With almost one million inhabitants, Saltillo is the capital and also the largest city of the state of Coahuila de Zaragoza in Northeastern Mexico. As an emerging economy with 80 percent of the population living in urban areas, Mexico faces social and environmental challenges.
Due to its dry, medium-warm climate with scarce rainfall, which increases in summer, the Saltillo region is often threatened by droughts, extreme temperatures, frequent fog and flooding. The climate forecasts for Coahuila de Zaragoza are alarming, and in the summer of 2019 a record high in temperature increase of 2°C was registered.
In addition to climatic conditions and urbanization, deforestation and land consumption by livestock and agriculture is threatening biodiversity. The mobility, waste management, water and energy sectors in particular are causing problems, exacerbated by poorly developed infrastructure and a lack of public transport.
MGI therefore focuses primarily on the sectors energy, mobility and water as these pose great challenges for the city. In Saltillo, adapting to climate change is the overarching challenge for all three examined sectors.
The City Lab team consists of experts from Fraunhofer ISI (management and energy), Fraunhofer IGB (water), Universität Stuttgart IAT (mobility), Fraunhofer IAO and the local partners Tecnológico de Monterrey and IMPLAN Saltillo.
