Co-governance scheme in a green infrastructure project for the management of an urban park

Abstract

During the past two decades, the northern border city of Juarez, Mexico has been facing the compounding effect of a
series of negative factors, such as crime, violence, atypical climate conditions, water availability and budget restrictions.Such scenario resulted in an undermined quality of urban greenspace. Literature suggests that stakeholder’s involvement is
imperative to manage urban green space, because local governments are incapable of doing it alone. The objective of this
paper is to present the lessons learned from an intervention project in a public park located in a mid-class neighborhood
in Juarez, Mexico. The group of stakeholders include representatives from the local government, academia, neighbors,
private consultants, local suppliers and two non-governmental organizations. Results suggest that it is possible to increase
the quality and sustainability of the park by reconfiguring its design conception to include Green Infrastructure strategies.
Once reconverted, the ongoing responsibility of managing the park accomplishes adopting an innovative co-governance
arrangement in which local authorities coordinate e interact with neighbors on an equal-to-equal basis. The paper finalizes
discussing the many conflicts, obstacles and achievements of the project and recommending a future research agenda.