Twenty years ago, Mel Suffet and I, together with Marisa Mazari from the National University of Mexico (UNAM, also one of Mel’s former students) and Enriques Cifuentes from the Public Health Institute in Mexico (INSP), tackled the water supply and wastewater sanitation challenges of Mexico City. Back then, this issue was a gateway into the challenging world of urban sustainability, and we made some progress to suggest a more sustainable system. In 2016/7, Mexico City is an even more powerful case study for these challenges, and argues strongly for creative, integrative science and policy. Considering key sectors - water supply and wastewater sanitation (WATSAN), public health risk (PHR), climate change adaptation (CCA), and air quality (AQ) from the 1990s to today and beyond – we argue for an integrative, multi-dimensional approach. We contemplate six domains: 1) project framing, concept and design; 2) development topics and sectors; 3) stakeholder interests, relationships and capacities; 4) knowledge types, disciplines, models and methods; 5) temporal and spatial scales; and 6) socio-technical capacities, including education, research, technology and policy. Tackling megacity sustainability is complex and compelling; this case recognizes Mel’s support and his enduring influence.

Mexico City: The case for integrative science and policy

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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