Proposed Streetscape Improvements for the City of Weslaco’s Texas Boulevard.
Proposed Retrofits to the City of Weslaco’s Existing Park Network.
The Weslaco City Commission unanimously approved UTSA’s 2022 update to the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The new document, which establishes a framework for community decision-making through the year 2045, represents sixteen months of collaboration between Weslaco city leaders, UTSA’s Center for Urban and Regional Planning Research (CURPR), and Gabriel Díaz Montemayor, Founding Partner of LABor Studio. Weslaco’s 2022 Comprehensive Plan redefines the City of Weslaco’s growth calculus, expanding the community motto, “City on the Grow,” to include infill, redevelopment, and retrofit strategies.
The City of Weslaco is a rapidly expanding community of 42,000 located in the Rio Grande Valley. Once part of a Spanish land grant known as Llano Grande, Weslaco was incorporated in 1921 and today exists as part of the Reynosa-McAllen metropolitan area, a transnational conurbation along the U.S.-Mexico border. This region, which lies adjacent to the Mexican State of Tamaulipas, is one of the fastest growing urban areas in the United States.
UTSA researchers worked with Weslaco residents and City officials to address the effects of rapid urban growth, specifically as it relates to issues of downtown revitalization, housing, parks, flood control, transportation, economic sustainability, and environmental resilience. The process began in 2021 with three public forums that allowed residents to express their aspirations, concerns, and evaluate how well alternative growth scenarios aligned with community values.