urban development, corruption, poverty, built environment, ecological footprint, mobilization of people
As the ecological footprint expands along the border of U.S. and Mexico it creates certain issues dealing with the type of urbanization being developed along the border. This particular issue has captured my attention due to the environmental impacts this region is facing. San Diego and Tijuana are facing major ecological changes such as wild habitat, natural resources, and vegetation being lost due to expansion of both cities. By studying the ecological impacts and being aware of Tijuana’s urban development, both cities should incorporate good infrastructure while reducing contamination. Three topics that will be included in my research paper are going to be on the Tijuana Rivers flowing into San Diego, urban development, and the built environment along the border region.
The San Diego Union Tribune: Proposal To Extend Border Fence
On-Line articles on San Diego and Tijuana’s border region
http://www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2009 The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.icf-xchange.org/icfdn/aboutus/inthenews/files/BNAMarch302004.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/issues.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tijuana_River
Tijuana, has failed to sustain a healthy environment for the population as well as for the environment. With poor air quality, unfiltered water, and hazardous exposures to the region many residents from Tijuana and San Diego are affected by poor conditions in which they live in. There are many issues that reside along the U.S-Mexico Border such as the Tijuana River flowing into San Diego, a lot of thrash, sewage, and sediment are collected within the San Diego region contaminating and endangering certain specious. A large depth of my research is going to be with the Watershed Coordination at Tijuana River National Estuarine which is an organization that has been working in Los Laureles Caureles Canyon in trying to restore the Tijuana River flood plain to a balanced wetland ecosystem. This organization is going to provide hands on experience and research methods for my investigation on the U.S- Mexico Border.
Los Laureles Canyon is exposed to many problematic factors such as unplanned development, flooding, water erosions, pollution, poor air and water quality, waste disposal, and health hazards to residents. Settlements residing in Los Laureles Canyon are not built properly and can be destroyed by powerful water erosions washing down the river into the Tijuana Estuary harming the natural environment, animal species, and wetlands. The Watershed Coordination at Tijuana River National Estuarine has been working in the restoration of Los Laureles. There have been several attempts in implementing alternative solutions to restore the natural habitat such as the permeable pavers, which offers environmental growth, roads, infiltration system, and other approaches. While it is not plausible to offer an immediate solution, we can instead do a cross analysis by stating the facts about programs that have attempted to restore Los Laureles. We will also do a comparison of what others areas of undeveloped settlement have done to deal with hazards of undeveloped settlement and its dangers to the environment and its inhabitants. With various attempts to restore Los Laureles Canyon really slight improvements have been implicated to the region, while questioning whether it is worth the cost, time, and energy. Through critical thinking, interviews, surveys, and past restoration plans, smart solutions need to be implemented where it is most beneficial for the environment and the residents such as the pervious paver project.
While it is not plausible to offer an immediate solution, we instead do a cross analysis by stating the facts about programs that have attempted to restore Los Laureles. We also did a comparison of what others areas of undeveloped settlement have done to deal with hazards of undeveloped settlement and its dangers to the environment and its inhabitants. With various attempts to restore Los Laureles Canyon really slight improvements have been implicated to the region, while questioning whether it is worth the cost, time, and energy. Altogether, past attempts at improving the Los Laureles region have not been very successful due to lack of funding, resources, and overall apathy 3towards the problem in general. In order to produce a truly effective restoration of the area, it is necessary that the residents be made aware of the dangers evident, such as landslides or destruction of households. By informing these residents, it may be possible that more volunteers will contribute to the effort. Also, if organizations notice an increase in volunteers seeking to restore the area, they may decide to provide additional funding for more expansive projects to take place. This Being said, different alternatives were taken into consideration and that was rethinking were we wanted to use the pavers. The pervious pavers project was switch from using on roads that was private use to implementing them on a park that was built for the community a couple of years ago. The pervious pavers will be developed in a public park in San Bernardo that with anticipation will be more flourishing in building decent infrastructure in Los Laureles Canyon. This region will remain a challenge to planners, environmentalist, and others in trying to restore natural habitat, infrastructure, as well as changing people’s mentality on the importance of maintaining a healthy environment in Los Laureles Canyon.
Working as an intern at the Tijuana River National Estuarine at Imperial Beach will be helpful for my research in obtaining useful information on the environmental effects the region has gone through. Oscar Romo will be mentoring us with his knowledge on the U.S-Mexico Border along San Diego and Tijuana. Direct observations as well as participation will be done by the research team by physically being involved in the area and interacting with the community of Tijuana. Newspaper articles from the San Diego Union Tribute will be collected as secondary sources for my research
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