Los Cabos internships

Los Cabos is a city of approximately 240,000 people that joined the SCI Network in November 2011. It is a highly touristy area, with beautiful sandy beaches and a unique geographical position where the Gulf of California mixes with the Pacific Ocean. The intern in Los Cabos is housed within the Instituto Municipal de Planeacion de los Cabos (IMPLAN Los Cabos), a decentralized planning institute mandated to carry out and update plans for the municipality, bringing in a sustainability vision. In Los Cabos, the intern is working to develop an executive plan for the creation of a bike path in the city.

Current interns

Daniel Ross - Project Officer - Participatory Planning

I was born in Vancouver, B.C. While growing up, I developed a passion for the outdoors and exploring the natural areas, forests, and beaches in my hometown. While earning my Bachelor's degree at the University of Victoria in Environmental Studies and Hispanic and Italian studies, I focused a great deal on the topic of integral system's theory and multi-stakeholder approaches to decision-making (in between my Spanish language courses).

After my undergrad, I travelled to Spain where I continued my education of Spanish culture and became immersed in "la vida española". During this trip, I undertook el Camino de Santiago, an 800km, 30 day walking journey from the French Pyrenees to a sacred cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. During this self-awakening adventure I realized I wanted to continue exploring alternative approaches to international development. I decided to focus my strengths in leadership and communications towards new and innovative perspectives in this field.

I believe that my experiences studying in Victoria, B.C. and in Spain have led me to this internship with Sustainable Cities International and my host organization IMPlan (el Instituto municipal de planeación). My role as Project Officer for Participatory Planning in Los Cabos, Mexico is allowing me to continue exploring systems theory through a multi-stakeholder engagement process related to community design.

I am developing a pilot project that aims to promote citizen participation in the urban planning process of a park revitalization project in San José del Cabo. I will be working very closely with youth on community-asset mapping projects to gain a sense of what functions well in the community's green spaces. I will also be responsible for developing and leading workshops in schools to have youth share their experience of these public spaces to encourage and promote ownership of their home space. My dream is that in these next 5.5 months I will create a process that will empower the youth of Los Cabos to achieve a stronger voice in their community. I hope that my work will forge a stronger bond between the youth of San José del Cabo and their public spaces, and restore their confidence in their role in the urban planning process.

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Simon L'Allier - Project Officer : Greenway Planning

I was born in Brussels, raised in Québec city and graduated from Université Laval in political science in 2006 after having studied languages at FX-Garneau. My professional focus veered from international relations to environmental policy and urban planning as a result of having lived in what I still consider as the craziest and most hectic urban environment I've experienced so far: Beijing, China.

In 2006, I returned to my alma mater to complete a Master of Arts in political science, then moved to Vancouver three years ago to attend UBC's School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) where I completed a second (and last!) MA, in Planning. While attending SCARP, I learned from incredibly talented professors and students who opened my eyes on a variety of urban issues.

Prior to moving to Los Cabos, BCS, Mexico, I worked at TransLink, Metro Vancouver, AECOM and Stantec on a variety of transportation and planning projects. In Los Cabos, I'm helping a consultative, para-municipal planning organization named IMPLAN Los Cabos, SCI's local partner, to conduct a bicycle lane network feasibility study in Cabo San Lucas. This project builds on similar work undertaken in San José del Cabo by the previous SCI intern, Sara Pilote, and will span from initial diagnostic to final recommendations. Planning bicycle lanes in Mexico is as challenging as it is rewarding; I'm thankfully supported by the very dynamic, talented and progressively minded IMPLAN team. I hope this project will come to fruition and improve sustainable transportation options in Los Cabos.