Lucky dip The mayor who turned wasteland into a utopia

Mexico City's mayor has never been afraid to court controversy.

- By Luke Taylor MEXICO CITY

Clara Brugada has taken some imaginative steps in her efforts to undo decades of economic and cultural inequality in one of the capital's most impoverished neighbourhoods.

That includes a Boeing 737 converted into a library and a park where 15-metrehigh animatronic dinosaurs tower. Both are part of Brugada's Utopias project.

On a sunny weekday at the Freedom Utopia - one of 15 centres built to promote health and wellbeing for the working classes - a father and son rally on a tennis court, teenage girls jog around a racetrack, and 20 retirees swim laps of the pool. In Iztapalapa, this is not just unusual, it is subversive.

"Utopias are a big commitment to equality," said Brugada, who drew up the project as Iztapalapa's mayor before being elected last year as head of Mexico City's authority.

Iztapalapa is the capital's most deprived and populous neighbourhood. The concrete sprawl feels a world away from the neocolonial houses and cocktail bars frequented by the wealthy.

The neighbourhood has historically been a dumping ground for ugly, undesirable projects, including the city's landfill and a large prison, which the Liberty Utopia now borders.