Centro Civico is Mexicali's government district, a broad, planned area of public buildings and plazas rather than a colonial old town. It helps explain the city's modern administrative character and its role as the capital of Baja California.
The district is not romantic, but it is useful for understanding Mexicali on its own terms: hot, spacious, bureaucratic, and borderland-modern. Pair it with La Chinesca and the historic centre for a fuller picture of the city.