Co-creating Local Climate Action in León

The Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) Urban Lab in León, Guanajuato convenes government, civil society, academia, neighbors and businesses to co-design and test low-carbon, socially inclusive interventions in the city center. Between 2022–2023, four working groups piloted tactical crosswalk upgrades on Adolfo López Mateos Boulevard, the main road within the city, a temporary extension of the Sunday “Ruta León” cycling route, community-led green space improvements in Killian II, and zero-waste practices in Barrio Arriba, pairing hands-on action with capacity-building to shift behaviors, alliances, and policy attention. These actions were temporary, low-cost, and quick to implement in order to test solutions in the field, evaluate them, and adjust.

Turning ideas into reality required careful coordination, shared learning, and citizen energy. The Urban Lab approach structured local climate action around iterative design, testing, and reflection. Ongoing efforts to scale lessons learned into a public strategy to intervene waterways as urban parks.

Process and timeline:

• Step 1 / Coalition Building & planning (2022): Stakeholder mapping and pre-lab consultations.
• Step 2 / Shared Understanding and Vision (2023): Creation of a shared 2030 vision for the intervention area.
• Step 3 / Implementation Delivery (2023): Four working groups (solid waste, pedestrian safety, Ruta León, green spaces) conducted diagnoses, co-designed pilots, and evaluated outcomes through participatory monitoring.
• Methods & engagement: Co-creation workshops, participatory design sessions, on-site builds, and gender-balanced leadership. Communication tools included email, shared drives, and WhatsApp groups.
• Pilot actions:
  • Crosswalks: Curb extensions and shaded waiting areas for pedestrian comfort and safety.
  • Ruta León extension: Temporary cycle lane on Blvd. Adolfo López Mateos.
  • Green space (Killian II): Planting, urban furniture, and community maintenance activities.
  • Zero-waste (Barrio Arriba): Workshops, composting initiatives, and local awareness campaigns.
• Step 4 / Learning by doing & adaptation: Data and feedback informed permanent design adjustments; participants gained hands-on experience with nature-based and social solutions.
• Scaling: to promote Nature-based-solutions with a participatory approach, UL members created a participatory climate-adaptation methodology to be integrated into the municipal Master Plan for linear parks and waterways, to be published in 2026.

By combining technical experimentation with strong community ownership, León demonstrated how tactical, low-cost pilots can drive policy attention and longer-term investment for sustainable urban transformation.

Collaboration convenes a diverse network of actors. Each partner contributes distinct capacities and legitimacy, ensuring technical rigor, local ownership, and cross-sector trust.

• Municipal and state actors: Municipal Planning Institute (IMPLAN); General Directorates for the Environment (DGMA), Mobility (DGM), Urban Development (DGDU), Public Services (DGSP), and Public Works (DGOP); Drinking Water and Sewerage System (SAPAL); Secretariat of Environment and Land Use Planning (SMAOT); and the Comprehensive Public Cleaning System (SIAP).

• Academia: Universidad de Guanajuato; National School of Higher Education in León (ENES León–UNAM); Tecnológico de Monterrey; and Universidad Iberoamericana, providing research, technical expertise, and innovation capacity.

• Civil society: Observatorio Ciudadano León, Comité de Colonos Barrio Arriba, URBE León, FURA, EcoBag, Mujeres en Bici, and Fab City León, strengthening community representation and civic engagement.

• Private sector: Local merchants, CANACO, consultants (Gnosis XXI, EKM, CROTALUS), Patronato de Explora, and Flexi, contributing implementation capacity and market insight.

• Facilitator: WRI México, leading the process under the Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC) initiative, funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Government.

Storytelling and visibility turned small interventions into shared achievements.

• Public workshops and visual documentation (photo, drone) for awareness.
• Social media, signage, and open events for coverage of the four pilots and to raise awareness on the process of change.
• Human stories, such as local leaders’ testimonies, built community pride and aim for continuity.
• Storytelling through a TUC-produced documentary, spotlighting an urban lab member's perspective to amplify "voices from the ground".

Resource pooling made the Lab cost-effective and replicable.

• International support from the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Government (IKI) via TUC
• Municipal: Trees, labor, logistics, and permits.
• Private & NGOs: Tools, materials, design support, and volunteer hours.
• Technical Assistance: Training, facilitation, and evaluation led by WRI México.
• Estimated Value: In-kind contributions equivalent to a medium-scale pilot budget; formal cost figures not disclosed.
• Resources: Native vegetation, paint and coatings for tactical urbanism.

The Urban lab has initiated various processes of change through small and temporary interventions that has triggered tangible physical, social, and institutional impacts. León Urban Lab has demonstrated that by integrating the varied expertise of its members, new leadership can emerge, such as through capacity development and the promotion of new replicating initiatives.

• Capacity & behavior: 30+ participants trained; stronger gender balance in community leadership.
• Public realm: Safer crossings, more visible green areas, and renewed neighborhood identity.
• Governance: Regular cross-sectoral coordination and shared learning improved efficiency and transparency. Based on the evaluation and lessons learned from the pilot projects, the Urban Lab decided to influence local regulations for the climate adaptation of public spaces.
• Civic trust: The Urban Lab bridged the gap between institutions and citizens, showing the value of visible, collaborative action.

Leon’s Urban Lab has fostered a shared understanding of coordinated local climate action by integrating diverse expertise. Along the way, the Urban Lab transformed some early barriers into valuable lessons learned for sustaining local climate actions and enabling future scaling.

• Insufficient maintenance led to plant deterioration, underscoring the need for regular upkeep, shared ownership, and long-term planning.
• Nighttime perceptions of insecurity reduced park use, acknowledging the need for integrating social dynamics and security concerns.
• Unclear land tenure delayed and impeded garden projects, exposing the urgency for guidelines that help with policy and administrative alignment.
• Limited staff availability for weekend participation, in contrast to strong local and female leadership, highlights the potential of volunteer engagement and flexible scheduling.
• Overreliance on external facilitation stresses the importance of local ownership and accountability in the exiting strategy.

León’s Urban Lab shows how inclusive, low-cost pilots can activate systemic change. Its replicable formula rests on four pillars:

1. Shared understanding and vision linking local climate action with livability goals.
2. Community co-design for ownership and relevance.
3. Evidence-based learning to inform municipal policy.
4. Lean financing leveraging in-kind resources and social capital.

As León transitions from pilot to policy, the Urban Lab provides a tested framework for other mid-sized Latin American cities to coordinate actors, harness their expertise to activate public spaces and scale local climate action that feels tangible and aligned to citizens needs and expectations.

• León Urban Lab - TUC Website
• León Urban Lab Profile (IDOS, UNU-EHS, WRI México)
• The Process of Change in León – Short Film (TUC)

Dr. Flávia Guerra
Associate Academic Officer on the Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC)
United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)
guerra@ehs.unu.edu

Dr. Andrea Ramírez Agudelo
Associate Academic Officer on the Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC)
United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)
ramirez@ehs.unu.edu

Lucas Turmena
Senior Research Associate on the Transformative Urban Coalitions (TUC)
United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)
turmena@ehs.unu.edu