Oaxaca, Mexico
Connecting bus station to barrio with Oaxacan art
The Project
To address safety challenges for pedestrians traveling between Oaxaca’s Central de Buses and the historic Jalatlaco neighborhood, the City of Oaxaca implemented an Asphalt Art project on Calle 5 de Mayo—an area with heavy foot traffic, narrow sidewalks, and fast-moving vehicles. The intervention was part of Oaxaca Camina, the city’s active mobility plan to improve safety, accessibility, and inclusion for those walking. By reclaiming street space for pedestrians, narrowing vehicle lanes, and discouraging on-street parking, the project sought to slow traffic and create a safer, more welcoming gateway between the bus station and the newly designated Barrio Mágico of Jalatlaco.
Local artists and residents collaborated to transform the street with colorful designs inspired by Oaxaca’s cultural heritage. The artwork incorporates motifs of alebrijes—the fantastical creatures emblematic of the state—and references to the traditional craft of saddlery once practiced in Jalatlaco, with the silhouette of huaraches (handmade sandals) integrated into the pedestrian paths. The vibrant colors evoke both the imaginative spirit of Oaxacan art and the surrounding vegetation, turning a once hazardous corridor into a lively, community-driven celebration of local identity and safer urban design.
Use the slider to see the transformation
This intervention not only beautifies one of the most emblematic streets of our city, it is also part of a public policy focused on improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, promoting sustainable, safe mobility with a focus on inclusion and universal accessibility.
Art and tactical urbanism thus become tools to recover spaces, invite you to walk, pedal and enjoy our streets from a human and close perspective. Because the city belongs to everyone.
Yesenia Nolasco Ramírez, Secretary of Mobility of the State of Oaxaca
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Press
Inauguran intervención “Arte en Asfalto” en el Barrio de Jalatlaco (Online, 8 de abril de 2025)
Inauguran intervención “Arte en asfalto” en el emblemático Barrio de Jalatlaco (Online, 9 de abril de 2025)
For inspiration and tips for the creation of art on roadways and public places, download the Bloomberg Associates Asphalt Art Guide which features successful plaza and roadway art activations around the world, as well as key steps for developing such projects.
