2026 Reports

Climate-proofing in Plan de Ayala Sur, Mérida (Mexico): experiences from participative and citizen-powered urban adaptation

González Alfaro, Gerardo; Olivier, Julia

The CitiesAdapt project, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and funded by the International Climate Initiative, supports the municipality of Mérida, Mexico in building climate resilience in vulnerable neighborhoods. Plan de Ayala Sur, originally an informal settlement on Cuxtal reserve lands, has a population that is over 70% low-income and faces heat waves, flooding, hurricanes, forest fires, and vegetation loss. In 2023, CitiesAdapt held two municipal workshops and launched an open design competition that drew 27 university teams and over 100 students, who proposed adaptation measures for the residual public space outside a local health clinic. Winning entries combined nature-based solutions such as rain gardens, permeable pavement, green walls, medicinal fruit trees, and vector-repelling vegetation with district-wide greenery, a public irrigation program, and community resilience workshops. Implementation is set for the second half of 2024, with the project designed to be transferable to other secondary cities on the Yucatán peninsula. Sustained political support, administrative capacity, and community buy-in grounded in local realities and regional or national frameworks will be necessary for full implementation.

Keywords: payments for ecosystems services, care centers, gendered climate resilience