abstract

• The aim of this work was to explore the environmental, social, and urban dimensions of connectivity in three rivers affected by urban environments in Mexico: Atoyac River in Puebla, Paisanos River in San Luis Potosí and Pueblito River in Querétaro. Environmental connectivity was studied by combining water quality results with Riparian Quality Index (RQI). Social connectivity was studied by applying a survey, while urban connectivity was elucidated through cartographic analysis of the three cases. Findings indicate that the social connectivity of rivers is closely related to the type of context. In urban settings, people attribute negative connotations to rivers, such as insecurity and pollution. This same context has impacted the quality of the water and riverbanks in the three rivers studied, to such a degree that their main biophysical characteristics, their biodiversity and their morphology have been modified, which was determined through notable changes in RQI. Regarding urban connectivity, industrial land uses and poor sanitation services cause degradation of the riparian conditions and water quality of these urban rivers. It was also seen that healthy rivers have potential as green axes for recreation, leisure and as connectors for the structure, infrastructure, and urban equipment in developing countries such as Mexico. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.

authors

• López Mares Lourdes Marcela

publication date

• 2024-01-01

published in

• Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation  Proceedings

keywords

• Anthropogenic impact; Environmental connectivity; Mexican rivers; Riparian quality index; Riparian vegetation; Water quality

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1007/978-3-031-48754-5_25

PubMed ID

start page

• 103

end page

• 105

volume

issue