Zapopan, a City of the Metropolitan Region of Guadalajara And one of the richest municipalities in Mexico, is also one of the most suitable cities to the country in the country.
This is largely thanks to the fact that, thanks to initiatives that range from the invitation of children to help to design public parks in the offer of workshops to parents and caregivers, the government of Zapopan has placed the development of the child at the heart of his administration. The city first announced Its intention to obtain a certification of the city adapted to children of UNICEF in 2016During the town hall of Pablo Lemus, now governor of Jalisco.
As the country’s first city to charge a city of children, Zapopan’s objective is to guarantee fundamental rights of young residents such as health, education, security, culture, sport and participation, the creation of spaces and policies designed from the children’s point of view.
To understand the impact of the initiative and how it works, Mexico News Daily spoke with Marcela Preciado García de Quevedo, head of the Ciudad program in Niñas Y Niños (Children’s City).
“Our objective is to ensure that everyone in the municipal government acts thinking of a thought: that we build a city where children live,” said Preciado.
The graduate of the Jesuit University of Guadalajara (ITES) explained that in addition to the programs they direct as an office, their work focuses on the prospect of a childhood in other areas of government.
“For example, in the field of entrepreneurship, we encourage them to do workshops for children – like a challenge for children – who develop something,” said Preciado. “Or, if the field of training and educational offer wants to include a child prospect in its programs, we show them how to do it via public libraries, municipal centers or Luciérnaga libraries.”
Liquiénaga libraries are a model inspired by a Korean program that encourages learning and science through play for marginalized communities. Zapopan’s objective is to have 19 of these libraries. He currently has 17 and the city reports that they have benefited from more than 173,000 people.
The program also seeks to protect children from domestic violence, child abuse and the trafficking of human beings thanks to educational workshops for parents and caregivers.
But Preciado’s work is not only focused on high programs. His office also oversees routine maintenance work that could potentially have an impact on children.
“If the public works office prunches a tree, my work is to make sure that workers are aware that children could pass near this tree, strengthening the importance of security measures,” she said.
Thank you to the concentration of Zapopan on childhood – which was Recognized and supported by UNICEF – The municipality won a national prize for cities adapted to children (CAN) by the Mexican network of cities adapted to children (RMCAN) in 2024, in the category of community development. The distinction was awarded for the Zapopan assistance service for children and adolescents.
“Thanks to this service service, we listen to children’s suggestions and their Montre that they don’t have to wait for them to be adults to make them listening to them,” said Preciado after receiving the award.
Thanks to this office, children can fill a “magic sheet” expressing what they would like to see in their community, murals on the walls of the park with new playground equipment and more. This initiative, launched in 2022, heard and responded to the concerns of 2,000 children.
Zapopan is also the first entity in Latin America to study the level of happiness of children. The survey on the childhood protection of the city, carried out for the first time in 2022, assesses education, social fabric, game, health and culture, among other indicators. According to the last survey, conducted in December 2024, nine in 10 children in Zapopan are happy.
But for Preciado, the greatest success has been to raise awareness of the critical importance of the first five years of the life of a child.
“Personally, this is a major achievement because it is during these years that the greatest number of brain connections occur,” she said.
While other municipalities in Mexico are working to ensure a safe and healthy lifestyle for its youngest residents, Preciado said that Zapopan continues to be the only municipality in the country which favors the well-being of children in its local budget.
“There is no other municipality like Zapopan,” she said. “No other municipality allocates so many resources to children.”
Gabriel stage is a Mexican lawyer who has become a full -time writer. She was born and grew up in Guadalajara and covers business, culture, lifestyle and travel for Mexico News Daily. You can follow his Dunas y Palmeras lifestyle blog.
