Tijuana officials kicked off a new round of planning workshops focused on sustainable development this week, as the city continues aligning local policies with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.
The event, held at the Calafornix Theater inside the Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana (ITT), also marked the presentation of Tijuana’s 2026 Voluntary Local Review, a report used to track progress on the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The event, held at ITT’s Calafornix Theater, also included the presentation of Tijuana’s 2026 Voluntary Local Review, which tracks the city’s progress toward the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz stated that his administration has made sustainable development a central priority since taking office, with an emphasis on creating public policies aimed at balanced and inclusive growth for residents across the city.
“We have demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainable development by becoming the first municipality in the country to present a Voluntary Local Review in 2025,” Burgueño Ruiz said. “This allows us to continuously measure the progress and impact of the Sustainable Development Goals on people’s quality of life.”
The mayor described the workshops as another step toward positioning Tijuana as a forward-looking city with public policies guided by international standards and a more people-centered approach.
During the event, Burgueño Ruiz was recognized for the city’s leadership in advancing voluntary local reviews tied to the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda. The recognition was delivered by Rodolfo Martínez Gutiérrez, an advisor involved in Tijuana’s Agenda 2030 efforts, as part of the national “1 of 100 Voluntary Local Reviews” initiative backed by Mexico’s Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation.
City officials noted that Tijuana’s 2026 report was preemptively published on the United Nations platform, allowing Burgueño Ruiz to participate earlier this year in the U.N. Committee of Experts on Public Administration in New York.
Jesús Pacheco Vera, coordinator of the U.N. Development Programme’s Agenda 2030 implementation project in Mexico, said local governments are where meaningful change truly begins, because they are the institutions closest to the public.
He added that cities also carry the responsibility of creating public policies rooted in resilience and sustainability, noting that Tijuana already has many of the tools needed to confront current challenges and make more informed long-term decisions.
Speakers throughout the event emphasized that, as Mexico’s most important border city, Tijuana has a responsibility to promote sustainable development policies that address social, economic, urban, and environmental issues tied to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established under the 2030 Agenda.
Officials also highlighted several strategic partnerships aimed at strengthening local planning efforts, including a collaboration agreement with the United Nations Development Programme, which participated in the workshops.
Additionally, the city renewed its collaboration with the Tijuana Institute of Technology through the Metropolitan Planning Institute (IMPLAN) to continue developing Tijuana’s Voluntary Local Reviews alongside Mexico’s National Agenda 2030 Executive Secretariat.
Municipal officials, ITT students, civil society representatives, and members of the private sector also attended the event as part of a broader push to advance a shared sustainable development agenda for the city.
