This article examines the intersection between globalisation and allocation of open public space by testing the spatial equity hypothesis in Hermosillo, Mexico, a regional city impacted directly by global processes. Availability and accessibility of public parks were examined using a geographic information system and neighbourhoods were stratified into quintiles based on socioeconomic status. Overall, the analysis shows that the amount of public park space in Hermosillo is substandard and its distribution reveals a pattern of spatial inequity affecting primarily residents of poor neighbourhoods. We argue that as the economy of the city grows increasingly integrated into global circuits, the global-to-local connection materialises in an unequal competition between globalised spaces and local public space. This, in turn, leads to further relegation of neighbourhoods that are already on the margins of urban equity regarding access to public parks. This study extends prior research conducted in developed countries to a city in a developing nation and fills a vacuum of information that potentially can contribute to a more equitable development in Hermosillo.

Whether we talk about the global scale of the threat or focus on the disruption and potential reversal of processes and realities that we assumed immutable, the epochal significance of the COVI-19 pandemic is indisputable. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, no other event has revived territorial borders and sent territorialist shockwaves across the world as COVID-19. The wave of contagion and fear that shadowed the discovery of the coronavirus at the end of 2019 was followed by a wave of bordering in the spring of 2020 when borders were broadly closed as a kneejerk reaction to a threat perceived largely as external. With a focus on Europe, North America and Africa, this special issue aims to advance our knowledge of the multiscalar and multidimensional dynamics triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in various border contexts. The articles in this special issue investigate the response of institutional structures and the agency of regional actors in the face of rebordering, the securitización of the pandemic, the essentialization of fear, the disruption of daily life and livelihoods, the contestation of border closures vis-à-vis questions of survival, and the re/deconstruction of borders dictated by shifting power balances supporting contested border regimes. In the aggregate, this collection of articles reminds us that territory and territoriality remain vigorous and fitting instruments in the toolbox of nation states as demonstrated by the rebordering shocks triggered by the coronavirus pandemic across the world.

Este artículo documenta y analiza la respuesta de las ciudades de la región fronteriza México-Estados Unidos a la emergencia sanitaria y a un proceso sustancial de refronterización desencadenado por el COVID-19. Como muchos otros países, la estrategia principal de Estados Unidos y México para contener la propagación del coronavirus ha sido la adopción de medidas de distanciamiento social y restricciones a la movilidad, incluyendo el cierre de la frontera común. Una implicación inmediata de este proceso es el reforzamiento de la presencia de los gobiernos nacionales en la gestión de la salud fronteriza y, potencialmente, la contracción de los espacios de gobernanza en los que participan tradicionalmente actores subnacionales. Mediante el análisis de datos secundarios de ocho pares de ciudades fronterizas contiguas, se examinan las respuestas de actores locales a la pandemia en el marco de un proceso acelerado de refronterización y se perfilan escenarios de gobernanza y cooperación trasfronteriza pospandemia.

This article examines the provision of public parks in Latino and non-Latino neighbourhoods in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Though previous research has examined the socio-spatial distribution of urban parks, few have analysed both accessibility and variations in park features associated with the Latino composition of neighbourhoods. In this study, geographical information systems were employed to assess the availability and accessibility of neighbourhood parks, and Google Earth was used to audit their natural and built environmental features. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Games-Howell post hoc test was applied to examine the hypothesis that park resources are not equitably distributed across neighbourhoods, and that Latino places are disproportionally affected by a suboptimal provision of park space and services. The analysis points to invariance across neighbourhoods in terms of quantity and features of public parks, so the expected systemic pattern of inequality affecting Latino neighbourhoods in Phoenix Metro was not found. The study suggests, however, some areas wherein cities in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area could act to improve the allocation of public park resources and engage the diversity of local populations.

Public spaces could promote health equity by providing a place for people to engage in physical activity. Whereas most studies show a positive association between public spaces and physical activity, there are still mixed results, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The objectives of this mixed-methods study were: (i) to assess the quantitative association between access to public spaces and physical activity; (ii) to assess the modification of the association by public spaces quality, area-level walkability, and social stratifiers; (iii) to explain the quantitative results using qualitative data. Quantitative data were obtained with a household survey in two arid-climate Mexican cities in 2017-2018. physical activity was measured with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Access to public spaces was measured in buffers centered on survey blocks, walkability with area-level indicators, and public spaces quality with the Physical Activity Resources Assessment. Qualitative data were obtained with semi-structured interviews and neighborhood observation. No quantitative association between access to public spaces and physical activity was found, as well as no interactions between access to public spaces and other variables. Walkability was positively associated with physical activity. Qualitative analysis showed that local public spaces were rarely used by adults because they were perceived as small, unequipped, unattractive, and unsafe. The results shed light on the relationship between public spaces and physical activity, highlighting the improvements in design and upkeep of public spaces that are necessary to achieve their potential health benefit.

OBJECTIVE: This paper explores the impact of contextual variables at the neighborhood level on a health marker in the city of Hermosillo, Mexico and discusses the importance of collaboration between planners and health professional to minimize the negative effect of contextual factors on urban health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Few studies in Mexico have assessed health outcomes at the intra-urban scale and their interaction with neighborhood-level contextual variables. Using spatial analysis and geographical information systems, the paper explores the association between infant mortality and an index of socio-environmental vulnerability used to measure urban contextual factors. RESULTS: Two high infant mortality clusters were detected within neighborhoods characterized by relatively good environmental conditions and one in a neighborhood with a poor environment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show the clustering of high infant mortality areas and some association with built environment factors in Hermosillo. The results support the need to reconnect public health and urban planning as a way to create healthier environments in Mexican cities.