Learning From Tijuana: Hudson, N.Y., Considers Different Housing Model

[groovedaddy]

If you doubt that the derelict shantytowns of Tijuana could work as a template for redevelopment in a quaint, upscale town in the Hudson River Valley, you’re probably underestimating Teddy Cruz.

Mr. Cruz, an architect and professor at the University of California, San Diego, has spent the better part of a decade strolling through Mexico’s bustling border towns in search of inspiration. Where others saw poverty and decay, he saw the seeds of a vibrant social and architectural model, one that could be harnessed to invigorate numbingly uniform suburban communities just across the border.

“Developers in Tijuana would build entire neighborhoods of generic 400-square-foot houses — miniature versions of suburban America,” Mr. Cruz said in an interview. “What I noticed is how quickly these developments were retrofitted by the tenants.” Informal businesses like mechanics’ shops and taco stands would quickly sprout up on the front lawns and between the houses, transforming them into highly layered spaces.

Mr. Cruz built a reputation by applying those lessons to the design of residential developments for Latino immigrants in suburban San Diego, enveloping simple housing units in a matrix of communal spaces.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/arts/design/19hous.html?th&emc=th

[Kali]

1. Ignorant Americans (and some Europeans too for that matter) say Mexico is dirty

but if you ever really LOOK, people's homes and yards are always nicely taken care of - sure there may not be a whole lot of money to do major projects but there is always some color and usually flowers in the yard. Sure there may be some trash in the street, but that to me is more of a infrastructure problem - now I don't want to project myth, Mexicans can be pretty bad about littering the country and roadsides, but in general their homes are very neat and tidy.

[shraby]

2. What about zoning laws?

[sam sarrha]

3. don't need no stink'n zoning laws...

[sam sarrha]

4. they leave to escape that, and we put em back in a Ghetto, th ghetto's are how the Have's in Mexico

maintain the 7th highest standard of living in the world, second only to France... that and export'n their poverty here and having them send their money home

[groovedaddy]

5. With the Mayor supporting this, they'll probably change the zoning laws

if needed.