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Ricky Burdett (ed.) Mexico City: growth at the limit? Report Original citation: Burdett, Ricky, ed. (2006) Mexico City: growth at the limit? Urban Age. This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/33349/ Originally available from Urban Age Available in LSE Research Online: May 2013 © 2006 Urban Age LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website.
MEXICO CITY GROWTH AT THE LIMIT?
have transformed public transport in the city
BACK FROM THE BRINK and demonstrated that turning around a
transport system does not have to entail crip-
pling levels of expenditure. On the other, his
personal grand projet, the massive and
quixotic plan to transform the Peripheral
exico is the city that was Mexico City has had more than the Ring into a double-decker urban highway,
M
always spoken of as if it was explosive growth of the flight of the dispos- asks more questions than it answers. It is
one day going to be the sessed from the countryside to contend with. enormously expensive but it appears to bene-
biggest settlement on the It has a fractured government system to deal fit only the relatively prosperous car owning
planet. It was probably the with, divided between the Federal District – residents of the wealthy areas through which
first of the 20th century’s a territory that was tightly controlled by the it passes. Visually, the tangle of concrete col-
monster cities to make an federal government in the same way that umn threaded on top of existing surface roads
impression on the wider Washington, D.C. and many other national is already a lurid scar on the landscape of the
world, portrayed as an unstoppable eruption capitals were until they began acquiring local- city. Indeed it is a curious outcome for a proj-
of humanity swamping the landscape to reach ly elected mayors – and the surrounding ect initiated by a left leaning mayor. But then
the horizon in every direction. In the 1970s, municipalities of the State of Mexico. Until this is already a city full of unintended out-
predictions were made that it was well on the very recently the two administrations have comes. When the city tried to restrict car use
way to becoming a megalopolis of 30 million failed to come to a shared view of what the by introducing odd and even number plate
people or more. As it turned out, that has not place needs to function properly. To compli- only days, the response of the rich was of
happened. The population of the city centre is cate matters further, the whole country is hav- course to buy a second car. And all of this in a
static, and some of its denser historic areas ing to deal with a gradual reawakening of a city in which commutes of three hours are
have been in decline, an issue addressed by the national democratic politics. forced on the maids who work for the rich but
formation of a special public-private partner- Mexico City has within it the elements of live in far distant settlements.
ship to encourage investment and develop- a global city and the visible impacts of a glob- It seems that many of Mexico City’s infra-
ment. What growth there is now concentrates alised economy, both negative and positive. structure systems have failed to address the
in the urban sprawl beyond city limits in the It has slick business parks and boutique implications of rapid growth and change.
administrative control of the State of Mexico. hotels, and it is loosing industrial jobs to both The city has a metro system that was its pride
The lower-middle classes are moving out into the NAFTA-boosted factories on the US bor- and joy when Mexico hosted the Olympics in
areas where gated communities are not just der and more recently to China. An overval- 1968, an event that marked the country’s
for the privileged. ued peso is not helping either. But it is also a attempts to present itself as a modern state.
Certainly Mexico City grew fast from the city where what could be seen as pre-modern The metro was state of the art when it was
1940s when it began to loose its former incar- conditions still prevail in certain aspects of built, but has failed to adapt to what has been
nation as the Garden of Eden, blessed with a civic life. It displays the chronic symptoms of going on around it and the city has outgrown
near perfect climate, reminiscent of the gold- uneven development in its lurch toward the it. Mexico City has a historic centre that was
en age of Los Angeles, but shaped physically global economy. Illegal land sales blight devel- loosing population to more salubrious sub-
by the remains of its Aztec and its Spanish opment in some areas, and the informal econ- urbs even before the impact of the earth-
past as represented by flower studded baroque omy is far more than the all pervasive street quake. It has an urban development pattern
courtyards, the presence of the surrounding traders and the 120 000 taxis on the city’s busy that seems to recall that of Los Angeles: a
mountains, and the famous lake. The photo- roads. The Federal District in particular has downtown that at some point faced becoming
chemical smog that accompanied its discov- seen the impact of competing power centres. irrelevant, a deprived east, and a rich west.
ery of the motorcar through the medium of The five year track record of the left leaning The city has been growing chaotically for long
the locally produced Volkswagens that once Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador says a enough to have already revealed the limits of
monopolised its streets made that growth lot about what happens when a democratic modernisation.
look particularly threatening. That toxic haze politician has to juggle constituencies with
was not helped by Mexico City’s extreme alti- radically diverging ambitions for a city. Yet, Deyan Sudjic is Dean of the Faculty of Art,
tude, and its mountains, two elements that recent agreeements between the current Design and Architecture, Kingston University
conspire to entrap the city’s pollution in the mayor, Alejandro Encinas, and Enrique Peña and co-chair of the Urban Age Advisory Board
brown cloud that seems to thicken under the Nieto, governor of the State of Mexico – each
wings of descending aircraft. from opposing parties -to collaborate across
Certainly Mexico City is huge, 18 million boundaries to solve the city’s structural prob-
or so people now live in the sprawling lems does give rise to some optimism about
metropolis. But that is a close match for Mexico City’s future.
Shanghai, New York and London – when their Obrador, who has recently stepped down
respective city regions are taken into account. to run for president in the national elections
All three have their own disparities in wealth, to be held in the summer of 2006, was the sec-
even if Mexico’s seem more violent, and more ond elected mayor since the Institutional
entrenched, and do not have the pervasive Revolutionary Party (PRI) relaxed its three
impact of 50 years of Mao and Marx to damp generation grip on the country and its capital.
down the sometimes chaotic lawlessness of The presidential candidate of the Party of
the country in the way in which China has. Democratic Revolution (PRD), Obrador is
There are street children and kidnappings now vying for the presidential palace with
and water shortages in Mexico City and a candidates from both the PRI and the
sewage system at the limits of its original National Action Party (PAN), the party of the
design life. But the metropolis never became current incumbent Vincente Fox. The PRD’s
the horror story that it sometimes threatened. symbol is a highly charged Aztec sun, which
a worldwide series of conferences investigating For a start, its growth has started to taper off, might go some way to explain Obrador’s vig-
the future of cities
almost to the point that one might begin to orous campaign as mayor against the national
organised by the Cities Programme at the consider the idea that growth might be self government’s imposition of daylight saving
London School of Economics and Political Science
and the Alfred Herrhausen Society,
limiting. And second, its reputation might measures.
the International Forum of Deutsche Bank have something to do with its accessibility and On the other hand, Mexico City is clearly
its proximity to the United States, and so its also a part of the modern world. One of
visibility. For those with a taste for the dizzy- Obrador’s populist measures was to cancel
ing sense of staring into the urban abyss, Microsoft software licenses at city hall, and
Mexico City is a lot more convenient to get adopt Linux, a free operating systems instead.
to than Lagos, or Tehran, Dacca or Cairo. As mayor, he kept a punishing personal
But Mexico City has nothing to be compla- schedule with a working day that started at
cent about. It could deal with its two greatest 5.00 am and included 6.30 am press confer-
problems: photochemical smog, caused by its ences. While there have been allegations
infatuation with the car coupled with against party members and city officials,
extremely low petrol prices, and water short- Obrador stoutly defends his personal reputa-
ages that are the product of its profligate use tion for incorruptibility. His two most visible
of its underground reservoirs. But it has failed legacies to the city reflect the extremes of
to address these issues, and between them, urban life in Mexico. On the one hand he has
they could still render the city all but unin- introduced dedicated bus lanes, modelled on
habitable. the precedents of Curitiba and Bogotá, which
URBAN AGE CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 2006
All photographs © Dante Busquets
ropolitan regions from various countries socio-economic classes, 39% in the middle
THE COMPLEXITIES according to the real GDP per capita, as the
basic measure of productivity, the ZMCM
comes 63rd. This situation is explained by the
classes and 44% in the lower classes.
It is estimated that within the ZMCM,
there were 33 million journeys/person/day in
OF CHANGE low levels of human capital, research, innova-
tion and technology and by an insufficiently
competitive market.
2005, with an average journey time of 47 min-
utes; this totals 26 million travel hours per
day. These totals represent the equivalent of
The urban sprawl of Mexico City is made 3.2 million eight-hour working days, or one
up of a vibrant amalgam of 4.2 million homes day’s work by 42% of the active population
he Metropolitan Zone of Mexico in 2003. Despite all this, like all large cities (2000), a total of 529,000 commercial and in 2003. This data exemplifies the economic
T
City (zmcm) is the most valu- around the world, Mexico City has undergone services buildings and 53,000 industrial impact of the inadequacy of the urban servic-
able, monumental and complex indisputable de-industrialisation, although places of business (2003), all of which is es. Improving them is vital in order to have
work that the country has con- it produces over one fifth of national manu- joined together by a system of highways, facil- more efficient and productive cities.
structed in its entire history: facturing. ities and infrastructure. All these elements In a scenario of moderate economic
in 2005, almost one third of the At the same time, the relative significance constitute 1,926km2 of urban area, presenting growth, it would be hoped that the ZMCM
gross domestic product was con- of specialist services grew visibly. The ZMCM an average density of 9,300 residents/km2 will increase its population by 4.2 million
centrated in this area. Its urban absorbed 39% of the GDP of the tertiary sec- (2000). However, the magnitude and charac- between 2000 and 2020. To cope with this
sprawl covers approximately 2,000 km2, home tor in 1960 (trade and services) and in 1970 teristics of its future urban growth will expansion, 37,000 hectares of new developed
to 19.5 million residents. The ZMCM is cur- this figure rose to its highest recorded level depend on the economic dynamics and the space will be required. The political and eco-
rently the second most populated city on the (47%). After that, it began its relative decline, labour market of the ZMCM. The particulari- nomic future of the country will depend on
planet, although its economic scope is that of falling to 35% in 2003. The capital concen- ties of the labour structure are summarised Mexico City being able to have the public and
a secondary global metropolis, the function trates 42% of producer services and 59% of below, to complement this vision of the city private investment necessary to achieve this
of which is to link up Mexico’s urban system the financial sector in Mexico. In 2003, its as a productive social force. urban expansion with the appropriate infra-
with the main super-cities worldwide. profile was as the only leading tertiary centre In 1960, the ZMCM contained 17% of structure and facilities in order to join in, on a
Mexico City has always been the econom- in the country. the country’s economically active population competitive basis, with cities worldwide
ic centre of the country, although this pre- The macroeconomic dynamics of the (EAP), 22% of secondary sector workers and because if it does not, its future will be very
dominance has been diminishing in recent ZMCM explain its urban growth and the evo- 34% of tertiary sector workers. Thereafter, its uncertain.
years. Having increased its share of the gross lution of the labour market which, in the early de-industrialisation meant that in 2003, sec-
domestic product (GDP) from 35-38% 21st century, are facing one of the greatest ondary sector labour fell to 19% and tertiary Gustavo Garza Villarreal is the academic coor-
between 1960 and 1980, the crisis of the 1980s challenges of their modern history. The inter- sector labour to 25%. Within its labour struc- dinator of the Doctoral Programme in Urban
had a greater effect on the city than on other mittent crisis since the 1980s and economic ture, an increasing trend towards the tertiary and Environmental studies at El Colegio de
parts of the county, and its share of the GDP opening-up have affected them significantly, sector can be seen; the proportion of the pop- México
fell to 32% in 1988. After Mexico’s inclusion dramatically reducing the real income of its ulation working in services then rose from
in the global economy, this index has been population in the 1990s. In addition, the col- 58% in 1960 to 75% in 2003. In the last year,
unstable, recovering slightly, reaching 33% lapse of federal public investment in the city the EAP in the city totalled 7.7 million.
in 1998, and then falling once more to 30% makes it impossible to modernise its infra- The major inequalities in the income from
in 2003. structural framework and it is therefore hard the various occupations are given concrete
The share of the ZMCM in the industrial for the ZMCM to aspire to compete with form in sharp socio-economic contrasts with-
GDP is higher and its decline even more European and Asiatic cities which are mod- in the metropolitan area. According to the
marked, totalling between 44 and 47% ernising themselves with the implementation spatial disintegration of the ZMCM into
between 1960 and 1980, reaching its highest of mega projects of worldwide importance. more than three thousand Basic Geo-statisti-
ever level (48%) in 1970. Thereafter, this In a comparative classification of levels of cal Areas (BGA), 17% of the population are
super-concentration declined, reaching 22% productivity and competitiveness of 66 met- concentrated in the upper and upper-middle
URBAN AGE CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 2006
This trend deepened with the signature of the Metrobus have been introduced. Metrobus
CONGESTION NAFTA, from the second half of the 1990s
onwards, the growth in car assembly was
explosive.
has 34 stations and runs 80 articulated buses
running on low-emission engines along
Insurgentes, one of the city’s main avenues. A
AT THE LIMITS? THE EXPLOSION OF THE CAR
The impressive dynamics of the car industry
Cycle Path Project has also been set up, to
cover 90 km. In addition, a Suburban Train
Project has been decided on, to the north-
has been translated, for the AMCM, into an west, covering 25 km, using the existing rail-
explosive growth of new vehicles which, at the way line.
ehind the serious transport journeys were done in Low-Capacity vehicles;
B
end of the 1990s, was calculated at between
problem in the Metropolitan this rapid and negative transformation of the 250,000 and 300,000 additional vehicles on AND WHAT ABOUT MOBILITY?
Area of Mexico City (AMCM) composition of the urban transport service average per year. Considering that during this Metrobus and the Cycle Paths are brand-new
lies the predominance of low- was the result of the application of erroneous period, the population growth index for the initiatives that lack additional investment in
capacity vehicles both in collec- government policies, which, for example, AMCM was reduced to just 1.5% per year on facilities, stations, signposts, dissemination
tive and in private transport. decided on the freezing and subsequent average, the growth rate of the total number and maintenance in order to allow for their
Around 50,000 minibuses and removal of the service of 4,000 buses in of cars in the city is four times greater than the more efficient and optimum use. Also, and in
microbuses handle the majority Mexico City, known as Ruta-100 and the pro- population rate. Under these conditions and contrast with other major cities, there has
of journeys in the city. Added to these are over motion, to offset this, of vans, taxis and after nearly fifteen years of non-construction been no cultivation of a culture of the added
103,000 taxis in the Federal District and prob- minibuses as alternatives for saving public of major roads, the current Federal District value of collective transport, even less of alter-
ably over 160,000 throughout the city, along resources, for self-employment and for collec- Government (GDF) decided to push forward native transport: only 5% of the users of
with approximately 450,000 vehicles carrying tive transport. In other words, there was a dis- a rapid road programme, given that the deficit Metrobus and the underground also own
loads. These units use the highways intensive- mantling of a collective transport system calculated from the same totals 25%. This cars. Also, with the exception of the
ly and their fragmented and “home-made”, based on government-owned high-capacity programme forms part of the sector’s Integral Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,
corporate structure is highly inefficient with resources, promoting in return deregulation, Programme and is complemented by various none of the city’s universities has infrastruc-
low productivity, both for the users and for privatisation and fragmentation, further collective transport measures. ture or programmes that promote alternative
the carriers and for the city in general. reducing the efficiency and productivity of transport. This is particularly serious when
Meanwhile, private transport handles only high-capacity collective transport. TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAY PROJECTS the city is expanding territorially in a greater
19% of journeys but uses 95% of the vehicles, As part of this Programme, the most impres- proportion than the population, favouring
which exceeds the 4 million units in circula- THE PROMOTION OF PRIVATE MOTORISATION sive works are the road bridges located in the dispersion and disintegration. As a result,
tion and uses the highest proportion of road During the 1970s and 1980s, the city saw ravines on the west side, the “Two Tiers of the there are elements that are indicative of the
space in the city as a whole. accelerated demographic growth which, Ring Road”, the Eje Vial 5 Poniente, the San fact that metropolitan mobility is being
The result of the above is extreme conges- above all, was translated into territorial Antonio motorway exit, giving traffic alterna- organised along urban corridors that limit the
tion and journey stress, particularly serious expansion. This led to the reinforcement of tives in the strategic west zone of the city. We possibility of enjoyment of the city by the citi-
along the main highway corridors and access the “horizontal extensive growth” of the should also mention the progress of the other zens. A new type of segregation and confine-
roads of the city and during rush hour. One AMCM, which incorporated increasingly motorway exits of the Eje Troncal ment is being promoted, even for those who
third of all journeys are made in the morning outlying areas with less access to infrastruc- Metroplitano Oriente. Alongside, in collective have the privilege of mobility in transport.
rush hour alone, and these journeys are taking ture and services. This was translated into transport, we have seen renovation of the
longer and longer. In the second half of the longer, delayed and costly journeys to get to infrastructure of significant stretches of Bernardo Navarro Benítez is a Professor at the
1990s, we saw the determining dominance of work, schools and services, which make met- underground, lines 2, 5 and 9, and nine trains Autonomus Metropolitan University
journeys made in Low-Capacity vehicles ropolitan journeys and the rise in motorisa- have been introduced on line 2. In addition,
(cars, vans, taxis and minibuses) which han- tion one of the most significant aspects of this the transport capacity of the public bus com-
dled over three quarters of metropolitan jour- problem in the city. The oil “boom” of the pany Red de Transportes de Pasajeros (RTP)
neys. A decade before that, only one third of mid-1980s promoted the purchase of cars. has increased by 50% and 19.4 km of
URBAN AGE CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 2006
needs. Thus, there has been a proliferation this part of the city.
MORE HOUSING of clandestine estates and encroachment on
neighbourhoods and districts to the east and
south-east. Middle-class housing develop-
With the new housing produced in the
city centre between 2000 and 2005, just over
200,000 people stayed or returned; a positive
OR A BETTER CITY? ments are located in the central band of the
FD and the residential areas to the west and
south; they make up the “city of the upper
balance for recycling of the area, which should
be recorded with the results of the 2005
Housing Count.
classes”, which extends to neighbouring The scenario today is very different: the
districts. supply of free land in the city centre has been
ow do we recover the loss of defined its urban policy around “Bando Dos”: It has been possible to generate new reduced and has become more expensive;
H
housing in central areas without an order aimed at “reversing the loss of popu- housing in areas where housing had been lost. there is growing pressure on working-class
increasing segregation in the lation from the four central neighbourhoods, However, as DeMet indicates, production housing due to its development potential for
city? How do we respond to the making good use of its exhisting infrastruc- was concentrated in the four central neigh- the construction of middle-class housing, and
housing needs of the low- ture and facilities for the benefit of poor resi- bourhoods: in 2000, only 30% of the private the FD does not have any reserves. According
income population? If building dents, and regulating disproportionate supply was in this area; in the second quarter to Bando Dos, there will be no alternative for
is forbidden in outlying neigh- growth in the neighbourhoods to the south of 2005, the percentage rose to 66%, 72% if the development of working-class and social
bourhoods and a significant and east. In order to protect conservation only new housing is included. housing other than the metropolitan districts.
segment of the population cannot access land and prevent spread of the urban sprawl As the land prices are rising, the private The solution put forward by develop-
housing in the centre, then where exactly in aquifer recharge zones where a significant supply of housing of social and working-class ments in the districts raises new problems for
do people live? proportion of the city’s oxygen is produced”. interest has fallen in relation to the middle- the population: outlying locations that mean
The answers are increasingly complex, At the same time, for the working-class dis- class supply, supply of the former being trans- long, expensive travel and a lack of basic serv-
largely due to the lack of any co-ordination tricts of the outlying neighbourhoods, it is ferred to the adjacent districts. Thus, in five ices and facilities. As for the city, it will contin-
between the Federal District (FD) and the implementing an improvement programme years, just over 60,000 new units in central ue losing its population, and the floating pop-
State of Mexico, patently clear in the housing which, in addition to expansion and rehabili- neighbourhoods were built, whilst a property ulation will rise, along with the requirement
sector. In addition to working with different tation, includes two kinds of new housing: boom was recorded in the districts, involving for public transport on already saturated
town-planning programmes and norms, in replacement of damaged housing or building around 150,000 housing units, according to highways.
the FD, measures have been adopted to regu- on already inhabited family plots. data from the Urban Development Bando Dos needs to be revised in light of
late housing production and promote a more Since the 1950s, the urban area of the Department of the State of Mexico. The low- its impacts both within and outside the limits
balanced urban development, without con- FD has exceeded the limits, accelerating the income population has only been able to of the FD, and on the living conditions of the
sidering that the FD forms part of the metro- development of middle-class housing estates obtain housing in the city centre, thanks to average and low-income population. Tools
politan area, that the actions have repercus- to the west, in districts bordering the State of programmes of the Housing Institute (INVI- need to be designed so that the FD can recover
sions outside its limits and that, at the same Mexico. At the same time, the industrial zone DF), with its high subsidy levels. the added value that generates public invest-
time, these actions have an effect thereupon. to the north has been consolidated, and with To cope with rising land prices, private ment in housing, in order to carry on produc-
An example of these measures: the ban on the this, the construction of public housing developers have increased density in housing ing it. Expanding, gradually, permission to
development of housing estates in the 1950s, developments concentrated to the north developments of social and working-class build working-class and social housing in
and from the mid-sixties onwards, the delimi- and east of the city. interest, which according to DeMet, rose from outlying neighbourhoods of theFD; in order
tation of conservation areas, the definition Whilst there is increasing deterioration 350 housing units/hectare in 2000 to over 650 to grow from within, densifying and exploit-
of land-uses, densities and volumes in subse- and loss of housing in the working-class dis- housing units/hectare in 2005. They have also ing the city’s services and facilitates, and
quent neighbourhood town-planning devel- tricts in the centre, where the capacity for reduced living space from 57 to 51m2. The reducing the crowding out of its population
opment programmes, and restrictions on more profitable uses of the land is growing, INVI-DF has used up its reserve of land in the to dormitory zones of the city.
building housing in special controlled devel- the low-income population is increasing sig- area; it does not have the resources to buy land
opment zones. nificantly, a population that is turning to the and depends on expropriation by the local Noemí Stolarski Rosenthal is a private consult-
And lastly, in 2000, the FD Government unofficial market in order to meet its housing government in order to continue working in ant specialising in housing issues
URBAN AGE CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 2006
beyond immediate or physical intervention. archaeological metropolitan parks is comple-
THE BREATHING SPACES A level of citizen commitment and involve-
ment has been established that is rarely seen
in urban programmes in our country. This is
mented by the zone of the Pirámides de
Teotihuacan (8), where an extensive master-
plan is required, for heritage protection and
OF THE CITY the lesson it has learnt. How can we move
from this towards a metropolitan strategy for
public spaces and cultural offerings? I would
for urban parks that service visitors and resi-
dents. Proposals have also been made for
Tepozotlan (9), to the north, for the configu-
like to use this forum to propose a vision that ration of a system of parks, open spaces and
I have called “1, 10 y 100 – Espacios Abiertos heritage sites. The old Azcapotzalco refinery
y Culturales en la Macropolis de la Ciudad de (10) also constitutes a major reserve for the
P
ublic open spaces are democrat- an intensity of cultural offerings and facilities
ic city spaces par excellence; one in a single place of such ancestral natural Mexico” (1, 10 and100 – Open and Cultural creation of a large park with metropolitan
place belonging to and for beauty. It is also a central space, easy to access Spaces in the Macropolis of Mexico City). cultural and leisure facilities in the central-
everyone. Streets, boulevards, from the metropolitan area using mass low- northern region of the Federal District, repre-
cultural facilities, public gar- cost transport: Chapultepec gets between 15 ONE (1) SUPER-CITY SPACE senting a significant offering that balances out
dens, squares, parks and nature and 16 million visitors a year, 46% of whom The great opportunity for the configuration over-use and concentration in Chapultepec.
reserves constitute a vacuum, come from the Federal District, 35% from the of a major system of open spaces and super-
a negative space that gives its State of Mexico and just 19% from the rest of city nature reserves is the former Vaso de 100 URBAN SPACES
form, organises, structures and embellishes the country and overseas. Chapultepec holds Texcoco, as various architects, town-planners However, an ordered system does exist within
the city, allows it to breathe and live. Public a huge attraction for visitors, faced with an and engineers have pointed out. I have here a the context of all these problems, these
spaces generate balance between what is built urban landscape that offers little, and suffers unique opportunity for the region, given the inequalities and this chaos in Mexico City.
and what is private, the opening that society, enormous disparity and inequality in the dis- availability of federal public land in the cen- Heritage is an equaliser of quality of urban life
by consent and by norm, has given itself in tribution of public open spaces and cultural tre, of which an enormous urban sprawl has because of its history, its precedent. Mexico
order to co-exist. In general terms, we can say and leisure facilities. These absences are par- already been created. It would be possible to City is a huge galaxy or universe of chaos and
that it does not matter how large, extensive or ticularly marked in the north and east, areas create a vast network of parks, lakes, wetlands construction (not necessarily architecture)
dense a city is, if in return, it allows its resi- with the highest population growth and terri- and conservation areas complemented by with multiples oases. I refer to the fact that no
dents to access a variety of quality public torial expansion in the metropolitan area. public service facilities for the most vulnera- matter how poor or extensive or outlying a
spaces. In so far as we are able to stroll What is most impressive in the initiatives ble population. However, Texcoco could turn zone of the city may be, we will always find
through its streets, gardens, squares and and actions that have been implemented to into a huge problem; these areas have been wonderful oases in a small square, the historic
parks, we will have a more equitable and dem- reverse the gradual decline in the ecology, invaded and populated at a rapid rate. part of the district, a little glimmer of history.
ocratic and, in short, more human, city. services and maintenance of Chapultepec is That is to say, we live in a space that has
However, who is responsible for ensuring the fact that these have been promoted and TEN (10) METROPOLITAN SPACES already been inhabited, which we have trans-
that the space that belongs to everyone is not called for by civil society. The institutional The cycle track along the old Cuernavac rail- formed and combined in just one city, but
violated, occupied, invaded, abandoned or model of intervention, with significant citizen way is to be completed, turning it into a lineal which we will always come across and which
ignored? How are marginal areas of the city participation. This model, although not per- metropolitan park (1) connecting up a chain is always here. This is not a conservationist or
affected by the absence or non-existence of fected, has demonstrated a capacity for lead- of public spaces to the west. Starting at the nostalgic vision, but a tool that initiates an
public space and the lack of access to culture? ership, drive and follow-up within the enor- lakes and wetlands in Tlahuac to the south (2) ordered system of equality.
Do social and economic differences become mous complexity and simultaneity of factors and passing via the important archaeological This is my proposal for 111 urban, civic,
even greater? and problems. Fund-raising campaigns have remains at El Cerro de la Estrella (3) and natural, historic, accessible and cultural
Chapultepec is the largest public space in been launched with a level of participation El Cerro Texcoxcingo (4), the lineal park will spaces that could, significantly, create a habit-
Mexico City, bringing together history, cul- unheard of in our society. The masterplan for extend to metropolitan parks to the north, able democratic super-city.
ture, nature and leisure in an exceptional way. Chapultepec has made possible the co-ordi- in El Olivar de los Padres (5) and La Cañada
There are few parks in the world with such a nation, promotion and scheduled implemen- de Contreras (6), finishing up in El Cerro Mario Schjetnan is a founding partner of the
layering of historic and symbolic weight and tation of multiple actions, which go far del Ajuzco (7). This vision of cultural and Grupo de DiseñoUrbano
URBAN AGE CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 2006
of their useful life? politan interest along with the authorities.
GOVERNING THE Do the capacities of existing governments
contain the power to resolve these mega-
problems, as they have already assured the cit-
It would seem that the current multitude
of public institutions and their reduced
capacity to deal with the requirements of the
MEGA CITY izens they can? Once again, the answer is no.
Many problems are irreversible, the limits
have been reached. It is clear that a new para-
metropolis have reached a historic limit and
that we need to think about new structures, so
that the stakeholders become jointly responsi-
digm is required, for raising questions not ble with the state when it comes to decisions
raised up until now, courses of action not concerning the development of the metropo-
I
s it possible to govern the Mexican in terms of super-cities (Central Region of attempted in the past. The citizens, some lis. In order to do things differently and with
mega-metropolis? The initial response Mexico or RCM), a circle of cities surrounds intuitively, others in a more structured fash- better prospects of success, it is necessary to
is yes, since it is obvious that this the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of ion, are wondering what should be proposed plan the metropolis from a long-term, inte-
occurs on a daily basis. However, this Mexico (ZMVM). These cities are growing at in order to govern and run this metropolis? It grated point of view perhaps with a
process involves 79 executive bodies in rates of around 1.9% per year and the RCM would seem clear that it is only possible to Metropolitan Planning Institute. It would also
3 areas of government; they legislate comprises a macro-regional space which has take positive steps within a jointly responsible be vital to “observe” the evolution of the phe-
for 63 legislative zones and at least 80 26.1 million residents, 11 metropolitan zones, action by the government and democratic nomena, via, for example, a Metropolitan
territorial plans and programmes exist, 6 Federatal entities and 158 districts. Even in stakeholders. Which brings us to governance. Supervisory Body.
for “planning”. It is clear that fragmented and the most enclosed area of the ZMVM, and This means firstly defining what “metro- In order to expand the overall economic
sectorised action prevails, and it is proving notwithstanding the huge number of activi- politan” is and what it is not, in terms of the space of the ZMVM, it would be necessary to
enormously difficult to define and execute a ties shared by the two main jurisdictions that existing policies and services required for the focus investment policies and promote eco-
long-term metropolitan vision. And yet it is govern it (EM and FD), there is a lack of effec- functioning of the metropolis. It is also obvi- nomic development using models such as
working! But how is it working? Does it offer tive co-ordination dealing with the needs of ous that inter-governmental metropolitan co- economic development corporations. It is
reasonable conditions for competitive eco- the metropolis. Hence, legislation, planning ordination needs to be made compulsory clear that it is also necessary to have appropri-
nomic development, in order to improve and urban taxation (tax on property), barely (both between authorities as well as between ate resources for metropolitan projects and to
quality of life and security in a community, have any common ground, since neither body sectors of government). To this end, it is clear institutionalise the existing Metropolitan
so that its organisation and environment are considers the other in its own institutional, that we need a greater political will than exists Fund. Mexico City would benefit from the
sustainable? The answer is no, because it is governing and public policy decisions. now. There are three alternatives: (1) to gov- creation of public/mixed companies that
offering fewer positive conditions and the This metropolis also presents serious ern and run the metropolis as has been done guarantee the public interest and involve pri-
feeling is growing that basic problems are environmental problems. Can it keep con- until now, but with improvements – this in vate actors. These structures would raise
increasing disproportionately. suming 62 m3 of water per second, drying out reality is happening; (2) to explore new forms investment in services of metropolitan inter-
One in five Mexicans live in the metropo- the Valley of Mexico and the river basins that of co-operation and community involvement ests, in order to meet, on an integrated basis,
lis, and in 2005, the population reached 19.5 export water to the city, without a plan for through non-profit organisations, particular- requirements in terms of water, transport,
million: 56% live in the 59 suburban districts collecting water and for water processing and ly municipal, since this aspect of government solid waste, etc.
of the State of Mexico (EM) the remaining reuse? Can it keep adding to the number of has been lacking in metropolitan co-ordina- This is but a bare outline of the main
44% in the 16 neighbourhoods of the Federal cars at the rate of 280,000 per year until rush tion decisions; (3) the best option, but one themes that need to be tackled. All these prob-
District (FD). Although the annual rates of hours lasts five or ten hours, without a metro- that involves exchanges of funds, is to turn to- lems have now gone beyond public action and
growth are falling (4.37% 1970-1980, and politan public transport project that deals wards a metropolitan government, via assem- require a new vision, structured within a
0.9% 2000-2005) and the FD is not growing, with the 4.5 million plus cars already on the blies or parliaments that legislate strictly on strategy of urban reform for Mexico.
the districts in the EM are demonstrating a road? Is it possible to continue producing metropolitan matters, and via executive and
process of extensive expansion rising to 1.6% nearly 23,000 tons of waste per day, when the citizen Metropolitan Councils that take deci- Alfonso Xavier Iracheta Cenecorta is a Profesor
(higher than the national average). However, sites where it is dumped are almost at the end sions concerning public policies of metro- at El Colegio Mexiquense
some pay taxes and others do not, the reality is – c. 25,000 street vendors operate in the
THE INFORMAL ECONOMY that in Mexico City, we are all informal in that
we benefit from it as much as we suffer.
The geography of the informal economy
Historic Centre alone, this number has
increased by 40% in the last 5 years and dou-
bles each December;
AS A WAY OF LIFE in Mexico City is both the historic centre and
the outlying districts, both traditional public
spaces – such as squares and parks – and
– it is estimated that 65% of music sold in
Mexico is pirate music.
The mantra of democracy and liberalism
transport interchanges. It occupies poor areas as prerequisites of development has been
such as Iztapalapa or Chimalhuacán and priv- eroded by the informal economy, replacing
T
o paraphrase Louis Wirth in his considered marginal than on repeating what ileged areas like Santa Fé. The corners of this with the principle of negotiation. In
classic study of more than 60 was, before,“normative”. Today, the judicious Mexico City have been turned into the pre- Mexico City, both the law and physical space
years ago, we can affirm that the and negative stigma of the informal economy ferred space for the informal economy where are negotiated. It is not unusual to see that
informal economy, in the con- has diminished and it has been taken on more products are sold (from telephone cards, informal leaders, whether street selling or
text of Mexico City, has become as a problem, as a fact. sweets, food to pets), entertainment (mimes, invading land, move on to party structures
a way of life. Mexico City is not The informal economy covers the whole clowns, acrobats), exchange of information and elected positions. Social negotiation net-
the only city where this informal spectrum of the urban economic cycle, from (surveys, distribution of political propa- works that are being woven in the informal
economy exists, nor the place elemental forms of production, to recycling. ganda), and services (cleaning windscreens economy are being transformed into clientele
where it is most exacerbated. However, it is It includes goods and services such as hous- or whole cars). networks useful in politics.
perhaps where the density, scale and hetero- ing, transport, the infrastructure, credit and It has been affirmed that the informal It has been argued that the informal
geneity of the phenomenon most clearly show occupation of space, extending as far as politi- economy has its origins in the inability of the economy is neither good nor bad, it is simply
how this has altered the city both in its eco- cal negotiation. The whole informal activity State and of the market to supply goods, serv- a fact. Some see it as a problem, others as an
nomic and social dynamics as well as in the features techniques, decisions and strategies ices and employment to its citizens, acting as opportunity. However, it is hard to avoid pre-
production of urban space and everyday that, although not very orthodox, entail a an escape valve; also mentioned is tolerance conceptions and generate new perceptions of
experience. form of planning and organisation. They may of disorder and crime, the lack of any simple this urban phenomenon. Are we condemned
The term informal is elusive, ambiguous, be sophisticated and effective in the way in regulation and the lack of economic policy to only making more or less intelligent, more
temporary and problematic. Today, it has which they allocate resources, organise space reforms. Amongst its effects, people mention, or less marginal comments on the phenome-
become a kind of conceptual umbrella that and deal with both social and economic exploitation and labour abuse, privatisation non? Is it possible only to work with the
covers forms and practices of production, requirements. of public space, erosion of standards of coex- effects of the phenomenon, reducing its nega-
consumption and social relations that make The informal economy appears to be istence and civility and the loss of economic tive impacts and capitalising on its potential?
up the city. What is informal offers proof of linked with official and regulated processes competition. The question that should be Is it possible to come up with a new taxonomy
what exists outside what is legal, regulated, but even, more surprisingly, in some case, asked is whether the informal economy and of the informal economy that better diag-
taxed, controlled or lawful. modifies these official processes and policies. its effects are hindering or benefiting the noses the origin of urban policies and more
Both the definitions of informal and the The leading mobile telephone company, urban economy as a whole. effective responses? Perhaps it is possible to
attitudes to this have been changing, over whose owner is the richest man in South The figures on the informal economy in imagine that a new knowledge of the city
time, in Mexico City. Forty years ago, the America, employs sales and distribution tech- Mexico City are elusive and statistically might emerge from a better understanding of
housing units built by Mario Pani were con- niques specific to the informal economy such unspecified but to give an idea of the magni- the informal economy as a driving and deter-
sidered “Proper Housing”, whilst the hun- as street selling on corners. Similarly, the tude of the phenomenon, here are a few facts: mining force in major cities.
dreds of thousands of houses built in outlying mechanisms for financing, in the case of – c. 60% of housing construction occurs
districts like Ciudad Neza were considered micro-credit, replicate the mutually binding informally; José Manuel Castillo Olea is a Profesor at the
“informal settlements” or “parachutist settle- and guarantee networks that have existed for – over 60% of jobs are in the informal Universidad Iberoamericana
ments”. Today, official housing policies are years in the world of informal credit. economy;
more focused on supporting what used to be Although some are rich and others poor, – c. 25% of the 105,000 taxis are unofficial;
URBAN AGE CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 2006CASE STUDIES:
RECENT URBAN
INTERVENTIONS IN
MEXICO CITY 8
4
8
9
2
6 8
5
1 3 7
8
1 SANTA FE: FROM CITY DUMP TO GLOBAL NODE some see the node as an extension of the cor- elites and transnational real estate interests. expanding and improving the capacity of the
The “corporate centre” of Lomas de Santa Fe, porate corridor along the Reforma Boulevard The restoration plan underway has vari- main controlled access roads, improving
as locals know the area, is located in a hilly and Chapultepec. Santa Fe may be seen as a ous objectives: to attract private investment, journeys, reducing travel time and reducing
section of the sub-municipal district of symbol of a modernising Mexico City and of reactivate its unutilised building stock, ensure contamination indicators.
Alvaro Obregón in the Federal District's west- the city’s rising status in the global economy. the economic revitalisation of the zone and to The project has been controversial and
ern edge. A new metropolitan centrality locat- On the other hand, detractors may point to generate formal employment. On the social citizens were even consulted for their
ed 30 km from the Benito Juárez international the highly exclusionary character of the area dimension, the aims are to improve the live- approval. The year 2002 saw the beginning of
airport and 40 km from Toluca airport in the that is reflected in its introverted urban fabric ability of the area, attract residents back and the work which, planned over four separate
State of Mexico, the redeveloped Santa Fe now of single-point blocks, big-box mall typolo- solve issues of insecurity and congestion stages, overall, totalled 35 km of road. An
has a completely different shape from what it gies and gated residential complexes. The caused by the overwhelmingly large presence approximate total investment of 2,000 million
did two decades ago: the area had first con- reality is that Santa Fe is still growing and of street vendors. Although the plan has pesos will be required. The first phase of the
tained various sand mines and it subsequently it may still be in order to question both the already begun to show positive outcomes, and work is complete and measures 13.8 km in
became home to huge city dumps. The steep shape the area is taking and how this nodality there is a visible movement of employers and length. The construction of this stage has
hills below the development, however, are still interacts with the rest of the city. residents returning to the centre, several ques- already required 1,500 million pesos, the
largely occupied by precarious popular settle- tions remain unanswered. What will be the equivalent of a significant percentage of the
ments and low-income neighbourhoods. 2 REVITALISING THE HISTORIC CENTRE most desirable mix of industries and activities 2002 budget for transport and road pro-
As part of the policies for the rehabilita- In the last 20 years, the historic centre of for the area? What type of employment will be grammes. The second, third and fourth phas-
tion of Mexico City, Santa Fe was reconfig- Mexico City has suffered serious economic, created? How will the new economy solve es consist of the design and construction of a
ured from 1989 onwards. Via the Urban social and urban decay, chiefly after the earth- issues of informality? Will a revitalised centre second tier, in both directions, over other sec-
Development Master Plan (ZEDEC), Santa Fe quakes in 1985. Between 1970 and 1995, the keep a percentage of social housing? Will the tions of the Periférico, the Viaducto and other
was transformed into an urban mega-project central city zone lost approximately 40% of its most important civic space in the city main- urban main roads.
which, multi-functional in nature, includes: population. In 1990, the Historic Centre Trust tain its socially mixed character or will pro-
various corporate towers where multinational was set up with the mission of revitalising this cesses of gentrification and displacement take 4 THE SUBURBAN TRAIN
corporations have set up their offices in central urban quarter and restoring its valu- hold and purge its diversity and vibrancy? In the Metropolitan area of Mexico City,
Mexico City; large-scale commercial facilities; able yet rapidly decaying architectural her- around 35 million journeys are made daily,
the campus of one of Mexico’s most presti- itage. The Trust’s board is made up of repre- 3 REACHING FOR THE STARS: TWO-TIER MOTORWAYS and those who travel from the suburbs spend
gious private universities; and an up-market sentatives of federal and city government, of The Government of the City of Mexico has between five and six hours commuting each
housing stock. Road infrastructure has been private actors and of civil society organisa- proposed the construction of two tiers over day. The Suburban Train Project, which will
provided and Santa Fe has good connectivity tions – critics argue, however, that the revitali- the Periférico (Ring Road) and the Viaducto connect the Federal District to the State of
with other metropolitan centralities, in fact sation process is now dominated by business (Miguel Alemán Viaduct) with the aim of Mexico, is the first step towards dealing with
URBAN AGE CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 2006the need to improve a metropolitan transport de Texcoco zone; to produce a new ecological aquifers due to the multiplication of impervi-
infrastructure. park on the eight hectares that used to be the ous surfaces, increasing quantities of potable
The project is being co-financed by three Azcapotzalco Refinery and join it to other water were being wasted because of leakages
governments: the Federal government, the parks along a green linear corridor; and to through the overextended pipe system.
State of Mexico government and the Federal distribute pocket parks throughout the city. Stricter growth controls in outer bor-
District government who are joining forces to Mexico City seems to be rediscovering the oughs and a streamlined process to grant
start up the railway that will connect the old importance of high-quality green open spaces building permits at the core are the two con-
central railway station of Buenavista with and, in this respect, taking the same path crete policies announced by the Bando Dos.
suburbs in the State of Mexico. Its final desti- shown in initiatives such as London’s Green In the five-year period since the initiative was
nation will be Huehuetoca, covering 240 km. Grid or the Mayor’s 100 Public Spaces, or the first implemented, the four core boroughs
Construction of the first 25 km, from initiatives to revitalise the Los Angeles River have witnessed both a construction boom and
Buenavista to Cuautitlán, has already begun. and transform it into an armature that could steep hikes in housing prices that have also
The suburban train will carry 320,000 passen- rearticulate the disjointed urban landscape impacted on the rest of the metropolitan
gers a day, mostly workers and students who of Southern California. housing market. There has also been a prolif-
will save more than 2.5 hours daily on each eration of low-density subdivisions and gated
round trip. The fare will be equivalent to what 7 THE FARO (LIGHTHOUSE) TO THE EAST OF THE CITY communities at the edges of the metropolitan
people are paying today on other means of In Mexico City, the supply of public space zone in the State of Mexico. Is the re-densifi-
transport. The train will also contribute to and cultural facilities has been concentrated cation of the core an achievement of the
reducing the road problem and will have a in a narrow area bordering the centre and Bando Dos or was it already underway before
positive impact on environmental conditions south-west of the city, where the most privi- the initiative? Are the negative metropolitan
in the area. leged social groups live. As a result, the eastern dynamics unintended consequences of the
zone of the city suffers from both economic policy? There is a wide range of opinions from
5 METROBÚS: THE FUTURE OF COLLECTIVE disadvantage and cultural neglect. With the both detractors and supporters of this contro-
TRANSPORT IN MEXICO CITY? intention of decentralising and democratising versial re-densification initiative. The case
It is estimated that in the Federal District, the access to culture, the city government also illustrates wider debates on the relation-
there are already 3.2 million registered vehi- decided to create a cultural centre in the east. ship between urban densities and housing
cles, which are responsible for 70% of the air In 1998 a project was approved to create a cul- affordability, the need to consider the role of
contamination. With the central objective of tural centre in an abandoned property that design in re-densification initiatives, and the
reducing road congestion and contaminating had been built years ago by the architect limits of territorial policies in taming sprawl
emissions, the Federal District has promoted Alberto Kalach, who was also commissioned when they are not implemented within wide
the construction of a dedicated-lane bus sys- to refurbish the site for its new purpose. Since regional frameworks.
tem since 2002. This initiative follows the suc- its opening in the year 2000, the F-ábrica de
cess of the BRT systems (Bus Rapid Transit) AR-tes y O-ficios de Oriente (Factory of Arts 9 HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME
in South American cities such as Curitiba, and Crafts of the East) offers workshops to (PROGRAMA DE MEJORAMIENTO DE VIVIENDA- PMV)
Bogotá, Sao Paulo and Quito. With the advan- around 1,700 children, youngsters and adults; The PMV dates back to 1998. It was jointly
tage that they use the existing road infrastruc- a library and internet access; film screenings designed by the city government and repre-
ture, the BRT systems have constituted an and other cultural activities – all free of sentatives from the various NGOs from the
option that is economically more viable than charge. It also holds huge concerts and youth- Habitat Coalition-Mexico to address the
other collective transport systems such as the oriented events for nearly 10,000 people at a acute housing problems of popular settle-
underground, which requires approximately time. These events are known for their safety. ments, which were originally informally
10 times more investment. No major incidents have been reported, even developed and cover more than half of the
Inaugurated on 19 June 2005, Metrobus though the facilities sit in a high-crime area metropolitan surface. The PMV grants loans
required an estimated investment of 48 mil- with several opposing gangs active. Middle- to low-income families living in the Federal
lion pesos in road works and approximately class young people are beginning to attend District (heads of household earning less than
212 million pesos in coaches. It has approxi- these events regularly. US$ 600 per month) and it provides technical
mately 85 articulated buses that travel along The FARO is located in the borough of assistance to programme participants con-
the some 20 km of Avenida Insurgentes at an Iztapalapa, one of the poorest and troubled cerning design issues and spatial arrange-
average speed of 21 km/h. It has 34 stops and areas of the Federal District, just a few blocks ments within the housing unit. It was first
2 terminals (Dr. Gálvez and Indios Verdes). from the city’s largest dump, in a popular co-financed by the city’s administration and
On its busiest section, Metrobus carries neighbourhood built over the dried-up NGOs and it has now been put under the
around 5,500 passengers per hour. Texcoco Lake. The FARO has been described entire supervision of the Federal District’s
as a socially inclusive and culturally alterna- Housing Institute.
6 URBAN PARKS tive space, and although its ability to respond The PMV’s main objectives are to create
It seems almost unnecessary to mention the to the lack of cultural facilities in the east of better living conditions for socially disadvan-
vital importance of parks, green and open the city is limited, this initiative, now being taged families; to deal with problems of over-
spaces in dense urban areas. Urban parks reproduced in other parts of the city, hints at crowding; and to improve precarious, dam-
beautify their surroundings and are funda- the potential that social inclusion and cultural aged or at-risk housing units. The interven-
mental as aquifer recharge zones, for produc- production offer to revitalise cities. tions sponsored by the programme to reach
ing oxygen and for reducing contaminants. these goals include: expansion; improvement;
Green spaces in the Federal District cover 8 THE RE-DENSIFICATION OF THE URBAN CORE: preventive, corrective or general mainte-
only 12,828 hectares. The green space average BANDO DOS nance; new progressive housing, designed
is 15.1m2/resident if we take into considera- In December 2000, the then Mayor Andrés for subsequent expansion; and new finished
tion both private and public green spaces and Manuel López Obrador issued Bando Dos units. Since 2001, around 62,417 loans have
this figure falls to only 5.2m2/resident if limit- (Informative Decree 2), a policy initiative to been granted by this programme and it is
ed to public green spaces. The amount of promote the re-densification of the Federal envisaged that by the end of 2006, the pro-
green space in Mexico City therefore is not District’s four core boroughs of Cuauhtémoc, gramme will have organised almost 130,000
only much lower than that available in Miguel Hidalgo, Benito Juárez and housing operations – while these figures fall
European cities but it also falls considerably Venustiano Carranza and to curtail develop- far below existing needs, the PMV represents
below levels achieved in other high-density ment in peripheral zones, particularly those the largest public intervention to improve
cities with comparably large populations such with a high degree of environmental sensi- housing conditions in popular settlements to
as Shanghai. tivity. The initiative responds to three main date. However, those who question the pro-
Because of these shortages, many green concerns: population losses at the urban core gramme focus on the quality of its implemen-
spaces have suffered serious damage due to that generate conditions of underutilised tation rather than on the scale that it has
overuse. A case in point is Chapultepec Park. infrastructure; urban sprawl over land to be achieved. The PMV has been critiqued for not
With 686 hectares of woods, the largest preserved as green fields; and decreasing lev- following up with loan recipients on building
regional park in Latin America is visited by els of local water supply from within the met- details pertaining to their individual units
15 million people a year and up to 17,000 visi- ropolitan area. From the 1970s onwards, and even less on the positive effects that the
tors each Sunday. Because this space had been Mexico City experienced a gradual decline in interventions could have on the physical
invaded by street vendors, waste and contami- the population living in central zones and a shape of their neighbourhoods. Their bottom
nation, the Chapultepec Park Trust was set up rapid expansion of peripheral neighbour- line is that the PMV has only accelerated
for its restoration. The aim was to gather hoods. Between 1970 and 2000, the four core self-help construction without really solving
resources and draft a masterplan to restore boroughs lost over one million residents and structural problems in the housing stock and
every corner of this urban asset, which is also their share of the city’s total population fell conditions of overcrowding.
one of the few inclusive spaces in the city. from 73% in 1950 to 20% in 2000. At the same
Other ambitious initiatives include the pro- time the city was progressively losing its
posal to recreate the dried-up lake in the Vaso capacity to retain rain water to replenish its
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