After the completion of a beautification project in Mazatlán, the city still struggled to bring more life to its downtown. Gehl was asked to develop a strategic vision, framework, and program for the coastal resort city, targeting 25% of the vacant spaces, to infuse life between buildings and attract future investors.
Concept streetscape cross-section for transforming underutilized sites into urban pockets filled with life. Credit: Gehl
Many of Mazatlán’s vacant plots remain with overgrown vegetation and abandoned buildings Credit: Gehl.
Despite the efforts to beautify Mazatlán’s downtown, the city continues to face significant challenges of urban sprawl and a depopulating central district. With 208 hectares of unoccupied buildings and 1,878 hectares of empty plots, the rising costs of public services and infrastructure needed to accommodate the sprawl, had become a major concern for the city. To address this, Gehl’s vision for Mazatlán aimed to breathe life into the inactive downtown and transform a quarter of its vacant areas into vibrant, functional spaces.
Through a district wide strategic framework, the first phases of implementation reimagined underutilized spaces, from parking lots to abandoned plots overrun by vegetation, as pedestrian streets and pilot sites that set a precedent for new developments. The catalogue of pilots feature outdoor cinemas, food markets, community kitchens, light installations, educational workshops, sports activities, playgrounds, and cultural programming, with the aim to add value to the vacant areas and attract future investors.
Beyond this, Gehl developed a comprehensive toolkit to provide the city with practical solutions and resources for long-term success. This included a catalogue of furniture — small, medium, and large — opening up possibilities for more seating, resting, eating, exercising, and play. The strategic framework’s three development phases aim to ensure a steady and gradual activation of the urban voids, turning them into shared streets and pockets of urban vitality.
Credit: Gehl
Urban Strategy is the foundation upon which form, function and behaviour are created. Our holistic approach always starts with asking what life should exist in place, what spaces invite for that life, and what buildings and facilities support this. People and life first, always.
Mobility is a key driver of urban transformation and quality of life. By approaching transportation and mobility challenges from a people-first perspective we help clients prioritize the human experience in everything from city-wide strategies to street corner improvements.