Pink Zone’s Mercado Mexico & Via Libertad, a work in progress of urban renewal
Astute observers of urban milieus, be they dilettantes or professional urbanists, can’t have failed to noticed the proliferation in the past few years of a specific trope which could be described as a haute bourgeois mutation of the classic suburban strip mall, within whose confines are found, say, a collection of boutiques, a variety of vendors hawking whichever foods are currently the hotness (Korean tacos, pork belly Bao, fried ants), and a couple of guilt-expiating temples of self-flagellation (pilates, yoga, weight-lifting), all unified by a shared design aesthetic. The Via Libertad complex in Guadalajara’s Zona Rosa (Pink Zone) – composed of Torre Libertad, A La Libertad and Mercado Mexico – could be said to be of this ilk.