Mexico City, a Generation Restoration pilot city, established two ecosystem restoration operational centers that serve as tool libraries and meeting spaces, where volunteers can plan activities and receive training. Two tequios—community service events—restored neglected areas of Mexico City.

About the city

Mexico City encompasses an area of 1,495 km² with more than 9.2 million inhabitants within its city limits, while its metropolitan area is home to an estimated 22,000,000 people. This makes Mexico City not only the largest city in Mexico and North America, but larger than many countries. Mexico City is situated at high altitude surrounded by several mountain ranges, and it has a subtropical highland climate with generally mild temperatures throughout the year. The main industries in the city are financial, insurance, real estate, and business support, along with significant commerce, a diversified manufacturing sector, and some local food production, such as nopales. 

Local challenges

Throughout its history, Mexico City has suffered threats of earthquakes due to its location in an earthquake-prone zone. Now with increasing impacts of climate change, Mexico City is also increasingly susceptible to climate threats, including increased urban temperatures (the city has noted a 4% increase in temperature with respect to its surroundings) and flooding. The city also struggles with various challenges related to its fast growth, including overexploitation of its aquifers and wear and tear on the hydraulic network, loss of vegetation, air pollution, and unequal access to basic services as well as public spaces and green areas.

Action through Generation Restoration

The Generation Restoration pilot project in Mexico City aimed to strengthen the implementation of nature-based solutions (NbS) while engaging citizen participation to improve the city’s ecological conditions. The project centers the concept of “tequios”, a Nahuatl word meaning voluntary, collective labor carried out for the benefit of the community. Accordingly, the pilot project was dubbed “Tequios for Restoration”. It resulted in the establishment of two restoration operational centers, which are physical spaces that house tools and resources, and are intended to facilitate collaboration among people interested in ecosystem restoration. It also enabled two tequios, which are community service events centered on ecosystem restoration activities.

The project began with a comprehensive mapping of urban and peri-urban community collectives and initiatives engaged in restoration work, to identify potential stakeholders and relevant institutions. This included site visits to restoration sites of interest, and stakeholder interviews with participants from a range of geographies and organizations. Interviewees were then invited to two participatory workshops, which were essential for all subsequent project activities. 

The first workshop involved a stakeholder mapping to identify the individuals and organizations involved in restoration activities in Mexico City, including project scopes, results, needs, and challenges. During the second workshop, various potential locations were identified for implementation of the operational centers and tequios restoration activities. Furthermore, the workshop enabled the set-up of the “Tequios Network” and the identification of the technical and organizational capacities and needs of the network to carry out the future activities of the pilot project.

The next component of the project involved site selection of the operational centers and tequios, determined by the inputs of the Tequios Network. The first operational center was established in Ectarea and is managed by a civil society organization. The establishment of the Ectarea center was commemorated with an inauguration event. A second center, El Cubito, was subsequently established and is managed by a community cooperative, and its opening was also celebrated with an inauguration event.  

Two tequios were carried out through the project. The first was a reforestation effort in Cerro de la Estrella that involved planting of native plants, promoting biodiversity conservation and a sense of belonging and environmental responsibility among the inhabitants of the area. This restoration effort was carried out by a group of volunteers from the community of Cerro de la Estrella, and featured collaboration with various government offices as well.

The second tequio involved a community intervention in the Barranca de Barrilaco, with the objective to improve its ecological condition by cleaning up inorganic waste, relocating dead organic matter to form natural barriers, and providing basic training for participants in the use of tools for restoration work in urban parks. Participants included individuals from the Tequios Network, as well as community members from nearby areas. The workshop served to encourage citizen participation in the ecological restoration of urban spaces, while cultivating a sense of belonging and environmental co-responsibility.

Moreover, four training workshops were implemented through the pilot project. These were centered on the themes of soil and water, digital tools for territorial monitoring, use of digital platforms, and legal and accounting issues.

The project also involved policy review and recommendations, to determine the capacity of Mexico City’s legal framework to support successful restoration projects. This included a policy proposal to strengthen enabling conditions for ecosystem restoration in Mexico City, including analysis of regulations and financing. Furthermore, the project team also drafted recommendations for strengthening public policies, as well as proposals to scale and reinforce the Tequios Network. Another important project activity included the launch of a project website, which served to raise awareness, provide opportunities for city residents to get involved, and share project resources for replication and scale-up. 

Main outcomes

The pilot project in Mexico City deepened citizen participation and strengthened government support for ecosystem restoration. 

The establishment of operational centers for ecosystem restoration created important physical spaces to convene interested participants to advance urban ecosystem restoration. The centers house restoration tools, which can be loaned out to users, and they provide spaces for learning and training on ecosystem restoration. These centers serve as important spaces not only for the pilot project, but also provide an institutional basis from which activities can be replicated and scaled up.

The project also featured a strong citizen engagement component, particularly through workshops and tequios, sparking interest among community members and cultivating new skills. The project’s stakeholder mapping and identification and recognition of community initiatives, collectives, and civil society organizations across different areas of the city enabled the project to amplify their impact and strengthen their efforts, thus strengthening Mexico City’s ecosystem restoration network as a whole.

Importantly, tequios were carried out in areas previously perceived as unsafe by community members. By improving their surroundings, the community has begun to recognize and appreciate the biodiversity around them, strengthening their sense of belonging and fostering shared responsibility for its care. The project also saw positive changes in how people interact with their environment, taking on a more active role within the community. The exchange of experiences and knowledge has grown, allowing more people to join the collective effort, thus strengthening the network of tequios for restoration.

Additionally, the creation of a dedicated website for the project served to increase visibility and expand the project’s reach. 

Highlight impact metrics

  • 2 operation centers established
  • 2 restored spaces
  • 2 participatory workshops held
  • 4 training workshops
  • 89 key stakeholders involved (from civil society, government, and academia) 

Pilot City

City Map

Partners

Ecosystem Types

Mountains and Urban areas

Project Budget

$60,000 USD

Project Duration

April 2024 – August 2025

Climate, Biodiversity, and Pollution Risks Addressed

  • Extreme temperatures
  • Droughts
  • Extreme precipitation / flooding
  • Habitat destruction
  • Species loss / extinction
  • Ecosystem degradation
  • Air pollution
  • Water pollution
  • Soil contamination
  • Waste mismanagement

Restoration Techniques Applied

  • Invasive species control
  • Native species
  • Soil restoration
  • Tree planting
  • Waste management

Key learnings & next steps

The pilot project in Mexico City generated key learnings on sustaining participation, building trust, and structuring cross-sector collaboration in ecosystem restoration projects:

  • Maintaining consistency in project participation: In general, during the pilot project there was great enthusiasm from individuals and organized groups to get involved in ecosystem restoration activities, though it posed a challenge to maintain commitment and consistency in this participation. To combat this, the project emphasized designing strategies that promote continuity and a sense of shared responsibility within the community.
  • Importance of network-building: One key learning was the importance of the Tequios Network, particularly its role in increasing the visibility of various collectives and community initiatives to enhance synergies across different actors and facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experience, and best practices for ecosystem restoration. This in turn resulted in a stronger and more coordinated collective effort.
  • Government perceptions: The project also highlighted the need to actively manage perceptions around government involvement. Some community actors were initially skeptical of institutional collaboration, due to a perception that the government appropriates initiatives and acts in its own interest, coupled with a belief that significant change can be achieved solely through citizen-led efforts, without the involvement of other sectors such as government, private industry, or academia. Faced with this challenge, the pilot project worked to shift this perception by developing a narrative demonstrating that the government does not seek to replace community action, but rather to strengthen and facilitate solutions in collaboration with others. Without active community participation, no change is truly sustainable. One overarching goal of the project thus became promoting the understanding that real impact comes from collective work and collaboration between the public sector, civil society, academia, private industry, and even international actors.

Looking forward, the project envisions strengthening the Tequios Network as a self-managed model for community-led restoration, scalable to other urban contexts and aligned with Mexico’s National Restoration Plan.

Meet the community

For Ectarea and Grupo Ectágono, it is a privilege to be the first operational center of the Tequios for Restoration project. This initiative represents an invaluable opportunity to strengthen community participation and ecological restoration actions in Mexico City, reviving the spirit of tequio as a collective practice oriented toward the common good. From Barranca de Tarango, where we have been working for almost a decade on socio-environmental regeneration processes, we recognize this alliance as a strategic platform that amplifies capacities, articulates efforts, and consolidates a model of multisectoral collaboration for urban restoration. Being part of this project reaffirms our commitment to the regeneration of the territory and to the construction of more connected and resilient communities.

— Ectarea and Grupo Ectágono

The Tequios for Restoration project has given a significant boost to our community actions in Mexico City. The delivery of tools has concretely transformed our daily work: tasks that we used to perform with great effort—such as carrying water jugs for irrigation—will now, with the Cubito operational center, begin to be done more efficiently thanks to the use of bladders for irrigating reforestation plants. Similarly, the new equipment, including brush cutters, will allow us to intervene and rescue a complex hillside, something that previously required lengthy negotiations. This support strengthens our community's autonomy, frees up institutional resources for other needs in the territory, and represents tangible relief in an area where resources are often limited. We receive this support with deep gratitude, knowing that it not only facilitates physical work, but also nourishes the collective spirit that sustains the tequios.

— Red Socioambiental Paraíso y Paz and Guardianes del Tepepolco

Beyond Restoration

Mexico City has various local policies and planning instruments that encourage nature-based solutions. These include a Special Program for Green Infrastructure, which lays out strategies, guidelines, and systemic planning for the city to enable green and blue spaces; a Local Strategy for Climate Action and Climate Action Program prioritizing climate solutions that contribute to mitigation and build the city’s resilience and adaptive capacity; a Resilience Strategy that provides a conceptual framework and identifies different pillars for building the city’s resilience, including via regional coordination, water management, planning, mobility, and adaptive capacity and innovation; and a Strategy for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and Action Plan, a planning instrument that facilitates the coordination of society and government efforts to comprehend, conserve, restore and use the city's biodiversity in a sustainable manner; among other initiatives. Many of these initiatives emphasize participatory approaches, ensuring communities play an active role in planning and implementation.

Accordingly, Mexico City has implemented various projects that demonstrate nature-based solutions in practice. Mexico City’s designated “Conservation Soil” are legally protected green areas essential for water and biodiversity conservation, covering approximately 59% of the entire city’s surface. The Rio Magdalena Linear Park combines riverbank restoration and gray infrastructure for flood mitigation. The Cuitláhuac Park was constructed using recycled materials in a circular economy approach, while featuring rainwater harvesting techniques and the use of wetlands to improve water and air quality, increase local flora and fauna, and decrease flood risks. The Agua Capital project promotes Mexico City’s water security and watershed management while utilizing a payments for ecosystem services scheme. Other projects, such as the rehabilitation of the Canal Nacional, creation of green corridors, and establishment of urban gardening programs, showcase climate resilience and biodiversity enhancement, positioning Mexico City as a leader in restoration.

Further resources