Barco Utopía

The Barco Utopía is the flagship of the Utopía network of parks, community centers, sports facilities, and playing fields in Iztapalapa. The ship stands at the northernmost point of the Parque Lineal Vicente Guerrero. To the immediate south are a long string of running tracks, ball courts, and walking courses. And all of this set in a remarkable garden

The Barco in particular is intended as a symbol of the Units of Transformation and Organization for Inclusion and Social Harmony. (Unidades de Transformación y Organización Para la Inclusión y la Armonía Social). It’s the site of Mexico City’s only Interactive Virtual Aquarium and the first  Museum of Climate Change in the City too.

Unlike the other 11 Utopia centers, this one is in a single building. It’s a cultural and educational, but, within the park, it’s also surrounded by busy recreational facilities, too. One simply needs to visit on a weekend to see how busy it gets. During the week, visits will be a bit less crowded, and one see the advanced Design, Animation, and Digital Music Schools, if classes are not in session.

The Barco Utopía ship sails over the giant and historic Vicente Guerrero Housing Unit, multiple neighborhoods of which spread out over both sides of the ship. Some 53,000 residents call the 17 surrounding neighborhoods home. There’s also an outdoor cinema where movies are screened. And because this Utopia is built in the form of a ship, there’s a navigation simulator too.

A walk northward from Metro Constitución de 1917 takes about 30 minutes. The distance is about 2.3 kms.