|
Master Planning South of the Border: The Case of Colombia, Mexico By Samuel Alatorre The Colombia Project is one of the most ambitious development projects on the U.S.-Mexican border today. It's designed to take full advantage of its location and position of Colombia as the preferred international crossing for North American trade as the heart of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Colombia, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, is a border city 25 miles west of Laredo, Texas. It represents the limited border (9 miles) that the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon shares with the state of Texas, particularly with Webb County and the City of Laredo. In Mexico, Colombia is under the political jurisdiction of the municipality
of Anahuac, which has its seat 43.5 miles to the south in the city of Anahuac.
Given its status as an international trade port and unique geographic location,
Colombia receives attention by the three levels of government in Mexico. However,
it is the state agency of FIDENOR
(Fideicomiso del Gobierno del Estado de Nuevo León, or Trust for the Development
of the North of the State of Nuevo Leon) that has taken the leading responsibility
of promoting the comprehensive development of what is practically a greenfield
site today. Figure 1: Geographic location of Colombia, Nuevo Leon Background Colombia traces its roots to 1892 when then–Nuevo Leon governor Bernardo Reyes, a renowned general under former President Porfirio Diaz, took advantage of a wider revision of state limits to negotiate a land trade with the neighboring state of Coahuila to the west. The exchange gave Nuevo Leon the existing narrow access to the border, an asset that would increase in strategic value in years to come. Since the land trade was completed in 1892, the new locality was given the name of Colombia to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The decree that formalized the settlement of Colombia granted large lots and
farming parcels to families willing to relocate. Following traditional subdivision
schemes of the time, a reticular grid gave shape to the 110 blocks that formed
the new town, while larger pasture and farming parcels were located to the south
of it. The construction of public buildings in the new town began in 1893, and
the structures of some of these remain functional to this day. Figure 2: Colombia town grid Little happened in Colombia during the following 100 years. The diminishing attention given to the site paired with the constant growth of the two Laredos (Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico) led original settlers to abandon their properties and seek better opportunities in Texas. It was not until the mid-1980s when Mexico joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that Colombia acquired a new attractive outlook. The opening of the Mexican economy projected Colombia as a potential new international crossing, and gave the state of Nuevo Leon an entry into a development arena that had been practically monopolized in the region by the municipality of Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas state. The discussion about a project for a new international bridge at Colombia started in 1988. The Colombia-Solidarity International Bridge was built between 1989 and 1991, and its official inauguration took place in July 1991, just months before the administration of former Governor Jorge Treviño ended its term in office. This rather late opening of the bridge in the midst of a tense change of state administrations provided the conditions for what turned out to be a costly mishandling of the project. Entering Governor Socrates Rizzo removed executive staff and changed the appointed head of FIDENOR on three different occasions between 1992 and 1995. The administrative uncertainty that characterized this period in the project's history reflected on its decay. Most of the facilities surrounding the bridge were abandoned, and many investors that bought into the original project were left with unfulfilled promises for infrastructure development and public service provision. The project's credibility suffered, and the last head of FIDENOR was imprisoned under embezzlement charges when Governor Rizzo was forced out of office in April 1996 before completing his term. An interim state administration followed for approximately 18 months, with the main task of preparing the state government elections of 1997. An ambitious visioning exercise began in 1997 with a new state administration
(Fernando Canales), and several large infrastructure projects gradually came
together to integrate what is now the Colombia Project. In addition to the international
bridge that is widely recognized for its efficient customs operations today,
the surrounding facilities include the largest functioning bonded area on the
northern border that offers significant savings for international trade operations.
Colombia's natural location for logistics and distribution facilities is leading
the economic growth of the locality. International trade is the same economic
engine that has catapulted the neighboring city of Laredo, Texas, as the second-fastest
growing city in the U.S. Figure 3: Colombia International Bridge and surrounding facilities Complementary large infrastructure projects destined to strengthen the attractiveness of Colombia in years to come include a new international railroad bridge, a new toll-free road connecting Colombia to the existing roads linking Monterrey and the port of Laredo, and a new cargo airport currently under study. The ongoing construction of new affordable housing and a health clinic in the
old town of Colombia, along with the complete refurbishing of the main plaza,
reflect the comprehensive approach to the project as new private investment
continues to fuel employment growth. Private investment in Colombia exceeds
$25 million (U.S.) since 1997, while committed public investment for infrastructure
development doubles that amount. On the United States side, the largest investment
took the form of the first private toll-road in Texas and the longest private
toll-road in the U.S. The Camino Colombia, opened in October 2000, provides
a direct, high-speed connection between the Colombia International Bridge and
Interstate 35 and route 83. Figure 4: New main plaza in Colombia Along with investments in industry and housing, the project has attracted the
interest of major academic institutions in the region. The Monterrey Institute
of Technology (ITESM), the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL), the University
of Texas at Austin, and FIDENOR came together in June 2001 to form a nonprofit
association, Research and Technological Development Center (CIDET by its Spanish
acronym). CIDET addresses the fostering of technology and education-driven industries
in Colombia, and by choosing Colombia as the location for its experimental campus
(currently under construction), it is already a contributing partner to the
project with research and technological development activities in renewable
energies and water saving and recycling. Figure 5: Sitemap for CIDET's campus in Colombia The Plan and the Planning Process The Colombia Project components and parallel initiatives come together and
become part of the comprehensive strategy outlined by the Colombia urban development
plan. The plan itself takes the legal identity of a locality plan (according
to the categorization established by Mexican and Nuevo Leon state law), and
constitutes a revision to the approved locality plan of 1994. As part of the
update to the 1994 plan, the subject area for the plan was extended to encompass
the whole polygon of Nuevo Leon that opens out to the border with Texas. The
geographic coordinates of the polygon were verified through documentary research
in historical archives and site visits with GPS devices, and the total surface
area considered by the plan is now 75,890 acres. Figure 6: Cross section view of CIDET's Campus in Colombia Given the above, and considering that the existing international crossing serves
predominantly commercial and industrial freight, industrial zoning was assigned
to the northeast and southeast quadrants, taking the international bridge as
the central starting point to the north. Residential and commercial zones were
then left for the northwest and southwest quadrants, allowing for a variety
of areas for mixed zoned development. The structure of the city according to cells and modules intends to facilitate
the use of the newest technology available for the provision of infrastructure
and public services. New technology for water treatment, wastewater treatment,
power generation, and solid waste treatment and disposal allows for service
cells of 7,000-8,000 people. These cells are in turn grouped into modules of
approximately 50,000 people, where the central cell is predominantly destined
for district-level infrastructure and services (i.e. utilities, elementary and
high schools, health services, commercial). Figure 7. Colombia Urban Development Plan Some relevant contributions of the proposed layout address traditional border-city problems. First, the clear separation of industrial and residential areas in a way that allows the new city to develop its own sense of place and unique identity. This is critically important since most border cities are not perceived as final destinations but as drive-through localities. By placing the main residential and commercial areas in the largest quadrants of the plan, all bypass traffic and related activities are channeled through the east part of the new city, avoiding drastic divisions of communities that are commonplace in border cities. A similar logic separates light traffic from truck traffic at the south entrance point to the city. In years to come, light traffic (mostly tourist traffic) entering or leaving the country will be served by a proposed new bridge west of the existing Colombia bridge, and the route will be flanked by a green corridor of protected open space as it closes in to the border line. Thus, the face of the new border city of Colombia will be drastically different from that offered by other Mexican border cities to international tourists today. Truck traffic will continue to be served by the existing bridge, but will follow a route through the industrial zone where this type of vehicle is common. Another noticeable element is the solution given to the railroad. The current railroad bridge that serves this important node of the NAFTA corridor is located literally in the downtown areas of the two Laredos. Its carrying capacity is limited because of the lack of appropriate facilities to hold the long trains that need inspection before crossing, so inspections are commonly performed while the train sits on the bridge. Considering that in 2002 over 300,000 loaded railcars crossed through the port of Laredo, and that each of the 12-15 daily trains are roughly 100 cars in length, traffic disturbances can be severe. In Colombia such conflict points are considerably minimized by locating the main rail lines along the eastern border of the city, allowing a controlled westward shift through the industrial area as it approaches the proposed location of the new bridge. Important as well is the inter-agency consultation and coordination fostered through the planning process. Numerous meetings took place with the federal power company (CFE), the state water and sewer utility (AyDM), and the previously state-owned telephone company (TELMEX). The project and the vision were shared as proposals for service provision networks were requested. Comprehensive and considerably detailed proposals emerged, and were based on a much improved inventory of available infrastructure. Although this sharing of information should be natural for any planning exercise of this scale, it is not the rule in Mexico because inter-agency links are weak and information is still considered a precious commodity in public sector circles. Next Steps The pending agenda is vast and full of challenging tasks. The Colombia urban development plan, along with accompanying zoning and construction ordinances, acquired full legal status in November 2002 when they were officially made public according to local legislation. Along with the recently completed widening of federal highway No. 2 leading to Colombia from Nuevo Laredo, new industrial investments, new housing, the new health clinic, a refurbished main plaza, CIDET's new campus and a recovered historic building as a regional museum will strengthen economic activity in the area. The transformation of this remote place into an emerging dynamic town is underway. Yet, the main challenge for all involved lies a few months ahead, when the current state and municipal administrations come to an end in October 2003. Given the turbulent previous history of the project depicted above, a smooth and flawless transition into a new administration is of utmost importance if the project is to realize its full potential. Planning and beyond More than an ambitious and stimulating planning exercise, the Colombia Project
is a long term comprehensive regional development initiative. Probably the single
most important asset of Colombia is its strategic geographical location on one
of the busiest sections of the NAFTA corridor. As the integration of economic
blocs evolves, Mexico has positioned itself as the country with the largest
number of trade agreements in the world (17), the most recent with the European
Union. This is a magnificent competitive advantage that Colombia offers to corporations
with international operations. In such geo-economic context the profile of Colombia
extends beyond the U.S.-Mexico border to become a strategic location for European
service to the North American market, as well as a competitive international
Figure 8. Colombia's strategic location Acknowledging the above, an international positioning campaign was launched in January of 2001. A specific goal of the campaign was to put Colombia "on the map" of transnational corporations, site selection consultants, industrial and economic development groups, and medium-sized U.S. companies looking for a Mexican production base. To date, multiple stories about the project have appeared in various print and electronic media in the U.S. and Europe, and the interest of international firms has been awaken. Most important, the results of such efforts were recently recognized when FIDENOR and the Colombia Project were selected as recipients of the Gold Award for International Economic Development Program by Business Facilities' 2002 Economic Development Achievement Awards. For more information on FIDENOR and the Colombia Project, visit www.fidenor.com.mx. Samuel Alatorre, Ph.D., is Director of Planning and Development, FIDENOR, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. FIDENOR is the Nuevo Leon state agency responsible for the planning and development of the new master-planned city of Colombia. Since joining FIDENOR in 2000, Alatorre has been directly responsible for advancing planning and development initiatives for the Colombia Project and the northern fringe of Nuevo Leon state, as well as for the international positioning of the project. He is a graduate of the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. July 2003
| |
Printer-Friendly Format
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
