Salamanca is a municipality located in the state of Guanajuato,Mexico. It is situated at 1720m (5,643 ft) above sea level with a semi-warm and slightly humid climate, its average annual temperature is 18°C (64.4°F). Both its water and air resources are shared with neighboring municipalities.
Before the Spanish conquest, the area was inhabited by indigenous Otomi people. It´s urbanization started in 1603 when it was recognized as the town of Salamanca, taking the name from viceroy Gaspar Zuñiga´s hometown in Spain. However, the territory for towns in Mexico was not delineated very well, and in 1821 Mexico gained its independence and in 1910 the national revolution advocated for land reform and equal rights under the slogan “land and liberty”. In 1917 a new national constitution was officially recognized that gave public management responsibilities to municipalities.
This is relevant because municipalities in Mexico hold the power to lead the development of cities and the fulfillment of the population´s most basic needs: housing, waste management, air quality monitoring, local industry regulation, and other public services. Although municipal governments have to work closely with subnational and national governments, they are accountable for local zoning which, when not appropriately designed or implemented, can give rise to problems with rapid industrialization and urbanization. It is important to stress that until very recently municipal governments in Mexico could only be in office for a maximum period of three years, so usually political will or decision making is not guided by long term environmental or social justice initiatives in the framework of sustainability, but by short term objectives often focused on economic issues.
Currently both new industrialization and urbanization are themes of concern for Salamanca. Economic activity has been driven by industry even when agriculture also plays an important role. Since its establishment in 1950, the petroleum refinery RIAMA has mostly shaped Salamanca´s identity and the life of its inhabitants who were approximately 261,000 in 2010. The refinery is controlled by the national oil company Pemex, and it took around 10 years to gain the political will to implement the technological changes that allowed air pollutants emissions to be reduced to acceptable levels for public health.
Salamanca is now recognized as a leading city for air quality management in the country, but there is still a lot to do to ensure clean air for residents. Since 2013, the Japanese auto company Mazda installed assembly plants in Salamanca and Toyota is planning to build facilities, as well. This development brings a new wave of economic growth, including shopping malls, hotels, housing, and business tourism that often comes at the cost of environmental quality.
In the face of this development, environmental managers have to make their ideas heard and advocate for real and monitored sustainable development. Air quality managers, since air touches every other sector including public health, should be playing a major role in redefining what progress means for the city of Salamanca and the State of Guanajuato to be a leader for the nation.
Read more about this issue in: Trying for fertile ideas
Sense of Place 