The Paradox of Football Fields in Mexico City
Adelene Tan | Master in Architecture I, Candidate
The Paradox of Football Fields in Mexico City
Central to the Culture and Along the Edge of Urban Activity
The game of football permeates deep into the identity of Mexican culture. It kindles strong sentiments of nationalistic pride, evokes feelings of passion, and weaves a thread of cultural unity. Introduced by the British at the end of the nineteenth century, football won over the hearts of the citizens and became the dominant sport of the country. This project begins with an exploration of football field typologies in different parts of Mexico City. Mapping the urban conditions of existing fields in the city provides the framework to understand the unique condition of the informal football fields that lie within Bordo Poniente, Nezahualcoyotl; the largest garbage dump for the Mexico Distrito Federal. Bordo Poniente is situated in Cuidad Nezahualcoyotl, an informal settlement built with the absence of formal zoning and building regulations. The programmatic and spatial conditions surrounding the football fields stand in opposition to the trajectory of thought that football generates a sense of community and place making. This project documents the spatial and social conditions of this particular football field and questions its future in the advent of real estate development and the expansion of the urban grid.
