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MEXICO CITY.
  Term Paper ID:25972
Essay Subject:
Overview of history, growth, urbanization, population, structure, socioeconomics, air & water, housing.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Overview of history, growth, urbanization, population, structure, socioeconomics, air & water, housing.

Paper Introduction:
INTRODUCTION Mexico City is characterized as a megacity and is seen as embodying all of the ills which beset the urban environment in such a degree that it is held up as an example of what will happen if urban growth is not controlled. Mexico City has particular problems related to the poor economy of Mexico as a whole, leading to excessive rural-urban migration, the creation of shanty-towns around the urban core, high rates of air and water pollution, and problems supplying the needs of the city in terms of water, energy, and other necessities of urban life.

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The city they founded was called Tenochtitlan, and eventually itexpanded to a population of more than 25 , . The most importantindustrial activities shaping the city include the manufacture of clothingand furniture; publishing activities; the production of rubber, plastic,and metal goods; and the assembly and repair of electrical goods. The Spanish explorer HernanCortes first saw the city in 1519, and two years later his forces occupiedand systematically leveled the great Aztec metropolis, building their owncapital on the ruins. Many options previously available to low-income urban populations, such as that of settling in unused public landand low-density central city neighborhoods, are rapidly disappearing. everyday. During the Mexican-American War, MexicoCity was captured by U.S. From 193 to 195 , the populationmore than doubled ("Mexico City" hyperion.advanced.org). The trendtoward counterurbanization is not new and has been prevalent during the eraof suburbanization as much of the population of the inner city moved to thesuburbs in search of a different way of life. Mexico City began to experience explosive growth in this century. Whilethe demand for land is growing--indeed, it has been calculated that rapidurbanization is likely to lead to a doubling in size of built-up urbanareas in most developing countries over the next 15 to 2 years--the supplyin most developing country cities is both genuinely and artificiallylimited" ("Urbanization" www.populationaction.org). Mexico City wasmade the capital of all the Spanish provinces in the western hemispherenorth of Costa Rica, and it was administered by Spain for three centuriesbefore being taken over in 1821 by a revolutionary band led by Augustin deIturbide, later named emperor. Mexico City is considered to be the hometo the world's worst air pollution, and most children who are tested therehave elevated lead levels. By 1996, it had 17million people living in an 87 square mile area. As noted, water has been one ofthe problems for this population. The level of the city's aquifer is sinking by more than three feet per year, causing land to subside and structures to buckle in the city's center ("Urbanization" www.populationaction.org). The city continued to grow so that in the 196 s, the MetropolitanZone grew by as much as 8 percent a year. Thismeans that a great percentage of waste-water remains untreated as it passesto the north for use as irrigation water ("Mexico City, Mexico"www.un.org). forces in 1847. Environmental problems associated with urbanization tend to besimilar in both developed and developing countries, and in the developingworld, rates of population growth in urban areas are increasing as more andmore people move from rural areas in search of jobs and better livingconditions. "Mexico City: Metaphor for the World's Urban Future." Environment (January 11, 1996), 32-35."Mexico City." http://www.macalstr.edu/~geograph/ world-urbanization/jpalmer/opening.html."Mexico City, Mexico." http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/ special/habitat/profiles/mexico.shtml.Rybczynski, Witold. This pressure is also seen fromincreasing pollution brought about by the environmental byproducts of largeand concentrated urban populations, and these pose direct threats to healthand to the quality of city life. As urban ills spread tothe suburbs, there may be less incentive to flee and more to cope with theproblems and solve them at the core. Combining this with thebirthrate expected over the years raises the population to approximately 3 million by the year 2 2 . This creates a different sort ofpollution contributing to the spread of disease and related problems. People there thus facethe prospect of continuing misery as management structures, skills, andservices develop incrementally, but there is hope for gradual improvementas has been seen in Mexico City where some of the quality-of-lifeindicators in have risen (Major, Brimblecombe, and Cohen 34). Cities are faced withthe need to reduce the need for services through a number of processes.Much of the trend to counterurbanization has been brought about by theperceived decline in urban life, and as it declines even more with the lossof population, even more of the population flees (Rybczynski 36-47).Economic shifts could bring about a change once more--if new businessesmove into cities, they will attract population. Mexico City haslong had access to electricity, oil, and other power sources; it hasbenefitted from the provision of water and drainage facilities; and it wasthe focus of major road investment programs adding to the infrastructurewhich attracted and served the growing population. Key Mexican states which have contributedsignificant population sectors to the capital include Michoacan, Puebla,Jalisco, Guerrero, Nuevo Leon, Hidalgo, and Guanajuato. While people may move out,the city itself does not shrink in terms of size. "Downsizing Cities." The Atlantic Monthly (October 1995), 36-47."Urbanization." http://www.populationaction.org/why_pop/ whyurbanization.htm. Instead, the inner citydecays from neglect. Mexico City, however, has seen a different sort of growth. Urban migrants usually adapt swiftly to the stresses of city life.However, a recent United Nations report on urban areas noted that "thesituation is rapidly changing. It is estimatedthat about 15 new people reach the D.F. It is surrounded byan Elite Residential Sector, which is an extension of the CBD and is linedwith the city's most important amenities. Works CitedMajor, David C., Peter Brimblecombe, and Michael Cohen. Mexico City has particular problems related to the pooreconomy of Mexico as a whole, leading to excessive rural-urban migration,the creation of shanty-towns around the urban core, high rates of air andwater pollution, and problems supplying the needs of the city in terms ofwater, energy, and other necessities of urban life. In addition, thosewho desire to remain in Mexico City are influenced by numerous social,political, educational and cultural factors, and citizens often equateliving in Mexico City with an image of personal success. A recent scientificstudy suggests that the primary culprit for the air pollution i Mexico Citymay be the combustion of liquefied petroleum gas, which people throughoutthe city use to heat homes and cook food. A trend in much of the world has been counterubanization. HISTORY According to Aztec records, what would become Mexico City was foundedin 1325 when a band of nomads from the north settled on an island in LakeTexcoco. Mexico City has 2.6 million private automobiles in the city, andthese are estimated to be responsible for fifty percent of trafficcongestion and for producing about eighty percent of the air pollution.Government planning strategies have bene directed at the decentralizationof Mexico City, but in truth, tax subsidies and other government actionsoften make the city more attractive than other areas. By 1519, the Aztec Empire covered an areaof 625, square miles and had 15 , inhabitants. GROWTH On 152 , there was a smallpox epidemic which killed off much of theexisting population, so the new city under Spanish rule came into beingwith only 3 , inhabitants after its earlier history as the largest cityin the Americas. Ozone pollution shows concentrations that areoften three times as high as the World Health Organization's safetystandard for ozone, and this fact has led the city's government to curtaildriving and industrial activity to help clear the air. Water also remains a problem: At the same time, the need to provide fresh water to a growing population of about 16 million in an arid mountain valley has forced Mexico City to overdraw its underground supplies of fresh water and pipe water from across the surrounding mountains, at a high and growing cost in electricity. The provision of city services suffers, and thenature of urban life itself disintegrates with time. Because of this, Mexico City, Cairo, Jakarta, Delhi, Bombay,Karachi, Sao Paulo, Beijing and Shanghai are all predicted to more thandouble their population size from 1985 to the year 2 25. The structure of Mexico City places more and more strain on thedeveloping poor areas as well as placing pressure on the urban core, theolder part of the city to which many form the outer regions come each dayfor work, business, and amenities. Mexico City todayholds approximately 9 , Indios (Indians) from more than ten indigenouscultures. The process of urbanization has had a serious negative effect on theecosystem of Mexico City. Themagnitude of the problems that cities like Mexico City face suggests theneed for staggering expenditures to bring them up to currently acceptablestandards and further suggests the continuing need for large internationaltransfers. While water supplies have increased to 3 liters per day per capita, the city lacks an efficient distribution system. The city began as a small island andgrew above the water through a system of chinampas, or floating gardens.The soil on these chinampas was among the most productive in the world, andplanted along the edges of the floating islands were trees called ahuejotes(a type of cypress), which were useful in compacting the soil andregulating the sun and the wind. Most ofthis production was directed at the national and local markets rather thanoriented towards global markets, though this has changed because of theNorth American Free Trade Agreement ("Mexico City, Mexico" www.un.org). Pollution is the most serious problem facing thecity. From the beginning, the colonial city was laid out ona grid-iron pattern, a method prescribed by the Spanish monarchy and laterembodied in the Laws of the Indies. The original city, built from the 14th to 16th centuries A.D., wasconstructed atop the water of a 65 square mile area made up of five greatlakes and featuring ten large ports. Some 8 percent of the population has piped inside plumbing, but residentsin the peripheral areas cannot gain access to the sewage network. Urban life centered on the CBD or themain plaza, which for Mexico City is called Zocalo Square. Plans for the urbanization of Mexico City were under wayby 192 , and a process of industrialization increased as mills andfactories spread throughout the city. This makes itunlikely that the predominant role of Mexico City will change very muchduring the remainder of this century or into the next ("Mexico City,Mexico" www.un.org). The city has increased from a populationof 1.6 million in 194 to 3.1 million in 195 , 5.4 million in 196 , 9.1million in 197 , 13.9 million in 198 , and about 15.6 million in 1995.Such rapid growth was produced by policies that greatly favored theconcentration of industrial production in Mexico City. The city tried to address the issue bydrilling wells, but this caused the subsoil to sink. What will also be required are enormous investments in humancapital, especially the training of engineers, social workers,transportation planners, health professionals, and ecosystem managers.Most developed countries have the resources to deal with their megacities'problems, while most developing countries do not. Poorer areas were created as aseries of concentric zones in the east and north. Though population growth rates in the Mexico City Metropolitan Zonehave diminished significantly over the past 1 years, so they stand now atabout two percent a year, and the population of the Districto Federal (orthe D.F.) is growing at a rate of .5 percent a year, there is stillconcern over immigration to the city from the countryside. It was later ruled by Emperor Maximilian and the French army from1863 to 1867 before it was captured by President Benito Pablo Juarez.After 191 , during the years of revolution, the capital was the scene ofstreet fighting. Allgovernmental offices, the National Palace, and the great majority ofcommercial activities are located within a short distance of the plaza.Outside of the area of the CBD, the dominant element of Latin American citystructure is a Commercial Spine (Paseo de la Reforma). Between 198 and 199 , 2 percent of those immigrating to MexicoCity came from other countries, especially Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,China, Cuba, Spain, France, Italy, and Japan ("Mexico City"www.macalstr.edu). By 197 , Mexico City had 9million inhabitants living in a 4 mile square area. A number of urban problems have developed in MexicoCity because of the size of the population and the density with which it ispacked into the region. The reason peoplemove to cities is to improve their economic opportunities and quality oflife. People donot move from the core to the suburbs, but instead the outer peripherygrows larger and larger as more people migrate to the cities and populatethe poorer areas, build shanty-towns, and otherwise create a new growthregion outside the city center, a growth region with few amenities, oftenincluding no water and no electricity. Such immigration is not new, and Mexico City hasreceived a massive inflow of population from the other parts of the countrythroughout its history. Population levels grew slowly over the next fourcenturies until a period of spectacular growth in the twentieth century.Migration has been more important than natural increase in fueling thepopulation growth in Mexico City. URBAN STRUCTURE There is a Latin American City Model which dominates and whichincludes several components--a viable Central Business District (CBD), aCommercial Spine and an associated Elite Residential Sector, and a seriesof concentric zones in which residential quality decreases outward from thecenter of the city. INTRODUCTION Mexico City is characterized as a megacity and is seen as embodyingall of the ills which beset the urban environment in such a degree that itis held up as an example of what will happen if urban growth is notcontrolled. By the 16th century, thecity had become the seat of the Aztec Empire. Lake Texcoco was filled in as the city expanded, andthe city was rebuilt in the Spanish architectural mode at the same time.From this new city structure, Spanish explorers traveled outward to explorenew territory and to subdue the Native American inhabitants as far north asthe present United States and south into Central America. Atthe beginning of the century, the population of Mexico City was only alittle bit larger than it was in 1519, but rapid growth followed as thepopulation went from 25 , people in a 29 square mile area to 3.2 millionpeople in a 15 square mile area by 1953. They sawthe water as an obstacle for their horses and heavy canoes, so in the 16thcentury, the lake city was transformed into one of dry land ("Mexico City"www.macalstr.edu). The city was held for fivemonths. Moving outward, thesettlements become poorer and more recently established ("Mexico City"www.macalstr.edu). In 1948, rates ofsinkage up to 18 inches per year were recorded in the Mexico City HistoricCenter. By comparison, at thesame time London had 2 , thousand people and Madrid had 64, people.Tenochtitlan was then a lake-dwelling, water-based society, but the Spanishdid not have the same respect for the water and had it drained.

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