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<br />002080 <br /> <br />Land Use Problems and Opportunities <br /> <br />With contributions by SDSU students Wayne Gome:z, Susan Tinsky, Angelica Villegas, <br />Maggie Walker and exchange students Judith Landau (University of Paris) and Eric <br />Miranda (SDSU/CETYS) <br /> <br />Field Research Observations of Land Use Problems in the Alamar River Corridor <br /> <br />In the last 10 years, economic development in Tijuana has been a leading factor in its <br />annual rate of population growth, which is currently about 6 percent. Put in another way, <br />each year Tijuana grows in population the size of the City of Tecate; Tijuana is doubling <br />every 12 to 15 years. As a result, the city is struggling to develop the necessary <br />infrastructure to accommodate for the current growth rates. <br /> <br />Irregular settlements reflect the need for affordable housing; public transportation; <br />services such as electricity, running water, and sewage facilities; recreational and open <br />spaces; and an organized system of land tenure and land use. The present style of "ad <br />hoc" growth leads to unsuitable and incompatible land use and environmental <br />degradation. Commercial and industrial uses are often inappropriately placed adjacent to <br />residential areas, thereby producing negative impacts on the larger society and <br />environment. <br /> <br />It is estimated that fifty thousand people reside in the Alamar River Corridor (IMPlan <br />2000). The Corridor's landscape in Zones 1 and 2 is characterized by illegal electrical <br />hookups, lack of sewage facilities, unpaved roads, scarcity of potable water, and an <br />absence of trash collection. Hence, existing settlements and their geographical proximity <br />to the Alamar River translate into concentrated human impacts. A principal source of <br />pollution in both the Tijuana River and the Alamar River is superficial runoff from <br />wastewater produced by human settlements that lack sewage services. Many of these <br />settlements have few or no infrastructure services such as potable water and electricity. In <br />Zone 1, a primary source of water is the supply delivered by water trucks, or pipas (see <br />photograph 5, page 22). The scarcity of piped water can lead to use of contaminated <br />water, resulting in diseases that include intestinal infections and dermatosis. <br /> <br />The unplanned development leads to other problems. Electricity is illegally tapped <br />and transported by wires laid on the ground. These wires pose a safety hazard to children <br />playing near the lines and to residents in general, especially if floodwaters make contact <br />with the electrical lines. Trash collection is often inadequate in irregular settlements due <br />to lack of equipment and human resources in the municipal government. The trash is <br />often placed in the floodplain, which can ultimately lead to water contamination as well <br />as an altered flow of floodwaters. BorderLink researchers observed large mounds of trash <br />near the riverbed in Zone 2. Large volumes of garbage are also breeding grounds for <br />pathogens and insects and should not be located near to human habitation. The presence <br />of unpaved roads in these settlements is likely a contributing factor to respiratory illness <br />due to the inhalation of fine dust particles (particulate matter or PM 10). <br /> <br />35 <br />