Social Housing and Low Density Growth: The Urban Predicament in Mexico

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Abstract

Since the first policies for the provision of social housing were adopted in Mexico in the 1970s, and the liberalisation of the sector in the 1990s following the prescriptions of the Washington consensus, Mexico has experienced an unprecedented development of its formal housing stock for medium- and low-income families. In this period, the patterns of construction have experienced a gradual reduction in the denser housing types used in previous decades that regularly included medium-rise multifamily housing types. Currently, the major patterns used nationally comprise single-family types and dispersed housing developments located far from city centres. The predominantly neo-liberal approach to housing policy and the urban transformation experienced in Mexico has exerted growing pressures upon municipalities and housing dwellers alike. This thesis explores some of the underlying reasons for such phenomena by focusing on the morphological dimension of the problem, as well as on the attitudes and perceptions of the actors directly involved in this process. A typo-morphological methodology was structured to analyse the social housing stock in one of Mexico’s urban agglomerations. This allowed identifying and comparing distinctive attributes of single-family, multi-family and mixed housing developments in order to assess their impact on urban growth. The investigation is complemented with surveys of residents undertaken in eight housing developments, as well as of private developers, government officials and potential buyers. The findings show the potential strengths of multi-storey housing types for urban development in comparison to the current widespread patterns of growth. By focusing on local actors the thesis unravels the perceptions, and in some cases the frustrations, of residents with regard to the conditions of the housing stock. It also identifies a vicious cycle comprising the attitudes of the actors interviewed that has helped to shape the patterns of horizontality and dispersed social housing prevalent today. Lastly the findings from the two main dimensions are discussed to explore different patterns more respectful for both residents and the city.

Keyword(s)

Social housing, urban morphology, housing types, urban sprawl, single-family housing, multi-storey housing, residents, private developers, officials, Mexico

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