Mexico City Presents Plan for High-Seismic-Risk Buildings

The Mexico City government launched the Comprehensive Care Program for High-Risk Properties aimed at identifying and intervening in buildings vulnerable to earthquakes. The program was announced as authorities began the demolition of two high-risk buildings in Downtown Mexico City. 

The two buildings on Fray Servando Teresa de Mier 172 and 174, built in the early 1970s before stricter seismic codes were enacted, suffered damage in both the 1985 and 2017 earthquakes. According to Renato Berrón, Director, Institute for Construction Safety, their structural system is not appropriate for a seismic zone, making demolition the most viable option. The demolition will have a cost of MX$7 million (US$381,125) and was carried out under a fiscal credit mechanism, according to Housing Minister Inti Muñoz. 

"Today is a very important day because the reconstruction plan for housing for those affected by the 1985 and 2017 earthquakes is being announced. She framed the new program as a shift from a reactive to a preventative strategy, designed to increase the safety and structural resilience of the city,” Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada noted.

The new city-wide program is structured around four key pillars: prioritizing high-risk properties through technical and scientific diagnoses; establishing defined protocols for intervention; designing integrated solutions with clear funding sources; and carrying out the physical actions of reinforcement, demolition, rehabilitation, or reconstruction. The government has already identified other priority buildings for intervention, including six in the Tlatelolco housing unit.

The long-term plan includes collaborating with the new private owners of the cleared land to develop affordable housing projects. "We are convinced that Mexico City should not continue to build its future on structures that are on the verge of collapse. We cannot continue to be reactive to tragedy," Myriam Urzúa, Minister of Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection, said.