Operational guidelines for the identification of green infrastructure in a semiarid city

This chapter describes the interactions between researchers and practitioners in Hermosillo, a city in northwest Mexico. The collaborations focused on the environmental problems affecting the city and understanding how these problems could be ameliorated through the implementation of nature-based solutions. Researchers from local universities partnered with scientists from universities in the United States and worked closely together with a team of practitioners led by the Municipal Agency for Urban Development. Multiple forms of interaction between the researchers and practitioners took place during the project, which included multiple one-on-one meetings with public officials, workshops on future scenarios with stakeholders, and technical training sessions with city planners and developers. The products generated consist of a set of spatially explicit maps of vulnerable areas in the city and a prioritization map to help guide future public investments in green infrastructure. More importantly, these interactions resulted in the co-generation of knowledge that was incorporated by the municipal government in various official documents, such as a new urban planning program, a guide for the construction and design of green infrastructure, and a vegetation palette for the city that seeks to increase the number of native species used in green areas.