Línea Verde, an Axis Road in Aguascalientes, Mexico

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this chapter is to present a case studio on a successful urban sustainability public policy in Mexico: Línea Verde. The main goal of Línea Verde was to improve the inhabitant’s welfare through a sustainability project.

Methodology/approach

From a theoretical discussion and empirical research methods, throughout this chapter we present the results and discuss the possible elements that explain successful sustainable public policies.

Findings

Our main findings are that complex contexts like the Mexican – budgetary impediments, weak institutions, corruption, and federal fragmentations – political abilities seem to enable the final implementation of the project.

Practical implications

This case works as a laboratory of ideas to implement easily, or more effective, environmental policies in countries as complex as, or less than Mexico. Also, this case is valuable in terms of local governments’ analysis and their limitations and opportunities to implement successful environmental projects. The above, however, cannot applied exactly as described in this chapter, since political abilities cannot be manipulated, but this chapter opens future researches on what can explain successful sustainable policies or, if people’s relations may be more important than the policy design.

Social implications

This case highlights the importance of politics in the implementation of environmental policies in local governments with budgetary limitations.

Originality/value

This case is unique per se because runs throughout an old oil pipe; also, it got enough financing and actors helping the whole project, it had a good policy design that could never succeed if it wasn’t for politics.

Citation

Ramírez de la Cruz, E.E. and Gómez Fernández, E.L. (2014), " Línea Verde, an Axis Road in Aguascalientes, Mexico", From Sustainable to Resilient Cities: Global Concerns and Urban Efforts (Research in Urban Sociology, Vol. 14), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 215-237. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1047-004220140000014010