfront. In Mexico City, you have the crown jewel of Chapultepec Park which is an example of the vision and bold ideas that can bring together the government, the private sectors and community residents to build something great. You also have examples such as FARO, which I think is a crown jewel, because it is about empowerment and asking questions about whether we can use good public space to lift up poor and marginalised and excluded people and communities.”
“We must differentiate between crime and the fear of crime that acts an excuse for not living together. Obviously crime exists - we know that, for example, the homicide rate here is enormous and that there are well organised mafias and gangs. But the fear of crime in places like these – the Historic Centre for instance – often screams out loud: we do not want to live together; we do not want to share the same spaces; we do not want to go to the same events. I consider that security is a ‘thick’ public good and that if a megalopolis like this one wants to et along it must preserve this public good. Not with cameras, not with private guards (Mexico City is the third city in the world in terms of number of private guards and security agents) but with consent, trust in institutions including police and justice and certainly more inclusion. Practical examples include actions like the multi-sectoral support given to Chapultepec Park and interventions such as the FARO in areas that are disadvantaged, and have high crime rates, the very areas that inspire fear to the middle classes.”
“From the beginning the goal of the FARO was to reconvert public space in a degraded part of the city. The experience was conceived along three strategic lines. Firstly, an architectural intervention. We recovered an abandoned public building. The multiple intrinsic metaphors of this wonderful structure – so reminiscent of a ship – inspired us. We began a journey, we sailed off to navigate into a new cultural project. Secondly, we decided to transform the FARO into a meeting point, a place where people can come together and discuss, enter and exit, an open space framed in the local context of neighbourhood and community. So the first people came onboard and we began with arts workshops, creating a space where the navegantes could establish a dialogue about their problems and needs through art. The third and final step was to expand this dialogue to the rest of the city and the rest of the world. We started a gallery where several important artists have presented their work. We also began to organise open-air rock concerts. The street shifted from a battlefield and a place of insecurity to a place for celebration and a site for public parties. ”
