User:Lortega3/Gentrification of Mexico City

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Landscape of the large city, Mexico City.

Mexico City has massively been expanding its urban fabric and population density, becoming the fifth largest city in the world. A combination of neoliberal policies, complex geographic location, socio-economic disparities and inefficient strategies have influenced the process of gentrification in the city. The combination of numerous megaprojects, inefficient city-planning strategies, and remote work after the COVID-19 pandemic have led to dysfunctions in circulation, community allocation and equal access to resources. In consequence, middle and low-income communities have been directly or indirectly alienated and challenged to adapt to a complex and evolving urban environment.

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Social Practices Post-COVID 19 Pandemic

In contrast to the American Dream, studies show that US Americans are drawn towards Mexico City because of its collectivism, and rich culture and community. Many Black-Americans share desire to migrate to find a safe haven from the racial disparities they face in the United States. Statistics show that an increase in popularity on Google searches by 50% on the topic of Black migration to Mexico City rose after George Floyd's murder by the Minneapolis Police in 2020. The political climate, as well as the global pandemic of COVID-19 made this year significant in fostering conditions for migration. In the United States, as calls for quarantine began early 2020, its longevity, though unexpected, strengthened remote schooling and work. Prior to the pandemic, 5.7% of working U.S. Americans were working from home, which was increase to 17.9% in just two years.

Because of this, though the pandemic bred an economic burden on locals, forcing around 30% to move out of their homes, for some it presented an opportunity to move somewhere cheap, and work remotely, earning in US dollars. Those who relocate in this way are called "Digital Nomads".

Effects

From low-scale impacts such as loss of housing security, jobs, access to resources, daily commuting and social and physical alienation, to large-scale results such as increased violence, traffic, pollution, inefficient planning, discrimination and economic dysfunctions, gentrification impacts every person living in a city in one way or another. The effects of gentrification in Mexico City come from the transformation and expansion of urban zones, as well as the adoption of capitalist policies, an elevated consumerism and a strong class domination by domestic elites. The saturation of commerce and public spaces has led to high increases in traffic congestion, noise, necessity for street parking, occupation of sidewalks and street divisions, changes of land use, tension between residents, local government and new occupants, urban violence, regulation of informal commerce and multiple protests to stop megaprojects.

Changes to the Urban Landscape

After an interview to three thousand people of 10 different towns a study found that more than half did not live in the same neighborhood they originally resided at, some not even in the same district due to increase of prices. The study also revealed drastic increase of commercial plazas and new neighbors with higher incomes and younger ages. Expansion of urbanization also caused changes in employment opportunities in both the formal and informal sectors, leading to increase in secondary and tertiary economic sectors and a decrease in primary activities. This same study found that gentrification lead to temporary areas with higher income diversification. This more urbanized environment, also caused higher education levels, as families were more hesitant to withdraw children from school to increase possibilities of formal jobs in the city. The regulation of street vendors caused displacement of markets and complicated accessibility to cheaper commerce, provoking labor and service instability.

Another large consequence of gentrification in Mexico City has been the increase of peripheral and metropolitan development of illegal housing, often at risk zones such as seismic areas, flood zones and dangerous slopes. In 2002, the government regularized illegal settlements for communities with a long-time presence, as a total of 709 illegal settlements were already part of the urban environment. Legalizing these settlements was a way to minimize displacement, but also to restate freedom from responsibility by local governments to ensure safe and healthy housing for the majority of population. Common political attitudes encompassed the idea that unfavored populations and rural immigrants were not being affected by irregular settlements, as these respond better to their needs, capabilities and identity than affordable housing projects, and that the self-build activity produced closer communities and larger amounts of economic involvement.

Environmental Harm

A mass production of affordable single family units with poor service infrastructure and public transport have led to low qualities of life with excessive daily commuting, causing high levels of air pollution, social segregation and housing abandonment. In addition, the houses have a minimal size and often lack of privacy. The deterioration of preservation zones due to rapid city growth and lack of proper land norms is also a recent concern, as environmental stress due to exploitation of land and water has started to affect important ecosystems like Ajusco and Xochimilco, that besides housing 1800 species of plants and animals, serve to regulate weather, filtrate rainwater and have scenic value.

Social and Urban Segregation

Another effect of gentrification relates to social segregation and urban segregation taking place in Mexico City. The social segregation process especially affects indigenous communities, who are forcibly displaced due to the construction of big projects. Many times these are planned without any consultation. This increases the vulnerability in terms of health, food, and living which also goes along with the general judicial neglect of women and indigenous people. To counteract this process of segregation it is necessary to establish proper housing conditions and create integration in terms of education, work and culture. Furthermore, urban segregation is happening in Mexico City due its deterioration of public space due to urban violence, instability, and dread. Gated neighborhoods, corporate, and commercial centers privatize public space for elites, fragmenting the metropolis. [1] This development is in particular increased due to existing governmental policies and the neglect for marginalized groups. It creates processes of territorial inequality and residential segregation, as well as new forms of urbanization of the territory that reproduce a dispersed city pattern, dissociated from the consolidated urban structure.

Erasure of Cultural Identity

As foreigners move into neighborhoods that become inaccessible to locals due to their increased price, the neighborhood changes with them as businesses become directed towards them. Local galleries and restaurants that have been there for generations are being lost, and those that remain report having to adapt their spicy food, and language. Considering the role of the Spanish language and Mexican gastronomy in shaping the culture into what it is, it's preservation is worth fighting for.