At the Freedom Utopia, once 40,000 sq metres of wasteland, there is access to washing machines, and children can play in a sand park, visit the planetarium and stroke goats, ponies and cows in a petting zoo.

“I come here every day. It’s well worth the wait,” says Guadlupe Hernandez, 68, shielding herself from the sun with an umbrella while queueing at a canteen where cheap healthy meals are sold. “You just cannot find this anywhere else.”

Free facilities include a 400-seat concert hall where classical music classes are held, and the temazcal – a traditional Aztec sauna, which the Spanish colonisers tried to outlaw to prevent men and women from sharing the steam room naked.

In Latin American cities such quality facilities are often unaffordable or reserved for the elites.

The utopia’s most popular attraction is the house for older people. Inside the giant tipi-like structure 15 women are taking a dance class. Exercises focus on improving cognitive stimulation to stave off diseases that affect elderly people such as dementia, while counselling is offered to tackle trauma, depression and grief, says Michelle Rodríguez, a psychologist overseeing the programme. “And as you can see they are like a family now, supporting each other.”

The centre offers free tai chi classes, yoga, aromatherapy and massages to the women, most of whom have lost someone close and say they were mired in grief and loneliness.