When an ambitious community infrastructure project was first announced, the people of Jalpa de Méndez were wary. Located in the Mexican state of Tabasco, the city harbours a population of around 90,000 and, until recently, lacked adequate public spaces. The unfinished structure for a gym sat dilapidated in the middle of a park; the baseball stadium was falling apart; an annual marketplace had to be improvised by citizens, who set up their makeshift shops using tarps and metal rods. Promises from local politicians to address these issues had been made and broken enough times in the past to leave residents disillusioned.
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A Mexico Community’s Gradual Embrace of a New Civic Hub
Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica gives Jalpa de Méndez the public infrastructure it’s always deserved.