The selected Smart City projects are Ciudad Creativa Digital (CCD) in Guadalajara, Jalisco; and Pueblo Mágico Inteligente (PMI) in Tequila, Jalisco.
Both projects propose a specific vision of urban development and seek to be new models of sustainability. Yet, they are located in contrasting contexts. While CCD aimed to be a blueprint for smart cities in Mexico, PMI strived to provide a path from smart pueblo to smart city.
Ciudad Creativa Digital: Guadalajara
Guadalajara won in 2012 a competition launched by the federal government to host Mexico’s first “creative digital city”.
The project has been described as an “ecosystem” located in the city’s historic center that aims to “activate” and “regenerate” 42 hectares as an attempt to solve prostitution, drug abuse, homelessness and dereliction.
What does this project promise?
- Housing and office space for creative industries. These have been described as “smart”, “sustainable”, “safe”, “clean” and “modern”.
- 45,000 new jobs within 15 years
- Housing for 10,000 people
Why was this case chosen?
Guadalajara is known as Mexico’s Silicon Valley. The metropolitan area has a population of more than 4,4 million inhabitants, and so, the project has been hailed as a new model of urban and economic development, as it aims to become a blueprint for similar smart projects in Mexico and Latin America.
Pueblo Mágico Inteligente: Tequila
The Intelligent Magical Village project, launched in 2014, is a collaboration between two private entities: Fundación José Cuervo and IBM. It aims to transform Tequila into a smart pueblo (village) by 2020, and a smart city by 2040.
What does this project promise?
- The use of big data to improve mobility, connectivity and urban planning.
- To make Tequila a sustainable tourist destination.
Why was this project chosen?
As a small town (Tequila’s population is 40,697), Tequila offers a unique opportunity to observe the development of smart in the context of a town transitioning into a city.
In addition to this, Tequila is a tourist destination, known for the famous agave spirit of the same name produced in the surrounding fields, and is part of the “Magical Villages” network promoted by Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism. This project is of significance as it aims to become a blueprint for other “Magical Villages” in the country. It has also received attention overseas, as it has been promoted in South Korea, Spain and the United States.
Smart cities in the global south 