Playa del Carmen Urban Plan Goes to Public Consultation

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — The Municipal Government led by Mayor Estefanía Mercado, with support from professional associations and the general population, will submit the Urban Development Plan for the Population Center (PDUCP) to public consultation. This democratic exercise will allow citizens to participate directly in defining the municipality’s urban growth model before its presentation to the City Council on March 27.

This process aligns with Mayor Estefanía Mercado’s vision, who has established governing through the people as a guiding principle of her administration. This ensures that strategic decisions in urban planning emerge from citizen participation and are built transparently, inclusively, and with shared responsibility.

According to Uri Carmona Islas, councilor and president of the Municipal Commission for Urban Development, the guiding document shows substantial progress with completed stages including comprehensive territorial diagnosis, definition of objectives and policies, development strategies, action programs, as well as primary and secondary zoning.

In this task, he highlighted the active participation of the Riviera Maya College of Architects A.C., led by Manuel Alfonso Barrero Gutiérrez, who was responsible for organizing citizen participation workshops. Through these workshops, proposals and observations were received from various social sectors, strengthening the inclusive nature of the plan.

As part of the work, the Secretariat of Territorial Planning, under Hernán González, diagnosed that the PDUCP allows identification of priority challenges including accelerated urban growth, environmental vulnerability of the territory, increase in irregular settlements, mobility challenges, deficit in urban infrastructure, and an unequal housing market.

Given this panorama, the new Urban Development Plan proposes an orderly and sustainable growth model based on responsible densification, territorial planning, sustainable mobility, environmental management, affordable housing, and institutional strengthening. The objective is to improve the quality of life for Playa del Carmen residents and ensure balanced development.

With the public consultation of the PDUCP to be conducted in early March, the Municipal Government of Estefanía Mercado reaffirms its commitment to building urban planning with the people. This consolidates a participatory process where the future of Playa del Carmen results from a collective, transparent exercise with social vision.