KARINA IZQUIERDO

Karina is an Architect with international experience on urban scale projects and territorial strategies. She has focused on metropolitan solutions for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda from urban policies for sustainable development. Local Pathways Fellow for 2017 of the UN initiative of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. She currently works as an urban consultant for sustainable development strategies in Mexico City.

"A Mentor Is There to Elevate Ideas"

Q: Tell us a few things about your country, and also your life's story!

I am an Architect with a strong interest in public policies for sustainable urban development. Having been raised in two fast urbanizing cities, I experienced the positive and negative consequences that urban development brought to cities with poor urban planning and little governance towards social cohesion and sustainable economic growth. Through Architecture school and international professional experience, I have come to understand that building resilience and sustainability is a multi-actor and multi-level endeavour. Therefore I have explored it from different approaches and scales of intervention, I am currently a consultant for urban development in Mexico City. Recently I became more interested in approaching it from a policy perspective.

I chose to focus in cities after having worked in China because if we get cities right then we are in a much stronger position to face adversities which are now more global than ever. I am an optimist, I choose to be one because that’s what drives me to devote myself to social and environmental justice issues. This time out from my regular activities has got me thinking around the concept of spatial justice. I decided to invest in research and put together a research proposal for a Master’s degree. I, therefore, synthesized it in the following research question. Given the contingency of the public health crisis that has led to the closure of economic and social activities, how to understand post-COVID-19 urban resilience in Mexico City to generate a new sense of well-being and what role does urban planning play in this scenario?

Q: What is your view of the Coronavirus crisis and the world as it is today? How do you define the concept of a better world especially given the hard lessons we have taken from this unprecedented crisis?

The Coronavirus is an urban phenomenon and it has helped to shed a light on concepts that have been in the international agendas of urbanization such as densification of large globally connected cities which have been the breeding ground for the global health emergency.

The concept of a better world would necessarily need to revise concepts of agglomeration, housing, urban ecology and economic development. Also, better access to health systems, we have learned that to reduce federal budgets on National Health systems is something that has played against us. Practically all nations have seen their health systems surpassed, strongly exposing the deficiencies of our economic, social and government system of the last century. There are many people who are suffering economically, physically and psychologically. The importance of mental health awareness has also been something that has been revealed with so many people suffering from anxiety and depression or accentuated symptoms of preexisting conditions.

Changes are coming faster and with bigger implications and we have been overpassed by the pace and scope, in this sense cities can respond in more agile ways than federal governments when it comes to global challenges. On the one side, we are unable to cope with the pace of change and this imposes, angst from the uncertainty, on the other we have not even dealt with old issues such as integration, we are seeing the rise of racism, a continued migrant crisis, gender violence and climate change.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently and how do you think CoVid-19 will affect your country?

Like many other global problems the world is facing, such as climate change, the COVID-19 crisis has affected the most marginalized and poorest communities the worst, increasing their condition of vulnerability. This clearly comes from an already existing high inequitable system in which the urban poor are highly vulnerable to risks, leaving them in a situation of few opportunities to recover. The Coronavirus crisis is no exception, it has hit harder the most underprivileged communities who cannot afford to stay at home because they live on a daily wage. The contagion map for Mexico City is clear evidence of the unequal socio-spatial distribution of the virus.

On the other hand, people who live in poor adequate housing, face realities of overcrowding making quarantine difficult to follow for a long period of time. The fact that domestic violence against women increased by 38% reveals an alarming situation for women having to stay at home with their aggressor.

The solutions in Mexico have not gone beyond immediate, improvised actions that do not attend the greater scope of the challenges ahead, one of them without a doubt will be high rates of unemployment. Some countries have already started conversations about exploring the possibility of a Universal Basic Income that guarantees people's subsistence through a crisis like this one.

Q: As a young individual what are a few of the hurdles that you had to overcome up until today?

First of all, I would say that access to quality education, I have been very privileged to be able to have access good educational opportunities, nevertheless, this has come with a great struggle for my family. I found it very difficult to find spaces to be heard, as a young woman who found herself advocating for social justice, the process to find my own voice has not been easy. At times it seemed like I didn’t know where I was going because I did not follow a traditional career path. I am part of a generation that at the time when we were ready for our first jobs, the world was struggling from the backlashes of the 2008 recession and labour conditions that were not even near to what our parents had, a climate crisis scenario that placed our own survival at risk and our attempts to cope with the accelerated pace of technological advances that constantly leave our ever-lasting years as students outdated. In the middle of wanting to get a job I liked, be a climate activist and earn a living on my own, I realized that I wanted to focus on sustainable urban planning and that’s when I started to look for platforms that would empower young voices. That was quite difficult to find and competition was high, yet I managed to find my way through. Today the greatest hurdle to overcome to advance professionally is the fact I don’t hold a Master’s degree and that is the obstacle I am trying to overcome at the moment because age is now leaving me at the side of non-eligibility for fully funded programmes.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you?

It is always important to have some guidance, to have some structure and support from people who have more experience. Sometimes one doubts oneself and a mentor is there to elevate ideas and get the best out of oneself providing advice and support.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share?

Taking care of mental health. I went through a very difficult episode of chronic anxiety disorder and that put me in a place to reconsider everything I thought success was. Now I go about work in a very different way and I balance my life better. Having spiritual development is a very important aspect to care for which allows me to deal better with stress and difficult times.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives!

The International Association for Human Values.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are made towards gender equality?

Violence against women; Mexico is one of the most violent countries towards women. Community and local organisations are doing a lot through artistic movements to educate and provide support groups.

Q: Share with us a phrase, a poem or a story that you love or you find interesting!

"Stay engaged, stay informed, stay mobilized"  - Graça Machel's words as she addressed us as a young group advocating for change, after an inspiring speech on the meaning of peace and the power of collective action.

Q: Share with us a project that you would like to make happen for your country or a cause that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about creating an urban innovation lab. Cities such as London have it and they work in close collaboration between academia and governments.