Mexico, 30 September 2021 -- UN-Habitat and the National Fund for Tourism Development of Mexico (Fonatur) presented 12 urban planning and design guidelines to promote sustainable urban development in the municipalities of the southeastern Mexico, where Maya Train stations will be constructed.

The Maya Train is a comprehensive project of land use planning, infrastructure, economic growth and sustainable tourism that seeks the social welfare of the inhabitants of the southeast of Mexico. Since 2019, UN-Habitat has been providing technical assistance to Fonatur in the five states where the Mayan Train will travel.

“The Maya Train requires urban actions to be taken towards its successful integration in the southeast region of Mexico,” Fonatur Director Rogelio Jimenez Pons said. “These actions must focus on democratic participation, environmental protection and promotion of socio-economic development to improve the quality of people's life.”

In this regard, specific recommendations are included in the publication “Urban planning and design guidelines,” published by UN-Habitat, with support from Fonatur and UNESCO.

“These urban planning and design guidelines can help to ensure global standards in the design and planning of southeast region of Mexico. Its implementation is crucial for the region and will contribute to the achievement of the SDG and the New Urban Agenda,” said Elkin Velasquez, Representative of UN-habitat Latin America and the Caribbean and Interim Director of the office in Mexico.

The 12 guidelines, divided into environmental responsibility, social inclusion, and local economy axes, will serve as a guide for decision-making processes and planning tools around the stations of the Maya Train, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) in the southeast region of Mexico.

The guidelines for environmental responsibility aim for proper integration of nature with the built environment to protect the unique climatic and ecological features of the region.

The social inclusion guidelines aim to make human settlements in the region more inclusive, encourage informed participation and respect the culture and heritage of the region.

Through local economy guidelines, UN-Habitat suggests ways to boost local production by developing sustainable infrastructure, encouraging urban proximity and safety, and providing sustainable mobility alternatives.

“The Urban Planning and Design Guidelines proposed by UN-Habitat will contribute to achieve a fair, equitable and integrated development of the communities of southeastern Mexico,“ said Edgardo Bolio Arceo, director of the Municipal Planning Institute of Merida, Yucatan.