14 DAY TRIAL // The Texcoco Lake Ecological Park in Mexico City has every chance of becoming the most impressive urban park the world has ever seen.
Designed by architect Iñaki Echeverria, who specializes in landscaping, this park is to be developed within the limits of one of Mexico City's former lakes, which simply dried out as urban area expanded.
Naturally, Iñaki Echeverria is not expected to undertake such a project all by himself. Quite the contrary: he will receive constant support from engineers, biologists, urban planners and even politicians.
We can only guess that the latter are needed so as to provide the necessary funding.
Although work on the park began quite a while ago, it seems that so far everything is going according to plan.
Earth Techling explains that the Texcoco Lake Ecological Park will include wetlands and lakes where visitors can practice water sports, special areas where families may go and enjoy a picnic together, reforested regions for hiking and biking fans, and even soccer fields.
Environmentalists will also be glad to hear that the park will rely on renewable energy sources to some extent, and that wastewater management facilities are also included in the design project.
Although most citizens are likely to first and foremost see this urban park as a state-of-the-art recreational area, city officials hope that the Texcoco Lake Ecological Park will also help in keeping the city safe from in-coming storms.
To be more precise: the city's administrative board hopes that all potentially damaging winds will break once they hit the trees planted here, and that the excess storm-water will find its way to the park's wetlands and lakes.
Therefore, the park could function as a natural barrier against extreme weather manifestations.
Mexico City is not the first urban area to invest in building a green-zone within its perimeter. Not very long ago, we reported on Singapore's Bay South Garden, which stands out as a result of its high-tech man-made trees.