Mexico City
Utopía Estrella Iztapalapa
DURATION: Ongoing since 2020
POPULATION: Mexico City (Metro. Area): 22,505,000 (Growth rate 1.01%)
TOPICS: SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, WATER TREATMENT, RECYCLING, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION, URBAN TRANSFORMATION
URA SCOPE: ECOLOGY. Green Urbanism, STRATEGY. Shared Vision
MAIN ACTORS:CANO VERA ARQUITECTURA, RIPARIA, IZTAPALAPA MUNICIPALITY
For decades, a vast, neglected plot in Iztapalapa told a story of waste and abandonment. Half of it was buried under 55,000 cubic meters of debris, a makeshift landfill left to decay. The other half, against all odds, remained a thriving forest—a rare pocket of green in one of Mexico City’s most densely populated areas. Where others saw an impossible challenge, CANO VERA ARQUITECTURA and RIPARIA saw an opportunity: to turn this forgotten land into a living, breathing space for the community.
Utopía Estrella, an initiative by the Iztapalapa municipality, was designed to be more than just a public facility. It was envisioned as a transformation—a place where social life, culture, and ecology would merge. The challenge was enormous: How do you build a space for 230,000 people while restoring the land instead of consuming it?
The answer lay in balance. The landfill would not be erased but repurposed. 1.5 hectares of debris would become a wetland, integrated into the existing Water Treatment Plant to filter and regenerate water for the city. The surviving forest would not be encroached upon but expanded, safeguarded as a natural retreat within the urban fabric. Each new construction found its place within this delicate equation.
The largest structures—the auditorium and sports hall—rose where the landfill had been, standing as testaments to renewal. A music school and art school bridged the transition to the forest, drawing people into nature. Small social spaces, nestled among the trees, opened through porticos and patios, inviting community life to unfold under the canopy. Here, an open-air library, a seed forest, and a natural pool would foster learning and leisure in harmony with the land.
A meandering wetland wove through it all, not just as infrastructure but as an educational tool—a living demonstration of water conservation. The debris itself was not discarded but recycled, incorporated into the construction, embedding the site’s history into its future.
Beyond statistics, Utopía Estrella proves that even in communities shaped by poverty and marginalization, strategic investment in social and environmental infrastructure can lead to deep, lasting transformation. More than just a project, Utopía Estrella stands as a bold statement about what cities can become when they choose to heal rather than erase. Soon, under the stewardship of the Iztapalapa municipality and Sacmex, this once-neglected land will be reborn as the area’s most vital piece of social infrastructure—a beacon of hope, resilience, and renewal for generations to come.
Challenge & Context
Iztapalapa, Mexico City’s most populous borough, faces complex urban and environmental challenges. Decades of rapid and unregulated growth have resulted in widespread poverty, social inequity, and a lack of essential infrastructure. With 43% of its 1.8 million residents living in poverty, access to quality public spaces, healthcare, and cultural facilities remains severely limited.
Neglected areas and underutilized land are a persistent issue. Many spaces have been abandoned or turned into informal landfills, accumulating vast amounts of construction debris. In some cases, these sites contain tens of thousands of cubic meters of waste, posing environmental risks and further deteriorating the urban landscape.
Water scarcity and inefficient resource use further exacerbate living conditions. Despite housing the Cerro de la Estrella Water Treatment Plant, the borough struggles with limited access to clean water, insufficient treatment capacity, and a lack of public awareness regarding water conservation. Energy inefficiency compounds the problem, as infrastructure often relies on outdated systems that fail to meet sustainability standards.
Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive strategy that integrates urban renewal, environmental restoration, and social inclusion. Initiatives based on innovative design, participatory planning, and ecological interventions.
Solution Proposed
Utopía Estrella is a large-scale social, cultural, and ecological project designed to address the scarcity of public spaces and facilities in a densely populated area of Iztapalapa. Covering 34,000 m², it will provide free access to essential services for a community of 230,000 residents. Facilities will include a women’s care home, daycare centre, elderly care home, addiction and psychiatric clinics, legal advisory services on gender issues, a physical therapy clinic, music and arts schools, an auditorium, and a sports hall. A key aspect of the project is the participatory design approach, ensuring community involvement from its inception.
The project implements a water management strategy that includes a new wetland connected to the Cerro de la Estrella Water Treatment Plant, increasing its capacity by 50 litres per second (lps) and improving water quality in the Xochimilco and Chalco aquifers. Additionally, a network of smaller wetlands within the Utopía facility will fulfil all water needs and serve as an educational tool for urban water cycles and treatment processes.
The site transformation emphasizes sustainability and resource recovery. A landfill with 55,000 cubic meters of debris is being repurposed, reducing costs and symbolizing renewal. Recycled concrete will be used for wetland structures and pavements, while the existing forest will be expanded by 30% with minimal tree removal.
Impact
The impact of Utopía Estrella extends across three key dimensions: urban transformation, environmental regeneration, and community development.
At the urban level, Utopía Estrella is part of a larger municipal strategy aimed at reversing decades of neglect in Iztapalapa, one of Mexico City’s most underserved areas. Since 2019, the UTOPÍAS program has repurposed underutilized municipal land, creating large-scale social infrastructure designed to provide cultural, recreational, and educational opportunities at no cost to users. Utopía Estrella is the fifteenth of these spaces, contributing to a network that has already transformed the lives of over 100,000 weekly visitors. The results are tangible: a 163% increase in public infrastructure and a 57% reduction in crime, achieved in a municipality where 43% of its 1.8 million residents live in poverty. These transformations have been made possible through strategic public investment, reinforced by partnerships with private companies and universities.
On an environmental level, Utopía Estrella has pioneered an approach that integrates ecological restoration with urban infrastructure. The 1.5-hectare wetland, constructed in 2021, processes 50 litres per second of water, directly benefiting the Xochimilco and Chalco aquifers. By utilizing phytoremediation, the wetland effectively removes pollutants, including pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and microplastics. Additionally, an advanced tertiary treatment system has been implemented to produce potable water for local use, addressing one of the most pressing challenges in the region.
At the community level, Utopía Estrella represents a fundamental shift in how social infrastructure is conceived and built, this initiative has been shaped through an inclusive co-design process that reflects the needs and aspirations of the local population. The construction process itself has prioritized local employment, engaging manufacturers, artisans, material suppliers, and labourers from the surrounding area. As a result, economic benefits remain within the community, fostering self-sufficiency and long-term stability. Once fully operational in October 2024, Utopía Estrella is projected to generate over 350 direct jobs, alongside numerous indirect opportunities that will further strengthen the local economy.
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