Participatory Urban Design: Mesuca as a Catalyst for Urban Integration

2014–2015

Project Lead:

Ignacio Cardona

Team:

Rodrigo Guerra, Ninoska Ruiz, Valeria Ramos, Cristina Da Silva, Ana María Lahoud, María Fernanda Mora, Cristina Dávila

Participants:

Mesuca Community Members, Municipal Representatives, Students, Professionals

Institution:

AREPA Architecture, Ecology and Participation

Location:

Mesuca, Petare, Caracas, Venezuela

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Working with the existing Mesuca Sports Complex as a catalyst, this participatory urban design process explored strategies for integrating the surrounding self-produced environments of Petare. Community members, municipal representatives, students, and professionals worked through physical models to identify opportunities for connectivity, public space, and neighborhood-scale transformation.

The proposal extended the impact of the sports complex into the surrounding territory, including the transformation of the locally known “Escaleras de Mesuca” into an urban connector neighborhoods, public spaces, and community infrastructure.