Planned Pedestrian Zones in City Centers: Design and long-term Development of Plaza Tapatía, Guadalajara

Pedestrianization constitutes an important urban revitalization strategy that entails adapting the street space for privileged pedestrian use, while restricting automobile access partially or totally. In recent decades, planners worldwide have sought to promote pedestrian-oriented interventions in dense and congested urban settings, aiming to recover public space for residents and users. However, there is a gap in planning literature, especially in the Mexican and Latin American contexts, where many cities seek to regenerate valuable deteriorated central cores. This research employes the lens of spatial planning and design to study Plaza Tapatía pedestrian zone –the largest pedestrian-oriented redevelopment effort ever undertaken in Guadalajara, Mexico–, to draw useful insights for scholars and practitioners. I approach the research from a qualitative perspective, providing interpretative analyses from first-hand empirical data obtained via intensive fieldwork. My findings suggest that thoughtfully conceived spatial planning and physical design –measures for planned pedestrian areas– can promote diverse sub-environments with specific identities and unique user experiences.