MEGADAPT
  • Home
  • About
  • People
  • Methods and Approaches
  • Key Concepts
  • Social Engagement
  • Publications and Presentations
  • News
  • Contact
  • Página Principal
  • Resumen
  • El Equipo
  • Métodos y Enfoques
  • Conceptos Clave
  • Involucramiento Social
  • Publicaciones y Presentaciones
  • Noticias
  • Contactenos!
  • Recursos Educativos
  • Blog

BLOG

A Reflection from our Annual Meeting in Mexico City

6/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​This past week the entire team met at UNAM for our third annual meeting. We began the session with a brief review of what we’ve accomplished in the last year- a functioning model prototype, mental model analyses, findings from the health team, a serious game based on our data from Mexico City (used for model validation from the perspective of residents as well as future potential as a social learning tool), and more. A busy year!
 
After a brief overview of accomplishments and the meeting agenda we spent some time discussing the challenges and benefits of MEGADAPT’s interdisciplinary, cross-institutional, cross-cultural team. Our complementary funding from the InterAmerican Institute is specifically encouraging this reflection, and this discussion builds on work we have been undertaking with this complementary funding for the last few years.  This past year we conducted internal interviews with team members on this theme and found that the primary challenges are associated with difficulty in communication (large team, lack of relationships between team members, poor technology, language differences, vertical vs. horizontal), challenges associated with model integration between those contributing pieces of the model and those integrating the pieces of the model, the constant challenge of having only a limited amount of time to contribute to a project that actually requires a lot of commitment of time to really be able to understand all its moving parts, and differences in institutional context. Given its prominent position in science-policy interaction at the national level, LANCIS is explicitly concerned with the policy impact and utility of our work. As an institution more distant from the local context, ASU researchers may tend to be more strongly focused on academic publications. However, there have been many rewarding experiences associated with the project as well- new colleagues, new methods, new visions of what a socio-ecological system entails, humbling and rewarding experiences with stakeholders, ideas for theses, and more. Additionally, after taking some time to discuss how we might address these problems going forward, the team agreed that the best way to resolve issues was to really focus on re-opening various communication channels and working relationships.
 
Entering our final year of funding, we’ve also begun to think about how the project might be extended, synthesizing our ideas in publications, and re-engaging with stakeholders to refine and present the model. Additionally, though we have a functioning model prototype, in the words of our modelers, the next step is to transform the code and the programming from an “artisanal chocolate product” (created by our “chocolatier” Andres Baeza-Castro)  to a more streamlined and manufactured Hershey chocolate bar with a clear and reproducible recipe… 
0 Comments

Mexico City in the News

2/17/2017

0 Comments

 
,Though the water-related challenges of Mexico City have been apparent to residents for decades, they are receiving increased amounts of global recognition. The issues- scarcity, subsidence, flooding, water quality, etc- are clear, but the drivers are not. A  recent piece in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/17/world/americas/mexico-city-sinking.html?_r=0) provided an elaboration on the challenges posed by subsidence and the exacerbation of existing problems due to climate change. In fact, the New York Times will be writing an entire series dedicated to understanding how different global cities are responding, or not responding, to climate threats. Mexico City seems trapped on a trajectory towards worsening hydrological scenarios and, although the problems are evident and the unrest is increasing, the system dynamics of a city are of such complexity that insertion points and interventions are unclear.  Sustainability science, the interdisciplinary field from which the MEGADAPT project arose, is attempting to find novel, integrated perspectives from which to view these systems. When the present is plagued by complexity and the future with uncertainty, novel research approaches are vital. However, that which will result from these approaches is uncertain. With MEGADAPT we are learning with greater clarity the challenge of modeling the social and environmental complexity of a megacity- in order to model, we have to simplify. Yet, we believe that we can approach simplification not as reductionists and not as an "end all-be all" box and arrow diagram with a straightforward solution, but we approach it as a learning tool. What can we learn from a simplified*  demystified attempt to conceptualize reality? What can we learn through the conversations we have with stakeholders to model it? What does it offer as a reflective tool for governance and a boundary object for stakeholder communication?  What can academia offer as an institution to start hopeful, productive conversations of change rather than tales of woe? We hope to find out. 

*note: technically this is a very complicated project, but nothing can capture the true complexity of reality
0 Comments

Meet Andres Baeza-Castro/Presentamos Andres Baeza-Castro

1/6/2017

0 Comments

 
1) What motivated you to become a part of MEGADAPT?
​

I wanted to be involved with the project to interact with different researchers with different backgrounds that had interest in the same issue of water, that was my motivation.

​2) What do you consider to be your specific contribution/role in the MEGADAPT project?

I am in charge of developing the agent based model, and incorporating the decisions of stakeholders with the dynamics of water. So, I am in charge of integrating all the different pieces of this research. Also, I am collaborating with the health team to understand a little bit about the inclusion of disease risk. 

3) What do you hope the outcomes from this project will be?

First, from the perspective of the academic, to provide basic research about how the decisions of stakeholders influence the sensitivity of the symptoms and risks to water related issues in urban areas. To provide a theoretical contribution.
Second, how stakeholders react and learn to confront the consequences of their own actions and how it changes the way in which they see the problem.
Third, that it is a strategy that is more optimal and efficient in decreasing the hydrological problems in the city like scarcity, floods, and health, without changing the biophysical conditions of the problem- how can we modify risk with the actions and decisions of stakeholders. 

4) Why is Mexico City a special place to work?

First, it has the best food!
Ok, it is a city, a megacity, culturally it has much to offer, historically, artists, writers, all of us from South America, culturally Mexico has always been the center of artists and latino writers, music, everything happens there.
From the point of view of the problem, historically Mexico suffers from a chronic water problem, and this problem has been documented a lot, and provided a lot to the theory of hydrological problems. 

​1) ¿Qué le dió motivación para ser parte de MEGADAPT?

Quise estar involucrado en el proyecto para  interactuar con diferentesinvestigadores con diferentes líneas de investigación que tuvieran un interés común con la cuestión del agua. Esa fue mi motivación. 

2) ¿ Cuál considera ser su contribución específica o papel en el proyecto MEGADAPT?

Estoy encargado de desarrollar un modelo basado en agentes que  incorporare las decisiones de los actores sociales y la dinámica del agua. Entonces estoy encargado de la integración de varios componentes importantes del proyecto. También estoy colaborando con el equipo de salud con la finalidad deentender un poco la inclusion del riesgo de enfermedades. 

3) ¿Cuáles esperan que sean los resultados de este proyecto? 

Primero, desde el punto vista académico,  el proveer información básica acerca de la influencia de las decisiones de los actores sociales sobre la sensibilidad de los síntomas y riesgos relacionados a la cuestión del agua en áreas urbanas Es decir, brindar una contribución teórica.
Segundo, el entender cómo los actores sociales reaccionan y aprenden a enfrentarse a las consecuencias de sus propias acciones y cómo la manera en la que interpretan el problema cambia.
Tercera, que es una estrategia que puede ser má óptima y eficiente para disminuir el problema hídrico en la ciudad tales como la escasez, las inundaciones, y la salud, sin cambiar las condiciones biofísicas del problema, es decir cómo podemos modificar los riesgos con los acciones y decisiones de los actores sociales. 

4) ¿Por qué es la ciudad de Mexico un lugar especial para trabajar/vivir? 

​Primero tiene la mejor comida!
Bueno es una ciudad, una megaciudad, culturamente tiene mucho que entregar, históricamente, , artistas, escritores, para todos nosotros de Sudamérica, México siempre ha sido culturalmente el centro de todos las artistas y escritores latinos, la música, todo paso ahí.
Desde el punto vista del problema del agua, históricamente México sufre de un problema de agua crónico, y éste problema ha sido documentado extensivamente, lo cual  contribuyó de manera importante a la teoría de los problemas hidrológicos. 

0 Comments

Workshop Evaluations/Evaluaciones de Talleres

12/7/2016

0 Comments

 
We recently reviewed the participant evaluations from our first set of MEGADAPT workshops that took place in the fall of 2014/spring of 2015. Participants attended the workshops for an array of reasons. Many came because they were interested in finding solutions for water quality, water conservation, water scarcity, and environmental conservation while others attended to increase their knowledge about, and understanding of, water in Mexico City.   Overall, we were happy to learn that participants were satisfied with the experience, grateful for the opportunity to attend the workshop, and that almost all agreed that they would like to continue their involvement with the project. Additionally, all but one of the participants agreed that the approach of MEGADAPT has the potential to achieve its objectives. 

However, though participants appreciated and found much of the workshops useful, we also learned how they can be improved to better serve the goals of the project and the participants/stakeholders involved.  First, we facilitated three activities in the workshop- a rich picture drawing activity, a problem tree activity, and a multi-criteria analysis activity. Though participants found the activities useful, we learned from their feedback that we did not dedicate enough time to each of these activities.  This is something to consider for future workshops.  Additionally, the workshops were hosted in the decision theater of LANCIS, but participants expressed that they would prefer the workshops to be hosted in their own communities so that a) more community members could have access to the workshops and b) the facilitators could more easily relate to and understand the community’s perspectives and challenges.

We plan to host more workshops next year in order to continue co-producing knowledge with the stakeholders in Mexico City and we will modify our workshop designs in order to accommodate the expressed preferences of our prior participants. We are constantly trying to adapt our project to better serve stakeholders. 
Se revisaron recientemente las evaluaciones de los participantes de nuestros primeros talleres que se llevaron a cabo en el otoño de 2014 y la primavera de 2015. Los participantes asistieron  a los talleres por diversas razones. Muchos de ellos vinieron porque tenían interés en encontrar soluciones para mejorar la calida y conservación del agua, para reducir la escasez  de la misma, , así como implementar estrategias dirigidas a la conservación del medio ambiente. Otros participantesasistieron con la finalidad de aumentar su conocimiento general del agua en la Ciudad de México. En general, nos fue muy grato saber que los participantes estuvieron satisfechosa con la experiencia, agradecidos por la oportunidad de asistir a los talleres, y que casi todos estuvieron de acuerdo con continuar su involucramiento con el proyecto. Además, todos los participantes, excepto uno, coincidieron con que el enfoque de MEGADAPT tiene el potencial para alcanzar sus objetivos.

Sin embargo, aunque los participantes agradecieron su participación en los talleres y pensaron que éstos fueron útiles, creímos importante rediseñar algunos aspectos de los mismos para que se adapten mejor a las metas del proyecto y  de los participantes/comunidades que el proyecto afecta. Para esto, facilitamos tres actividades en los talleres- una actividad de dibujo-croquis, un árbol de problemas, y un análisis multicriterio. A pesar de que las actividads fueron útiles, los participantes consideraron que no se le dedico tiempo suficiente a cada  una delas actividades. Esto es algo importante a considerar durante el desarrollo de los talleres futuros. Los talleres se llevaron a cabo en el anfiteatro de LANCIS, sin embargolos participantes expresaron que preferirían hacer los talleres en sus propias comunidades para que: a) más miembros de la comunidad puedan asistir y b) los facilitadores puedan entender con más claridadlas perspectivas y retos de la comunidad.

Se planea llevar a cabo más talleres en la primavera de 2017 para continuar la producción de conocimiento con el apoyo de las comunidades de la ciudad de México. Cambiaremos nuestros diseños de los talleres para acomodar las preferencias de los participantes previos. Estamos constantemente intentando adaptar el proyecto MEGADAPT para servir mejor  a las comunidades. 
 
0 Comments

Meet Elizabeth Tellman/Presentamos Elizabeth Tellman

11/28/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
1) What motivated you to become a part of MEGADAPT?
 
I actually heard about MEGADAPT from Enrique when I came to ASU when I was trying to meet the hydrologists on campus. I was trying to do a PhD that combined hydrology and social science and he told me about MEGADAPT.  He sent me the research assistantship position for MEGADAPT with Hallie, and I thought, “this looks like my dream!” So that’s how I got involved and applied for her RA.
 
2) What do you consider to be your specific contribution/role in the MEGADAPT project?
 
I coded the mental models, put a lot of work into a history article on Mexico City, and brought my geographical perspective on data processing to the project. And now I feel like I actually have a lot more contribute, even though I am technically outside of MEGADAPT, because I am doing my thesis in Mexico City. I am living there and doing fieldwork right now so I feel more connected to the people there and can connect MEGADAPT with interesting things that are going on in the city.
 
3) What do you hope the outcomes from this project will be?
 
I hope it helps city managers think more systemically about their adaptation decisions and what decisions means for whom in the city. It would also be great, I don’t really know how this could happen, but if it could help people in the city or communities in the city leverage that information to be able to participate more in decisions.
 
4) Why is Mexico City a special place to work?
 
Why is it a special place to work? Because I think its one of the most transformed urban environments that I know of that exists. I don’t know of any other city that is its current size and scope and has its history of transformation. Like pumping five lakes and settling 30 million people, I don’t know of any other city that has had that kind of transformation. The whole lake drainage system- it took 200 years to build the first drain, like that’s one of the longest running infrastructure projects of all time. And those adaptation decisions have locked the city into this path of continuing to need to expel more and more water, yet bring in more and more water and this feedback loop allows the city to grow yet requires this continual investment in bringing in and expelling water. It is a wicked environmental problem. And in terms of lifestyle and living there, its great too. Oh the food is so good, oh my god the food. And Mexicans are just so fun, its just so fun, there’s so much culture, I really enjoy living there. 
1) ¿Qué te motivó para ser un parte de MEGADAPT?
 
De hecho, escuché de MEGADAPT por una entrevista que sostuve con Enrique Vivoni cuando vine a ASU ya que estaba intentando conocer los hidrólogos en campus. Mi intención era la de hacer un doctorado que combinara hidrología y ciencias sociales. Enrique mencionó entonces el proyecto de MEGADAPT yme envió la descripción del puesto de asistente de investigación para trabajar con Hallie y pensé, “esta parece como mi sueño!” Así que, esta es la historia de cómo me involucré y solicité para MEGADAPT.
 
2) ¿Cual consideras que es tu contribución específica o papel en el proyecto MEGADAPT?
 
Codifiqué las entrevistas para hacer los modelos mentales, trabajé intensamente en un artículo sobre historia de la Ciudad de México, y traje mi perspectiva geográfica de procesamiento de datos al proyecto. Ahora, aunque técnicamente estoy a fuera de MEGADAPT, siento que tengo más para contribuir porque estoy haciendo mi tesis en la ciudad de México. Estoy viviendo en la ciudad y haciendo trabajo de campo ahí, así que me siento más conectada a la gente allá y puedo conectar MEGADAPT con cosas/eventos interesantes que están ocurriendo en la ciudad.
 
3) ¿Cuáles esperas que sean los resultados de este proyecto?
 
Espero que ayude a los tomadores de decisiones y administradores de la ciudad a pensar más sistemáticamente sobre lo que cada decision significa que para quien en esta ciudad. También sería bueno, pero no sé exactamente como podría ocurrir, el ayudar a la gente en la ciudad o las comunidades dentro de la ciudad a usar la información o participar más en decisiones.
 
4) ¿Por qué es la ciudad de Mexico un lugar especial para trabajar?
 
¿Por qué es un lugar especial para trabajar? Porque creo que es uno de los ambientes urbanos más transformados que existe. No conozco otra ciudad del tamaño y alcance de la ciudad de México con una historia de transformación similar. Como, bombear cinco lagos y establecer 30 millonesde personas. No conozco ninguna otra ciudad que ha tenido este tipo de transformación. El sistema de drenaje el lago, por ejemplo, tomó 200 años en construirse el primer drenaje, representa uno delos proyectos de infraestructura más largos de todos los tiempos. Y éstas estrategias de adaptación han mantenido a la ciudad en un camino que requiere que siguan expulsando más y más agua, aunque requiere que también se lleve más y más agua a la ciudad- este bucle de retroalimentación permite a la ciudad a crecer, pero requiere una inversión continua de llevar y expulsar agua. Es un problema ambiental malvado.
Y, en términos de estilo de vida vivir en la ciudad, es excelente. Ah! la comida es buenísima , oh dios mío la comida. Y la gente es tan divertida, es tan divertido, hay tanta cultura, me gusta mucho vivir en la ciudad.
 
0 Comments

News from the Health Team/Noticias del Equipo de Salud

11/17/2016

0 Comments

 
            This week team working on vulnerability to health risk gave an update on their work explaining the connections between socio-hydrological risk and spatial distribution of disease in Mexico City. They are trying to determine how hydrological risk variables such as recurrent flooding, water supply network, and water-related household infrastructure (ex: toilet or sewer connections) and socioeconomic variables such as population size, income, and education interact with the spatial distribution of gastrointestinal disease burden in the city.
             The disease burden database was created from data on gastrointestinal diseases occurrence in first level clinics, clinics that receive their patients from an assigned geographical region. And the kinds of diseases were divided based on pathogen behavior (protists vs. bacteria vs. undefined/unknown cases). Thus far they have used the data to run spatial autocorrelations, bivariate spatial associations, and regressions. The preliminary results are interesting and the team is making very good progress! We hope that the results will be useful for the model, but also for the public health officials in Mexico City. Stay tuned for future presentations and publications related to this specific part of the project- it should be very informative. 
          El lunes pasado, el equipo de MEGADAPT que investiga  la vulnerabilidad relacionada al riesgo de salud nos dió una actualización de su trabajo, el cual intenta explicar las conexiones entre los riesgos socio-hídricos y distribución espacial de las enfermedades gastrointestinales en la Ciudad de México. El objetivo principal de este trabajo de investigación es determinar cómo  distintas variables asociadas a los riesgos hídricos, tales como las inundaciones recurrentes, la red de abastecimiento de agua, y la infraestructura en las casas relacionada con el agua (por ejemplo inodoros o conexiones al alcantarillas), así como ciertas variables socio-económicos como  el tamaño de población, los ingresos, y la educación, interactúan con la distribución espacial de las enfermedades gastrointestinales detectadas en la ciudad. 
            Las datos de ocurrencia de enfermedades gastrointestinales provienen de las clínicas de primer nivel de atención. Estas clínicas tienen un área de injerencia específica, por lo que reciben pacientes principalmente de esta zona de acción. Las enfermedades gastrointestinales se dividieron en tres grupos  basado en el tipo de patógeno (protistas, bacterias, y desconocidos). Hasta la fecha, el equipo ha analizado los datos a través de análisis de autocorrelaciones espaciales, autocorrelaciones espaciales bivariantes, y regresiones. Los resultados preliminares son muy interesantes y el equipo está haciendo muy buen progreso. Continúen siguiendo nuestro blog para enterarse de las presentaciones y publicaciones relacionados a esta parte del proyecto de MEGADAPT.
0 Comments

Habitat III: What Does it Mean to MEGADAPT?

11/2/2016

0 Comments

 
Originally Posted 10/21/2016

Habitat III is the third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. The first Habitat conference was held in 1976 and the subsequent conferences have been held every 20 years (1996, 2016). In 1976, the concept of “rapid urbanization” was a new idea: mass migration into cities was beginning as a global phenomenon and the provision of shelter for the growing populations was an emerging issue. In 1996, the conference identified the increasing deterioration of shelter in urban centers and called for shelter for all. It also sought to ignite a global effort, based in local participation, to address the sustainability of cities in terms of consumption, production, population size and distribution, poverty, infrastructure, environment, etc.
This year, 2016, according to the Habitat III webpage, the objectives of the conference are “to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments to date, address poverty and identify and address new and emerging challenges. The conference will result in a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented outcome document.” This document is entitled the “New Urban Agenda” and is intended to be a document that will be officially adopted in Quito, Ecuador this week.
In addition to representatives from the 200 UN governments, other stakeholders, governments, researchers, members of the private sector, and non-governmental organizations will be in attendance. But other than the adoption of the New Urban Agenda, what are the intended outcomes of these conferences? The conference intends to act as a forum to get everyone “on the same page” in terms of sustainable development goals, to serve as a public opportunity for nation states to make commitments in their respective countries, and aims to steer funding agencies towards prioritizing and supporting the goals outlined within the New Urban Agenda. However, though the adoption is structured as a participatory conference, it will be interesting to see whether participants have influence or primarily act as observers of the process (see this article for an interesting perspective on the role of scientists in this process:http://www.nature.com/news/scientists-must-have-a-say-in-the-future-of-cities-1.20760).
The New Urban Agenda is highly relevant to the work of MEGADAPT both topically, in terms of water related issues, and in its statements relating to the role of research/researchers. The agenda calls for cities that “provide universal access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation” as well as for the conservation of water. It recognizes that urban centers are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, flooding, extreme weather events, water scarcity, water pollution, and drought — all issues that are encompassed within the scope of the MEGADAPT project.
The agenda commits to “long-term urban and territorial planning processes and spatial development practices that incorporate integrated water resources planning and management, considering the urban-rural continuum at the local and territorial scales, and including the participation of relevant stakeholders and communities.” MEGADAPT’s ambition to incorporate and visualize the different perspectives on the problems and solutions of water related risk in Mexico City will contribute directly to this goal. The New Urban Agenda also promotes sustainable water usage via revitalizing urban water resources, treating waste water, reducing water losses – all issues that are highlighted in MEGADAPT’s synthesis of stakeholder knowledge and experience, and in the scenarios of solutions that are planned in MEGADAPT for the coming year. Additionally, the Agenda proposes investment in all categories of water infrastructure in order to reduce water-related disasters and health risks and to eliminate inequalities related to water provision.
Thinking of infrastructure broadly is critical: cities need to rely on innovative strategies that incorporate green and grey infrastructure as well as “soft” infrastructural solutions that focus on governance and institutions. The Agenda calls upon research organizations to work with governments to improve the governance process and to promote effective participation in decision-making. It supports “science, research, and innovation, including a focus on social, technological, digital and nature-based innovation, robust science-policy interfaces in urban and territorial planning and policy formulation, as well as institutionalized mechanisms for sharing and exchanging information, knowledge and expertise, including the collection, analysis, standardization and dissemination of geographically-based, community-collected, high-quality, timely and reliable data…” We hope that MEGADAPT will play such a role in helping Mexico City meet its water and urbanization challenges.
Ultimately, the challenge at hand requires investment in transdisciplinary research, collaborative implementation, and, an approach to the science-policy interface that helps articulate the disparate meanings, values, and understandings on sustainability and development associated with the inhabitants of the world’s cities. Cities embody the complexity of values, politics and social relations that define society, and circumscribe the relationship of people to place and to the environment. Solutions to the challenges of cities this century must place the nexus of social equity, human rights and environmental integrity in the spotlight. Habitat III will articulate the challenge and outline possible solution pathways, but where do we begin? We hope that MEGADAPT will contribute to the debate, and build on the New Urban Agenda to help articulate some pathways for change. Are you on board to help?

Useful Resources:
​
The official website: https://habitat3.org/
​

The New Urban Agenda:https://www2.habitat3.org/bitcache/97ced11dcecef85d41f74043195e5472836f6291?vid=588897&disposition=inline&op=view

A look at inclusion within the New Urban Agenda by our collaborators at the STEPS Centre:http://steps-centre.org/2016/blog/the-new-urban-agenda-and-its-47-inclusions/
​

A helpful overview of the history and current events of the UN’s Habitat Conferences:http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/explainer/what-habitat-iii
0 Comments

Transformation Lab/Taller de Transformación

11/2/2016

0 Comments

 
Originally Posted 10/17/2016
Over the past few months, a subset of our MEGADAPT research team has collaborated with the STEPS centre and the ISSC to facilitate a community participatory workshop in Xochimilco. Xochimilco is one of the community case studies within the MEGADAPT project. It is a wetland ecosystem within Mexico City and provides many ecosystem services, including flood regulation, as well as has important cultural value as home to one of the most diverse and productive agricultural systems – the chinampas. During the 20th century, rapid urbanization of the city affected the water resources of, and livelihoods within, the wetlands. Yet despite decades of public policy and international recognition regarding the issues in Xochimilco, there is still no effective strategy for addressing the urbanization of the wetland
The participatory workshop we are facilitating is called a transformation lab and its objective are to 1) create a space for open dialogue 2) encourage novel collaborations with the potential to create new solution pathways and 3) develop a shared decision-platform (e.g., a boundary object) from which the community can make institutional innovations to address the process of urbanization in the chinampas and in the wetland as a whole. As scientists/researchers, our work is to facilitate a space for conversation without imposing a solution or a desired transformation. We are hoping that the workshop will generate community specific innovation and novelty beyond that which academia is able to offer. Thus, we are recruiting a diverse set of participants; some are members of the Xochimilco community and some are connected to the community in other ways. We hope that diversity among participants will foster innovation and that those not living in the community will contribute interesting perspectives/knowledge and novel ideas to those that live in Xochimilco.
The transformation lab is an experimental pathway towards solutions. We look forward to that which the process may reveal and to the possible outcomes that it may offer, but we acknowledge that its “success” will be community and participant driven. We do not know the best path forward for Xochimilco- the community must decide that for themselves. The first transformation lab will take place the first week of December and a second transformation lab will follow in a few months time. Keep checking in with us for updates and please be in touch if you have ever engaged in a similar process or if you are interested to learn more!
Durante los últimos meses, una parte de nuestro equipo de MEGADAPT ha colaborado con el International Social Science Council (ISSC) y el Centro de STEPS para diseñar y facilitar una serie de talleres participativos para la comunidad de Xochimilco. Xochimilco es uno de los estudios de caso dentro del proyecto MEGADAPT; consta de un ecosistema de humedal dentro de la Ciudad de México que provee servicios ecosistémicos, incluyendo la regulación de las inundaciones, y a la vez posee un valor cultural importante al albergar a las chinampas- uno de los sistemas de agricultura más diversos y productivos en el mundo. Durante el siglo 20, la rápida urbanización de la ciudad ha afectado los recursos hídricos y los modos de vida y subsistencia dentro del humedal. Sin embargo, a pesar de décadas de políticas públicas y reconocimiento internacional sobre los aspectos y retos clave de Xochimilco, aún no existe una estrategia eficaz para abordar la urbanización del humedal.

El primer taller participativo que estamos facilitando se llama taller de transformación (T-lab) y los objetivos son: 1) crear un espacio para un diálogo abierto; 2) fomentar nuevas colaboraciones con la capacidad de crear nuevas vías de posibles soluciones; y 3) desarrollar una plataforma de decisiones compartida, desde la cual la comunidad pueda hacer innovaciones institucionales para abordar el proceso de urbanización en las chinampas y el humedal. Como científicos, nuestro trabajo es facilitar un espacio para el diálogo sin imponer soluciones o transformaciones específicas. Esperamos que el taller genere una innovación específica e innovadora a nivel de la comunidad, más allá de la que la academia pueda ofrecer. Por lo tanto, estamos reclutando participantes de diversos contextos, incluyendo miembros de la comunidad de Xochimilco, así como otros actores sociales asociados de otras maneras a la comunidad. Esperamos que la diversidad de los participantes fomente innovación y que aquellos participantes que no viven en la comunidad puedan contribuir con nueva perspectivas, conocimiento, e ideas innovadoras para aquellos que viven en Xochimilco.
El taller de transformación es una método experimental dirigido a desarrollar soluciones. Esperamos pronto ver los posibles resultados que este proceso pueda ofrecer, pero reconocemos que el “éxito” será determinado por la comunidad y los participantes. No sabemos cuál es el mejor camino a tomar para Xochimilco dado que será decidido por los miembros de su comunidad. El primer taller de transformación se llevará a cabo la primera semana de diciembre y el segundo taller en los siguientes meses. Continúen leyendo nuestro blog para más actualizaciones y por favor contáctenos si han participado en un proceso similar o si están interesados en conocer más al respecto!
0 Comments

MEGADAPT Team Member Spotlights: Hallie Eakin

11/2/2016

0 Comments

 
Originally posted 10/03/2016
Over the next few months, we’re going to use our blog to introduce our MEGADAPT team members from ASU and UNAM. We’ll highlight who our team is, why they’ve decided to be a part of MEGADAPT, and their hopes for the project.  First, we’re introducing Hallie Eakin. Hallie Eakin is the Principle Investigator (PI) for the MEGADAPT Project and is an associate professor in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University.

1) What motivated you to become a part of MEGADAPT?
The MEGADAPT project grew out of an effort to increase research collaborations between ASU and UNAM. Initially we, ASU and UNAM, had a small joint grant that allowed us to outline common area of interests, problem areas, areas in which we had complimentary strengths, and faculty in both institutions that would be available to address these common interests. We concluded that there was great interest in addressing urban sustainability.
The MEGADAPT project thus emerged out of a combination of my own interests/expertise in vulnerability and risk, others’ interest in focusing on Mexico’s emblematic history of water management , and the common area interest of urban sustainability.
For me, the project has been a new experience because in the past my work has been primarily focused on household level analysis in rural areas, not in an urban context. I’ve learned, however, that many of the same issues that create vulnerability in rural spaces are relevant in the heart of Mexico City.

2) What do you consider to be your specific contribution/role in the MEGADAPT project?
As the PI for the project, I have the designated role of overseeing the project. I make sure it stays on track with the timeline, meets our stated objectives, and produces materials/information/knowledge that addresses the interests and needs of communities with which we are working. The role of coordinator is challenging- I’ve previously only worked with smaller groups of scholars (the MEGADAPT project has had upwards of 20 participants at any given time!).
And because this project seeks to achieve transdisciplinarity, it has been a challenge to keep the project relevant to the actors we have engaged with over time. We are constantly trying to find ways in which to engage stakeholders and make the project salient to them.

3) What do you hope the outcomes from this project will be?
We want to be able to say that the MEGADAPT model is gaining recognition as a useful tool for decision-making in Mexico City (and, even more ambitiously, as a decision-making model for other cities around the world). And, that through using the tool, decision-makers can start to re-think the way that the city works and how vulnerability is produced within it. We hope it inspires innovative ideas to tackle the water issues in the city.
​
4) Why is Mexico City a special place to work?
One of the things that I love about Mexico City is the incredible diversity of culture and ways of life that are packed together in this massive megalopolis. There is a constant surreal juxtaposition between modern and traditional life. In a street full of traffic there are cars, but there are also street sellers on bikes loaded with balloons or toting giant piñatas. There is incredible beauty in the meticulously balanced carts of street vendors and in the services that the provide – many services that are completely unavailable in cities here in the US. I love this city.
0 Comments

Celebrating Our Rivers

11/2/2016

0 Comments

 
Originally Posted 9/27/2016
Picture
This past Sunday was World Rivers Day- a day to celebrate natural waterways around the world and encourage stewardship of these valuable resources. Through the basin of Mexico, where the Mexico City Metropolitan Area is located, there once flowed many rivers. However, as the city grew, most of these rivers were enclosed in drains or transformed into sewers (Legorreta, J. 2009). However, there is one remaining free-flowing river and source of surface water within the city- the Magdalena River.
The Magdalena river is located in the Magdalena Contreras region, on the southwestern edge of the city. Like most rivers that run through urban areas, the Magdalena River was transformed as the city grew. Though the amount of water flowing through the river has not drastically changed, the quality of the water has. Clean water is taken out of the river and replaced with untreated wastewater (Mazari-Hiriart et al, 2014). As the river enters the urban area, the physicochemical and biological indicators such as electirical conductivity, nitrogen, phosphorous, fecal coliforms, and fecal enterococci increase dramatically (Mazari-Hiriart et al., 2014 & Jujnovsky, J., 2010). In many sampling sites within the urban area, researchers have found that the water quality does not meet the criteria required for human consumption (Mazari-Hiriart et al., 2014 & Jujnovsky, J., 2010). Additionally, the river contains concentrations of microbes that parasitize and cause disease in humans and animals (Mazari-Hiriart et al, 2014).
This information is not new to city residents and city officials and there have been conversations about the restoration of the river. A Master Plan was developed with significant public participation, and parts of it have been implemented. Transforming a river within an urban area, however, is challenging. What does restoration look like for an urban river? Knowing that it will never mimic its pre-urbanized state, to what state is it restored to? If you know of or are involved in any restoration projects in Mexico City, or in other urban environments, please comment below! We would love to hear from our readers.




Jujnovsky, J., Almeida-Lenero, L., Bojorge-Garcia, M., Monges, Y.L., Cantoral-Uriza, E., Mazari-Hiriart, J. 2010. Hydrologic ecosystem services: water quality and quantity in the Magdalena River, Mexico City. Hidrobiológica 20(2): 113-126
Legorreta J (2009) Ríos, lagos y manantiales del Valle de México. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Gobierno del Distrito Federal. Artes Impresas Eón, S.A. de C.V. México, D.F. 365 p.
Mazari-Hiriart M, Pe´rez-Ortiz G, Orta-Ledesma MT, Armas-Vargas F, Tapia MA, et al. (2014) Final Opportunity to Rehabilitate an Urban River as a Water Source for Mexico City. PLoS ONE 9(7): e102081. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102081
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    A collaborative project seeking to improve capacities for risk management in Mexico City and to serve as a model for climate-change adaptation in developing countries.

    Archives

    June 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016

    Categories

    All
    Current Event Reflections
    Project Updates
    Team Member Spotlights

    RSS Feed

Powered by
  • Home
  • About
  • People
  • Methods and Approaches
  • Key Concepts
  • Social Engagement
  • Publications and Presentations
  • News
  • Contact
  • Página Principal
  • Resumen
  • El Equipo
  • Métodos y Enfoques
  • Conceptos Clave
  • Involucramiento Social
  • Publicaciones y Presentaciones
  • Noticias
  • Contactenos!
  • Recursos Educativos
  • Blog
✕