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Geography - Mexico City Case Study (Effects of rapid urbanisation in…
Geography - Mexico City Case Study
General info
Mexico city has a population of over 21 million and is the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere.
It is one of the most important financial centres in the Americas. In 2011, the city had a gross domestic product of US$ 411 billion. This makes it one of the richest urban areas in the world. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced in a year in a particular location.
There is huge inequality across the city, in terms of income, lifestyle, housing, employment and access to services. Spatial inequality is very powerful with some areas of the city being completely different to others.
Mexico city has a culture which is a mix of Spanish and indigenous traditions. This extends to food, music, religion and architecture. The city is the most important cultural centre in Mexico. The city is home to a national opera and theatre as well as TV and radio stations which operate across the country and neighbouring countries.
Definition
Rates of natural increase
The main cause of rising natural increase is a fall in the death rate.
Economic investment and growth
Mexico City to migrants from countryside was the growth in jobs opportunities in factories and offices as economic investment was channelled into the city.
Rural to Urban migration
The movement of people to urban areas from rural areas due to better jobs, healthcare and education.
Push and Pull factors of National and International Migration.
Push Factors
(Puebla) - it is a poor region to the east of Mexico City. There are few jobs outside of farming. Framing can e unreliable as crops may fail leaving people with limited income/food.
(Puebla) - Only 40% of people have clean water.
(Puebla) - Literacy rate is only 65%
(Puebla) - Two thirds of people lack proper housing.
Pull factors - Attracting people to Mexico city
Jobs - New factories, means more people are needed to work.
82% of people have access to clean water .
45% of all the country's industry.
The cultural life of the city and its domination services in the country are other attractive.
Push Factor: Negative aspects of a particular place that forces people from it.
Pull Factor: Positive aspects of a place that attracts people towards it,
Structure of the city
There is a large CBD which is home to banks, insurance and financial services. This is in addition to government offices and headquarters of large companies. These companies are both Mexican and international (TNCs).
Next to the CBD is the inner city, here there is a mixture of housing. There are some ageing apartment blocks, alongside some high quality modern apartment buildings.
Extending further out the city, the pattern becomes more complex. There is a mixture of industrial areas, luxury housing areas and areas of high density housing. Some of this is in the form of squatter settlements.
This pattern has been created by population growth, housing segregation, income level, industrialisation and developments in transport.
Mexico City - Quality of life
Arrival from the countryside
People who have recently arrived in Mexico City from the rural areas are usually poor and have to live in slums or shanty towns.
Political Power
The wealthier people are also those with political power
They are able to get homes in the better parts of the city.
Income
The poorest people live in shanty towns and rubbish dumps.
The average disposable household income per person in 2013 was US $13,085, which is lower then the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of US $25,908.
The top 20% of people in Mexico City earn 13 times as much as the bottom 20%.
This explains the gap between the poorer and richer and the areas in which they live in.
Working Hours
Poorer people also have to work longer hours in Mexico City.
29% of employees work very long hours compared with an average of 13% in other developing and emerging countries.
Mexico City has the best living standards in Mexico.
Effects of rapid urbanisation in Mexico City
60% of people live in informal settlements
4 generations live in the same building, overcrowding
Long commutes to work
Houses built in natural areas of beauty due to high demand
Uses more water than any other city in the world
Lots of sewage and water pollution due to rising population
Current infrastructure cannot deal with the waste
Dry lake bed amplifies earthquakes
Cable car reduces air pollution
Difficult to police
Air pollution due to lots of traffic
Advantages & Disadvantages of Bottom-up approaches
Bottom-up - Advantages
Small scale so people feel involved and are likely to go on supporting them after the initial interest has faded.
Do not take long to get going.
Do not need a lot of money.
Do not need a lot of people initially - can set up as an example to others.
Bottom-up - Disadvantages
Do not have a lot of money, so may not be able to scale up.
Cannot easily deal with big problems like air pollution.
May not have political support
Advantages & Disadvantages of Top-down approaches
Top-down - Advantages
There is political power to make sure it happens
The city government can make sure there is enough money for the project.
It is possible to deal with large-scale issues such as flooding and air pollution, which smaller community-led strategies.
It creates work for people in the city.
Top-down - Disadvantages
They may suffer from budget cuts or corruption and so never happen.
They do not involve local people who may feel alienated.
They can take a long time to put into action.
