On Thursday, June 11, 2026, the academic community mourned the loss of Francisco Manuel V\u00e9lez Pliego, a leading figure in urbanism, territorial planning, and social sciences at the Benem\u00e9rita Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Puebla (BUAP). His passing was announced this morning by his close friend and fellow academic, Ricardo Moreno Botello.<\/p>\n
Born in Puebla on March 28, 1952, V\u00e9lez Pliego\u2019s career was deeply intertwined with the city he loved. Trained initially as an architect at the then Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Puebla, he expanded his expertise with studies in urbanism and territorial planning at the University of Paris XII, France, and later earned a master\u2019s and doctorate in Sociology from BUAP\u2019s Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades \u201cAlfonso V\u00e9lez Pliego.\u201d<\/p>\n
For decades, his work focused on Puebla\u2019s urban fabric\u2014its historic center, metropolitan growth, transportation, housing, cultural heritage, and urban public policies. He combined research, teaching, and institutional leadership to explore the complex relationships between territory, society, and public power.<\/p>\n
At BUAP, V\u00e9lez Pliego taught across multiple faculties, including Architecture, Anthropology, and the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, offering courses at undergraduate and graduate levels. His influence extended beyond Mexico, with guest lectureships at universities such as the Universidad de Guanajuato, Universidad de las Am\u00e9ricas Puebla, Ibero Puebla, and Bolivia\u2019s Universidad Mayor de San Sim\u00f3n.<\/p>\n
He was a founding coordinator of the Programa de Estudios Municipales at UAP, helped establish the ICSyH, and led the \u00c1rea de Estudios Regionales. As director of the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, he oversaw significant growth in scientific output, graduate programs, and student enrollment.<\/p>\n
V\u00e9lez Pliego\u2019s publications addressed critical urban issues\u2014urban transport, housing, regional development, historic centers, and built heritage. His book *Planeaci\u00f3n, crecimiento urbano y cambio social en el Centro Hist\u00f3rico de la Ciudad de Puebla* remains a key reference for understanding Puebla\u2019s urban transformations.<\/p>\n
Beyond academia, he actively engaged in citizen and professional spaces defending heritage and urban planning. He served as president of the Consejo Ciudadano del Centro Hist\u00f3rico y Patrimonio Edificado of Puebla, was a citizen member of the IMPLAN Governing Board, and participated in organizations like ICOMOS Mexico.<\/p>\n
His legacy is tied to a generation of scholars who advanced social and urban research in Puebla and helped establish the ICSyH as a vital hub for critical reflection at BUAP.<\/p>\n
For those invested in Puebla\u2019s future, his work underscores the importance of inclusive, thoughtful urban planning\u2014reminding us that sustainable transport systems like cableb\u00fas and telef\u00e9ricos are not just infrastructure but tools for social equity and cultural preservation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Thursday, June 11, 2026, the academic community mourned the loss of Francisco Manuel V\u00e9lez Pliego, a leading figure in urbanism, territorial planning, and social sciences at the Benem\u00e9rita Universidad Aut\u00f3noma de Puebla (BUAP). His passing was announced this morning by his close friend and fellow academic, Ricardo Moreno Botello. Born in Puebla on March […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}