Updates on the geography of Mexico City (26 March 2011)

 Mexico's geography in the Press  Comments Off on Updates on the geography of Mexico City (26 March 2011)
Mar 262011
 

This is the second in our series of periodic round-ups of news items related to the geography of Mexico City. The link to our first update in the series is Updates on the geography of Mexico City (13 December 2010)

Water meters in Mexico City

Ooska News reports that the SACM (Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de México, Mexico City Water System) plans to replace, repair or install 600,000 water meters for Mexico City before the start of the rainy season. About 300,000 of the 600,000 meters will be repairs or replacements; the other half are new installations. The cost of new meters will be added to the property’s water bill. The city government is considering how to help low-income residents meet the necessary payments. Residents living in parts of the city which as yet have no meters pay a fixed annual charge for water irrespective of the amount they consume. Having meters installed, so flows and consumption can be monitored, is absolutely essential as the SACM tries to tackle the problem of leaks in the water pipes supplying homes in the city. Some analysts estimate that as much as 25% of the water entering the system is lost through leaky pipes before it reaches its intended end-user.

Plastics recycling in Mexico City

Plastics recycling is one component of Mexico City’s waste separation program, which was established in response to the Solid Waste Law passed in 2003. Members of Mexico’s National Association of the Plastics Industry (a nationwide grouping of plastics makers) are investing $150 million in a pilot project to boost plastics recycling in Mexico City. The project seeks to increase the volume of plastic waste collected and reused by at least 10%.

Currently in Mexico City, only 12% of the 13,000 tons of waste generated each day is plastic, even though, by volume, plastics account for between 30 and 40% of all the waste generated.

Assuming the pilot project proves to be a success, the plastics collection and reuse program could be extended to the remainder of the country, leading to the possibility of doubling current recycling rates to around 35% of the 6 million tons of all kinds of plastics used each year.

Updates on the geography of Mexico City

 Mexico's geography in the Press  Comments Off on Updates on the geography of Mexico City
Dec 132010
 

We start this periodic round-ups of news items related to the geography of Mexico City with an update on Mexico City’s population. The preliminary results of the 2010 census show that the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) has a population of 20,137,152. This includes the Federal District with its 8,873,017 inhabitants. The Federal District has grown only slowly since 2000, but the State of Mexico, much of which is included in the MCMA, grew five times as quickly (its growth was 1.59%/yr between 2000 and 2010).

New electric Nissan taxis

Several hundred all-electric taxis will soon be circulating in Mexico City. In the second half of 2011, 500 Nissan “Leaf”s (Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family cars) will be added to the city’s massive taxi fleet. When fully charged, the Leaf has a range of up to 160km, with zero emissions of CO2. Nissan is reported to be installing recharging stations in locations such as supermarket and restaurant parking lots. The Leaf is expected to go on sale to the public in 2012.

Fines for using non-biodegradable plastic bags

Mexico City authorities have dropped the possibility of  jail time, but kept stiff fines for anyone using plastic bags that are not bio-degradable. Store owners and employees are no longer allowed to give away non-biodegradable plastic bags. Repeat offenders will face fines of up to 9,250 dollars.

Levies on excess garbage

Watch out big business! Mexico City authorities have announced a crack-down on the solid wastes generated by large commercial enterprises, including shopping centers. About 2,000 places will be inspected; they currently pay about 1.2 million dollars (15 million pesos) a year in excess waste fees, but the city believes many are abusing the system, which is based on self-reporting. Mexico City’s solid waste regulations classify anyone disposing of more than 50 kg a day as a “high volume waste generator.” Anyone in this category must pay for every kilogram of waste beyond the basic 50 kilos. The current rates (per kilogram) are 0.50 pesos for construction materials, 1.00 pesos for urban waste, 1.83 pesos for plant-related waste and 2.20 pesos for wastes requiring special handling. Businesses will be audited by city inspectors to ensure that the amount of waste they produce matches what they officially report, and fines will be levied for non-compliance.

The geography of Mexico City is analyzed in chapters 21, 22 and 23 of  Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

Nov 092010
 

In an earlier post, we looked at why ground subsidence has become such as serious problem in Mexico City.

The uneven subsidence poses a major challenge for engineering projects such as constructing (and maintaining) the city’s metro system.Mexico City metroThe Mexico City metro has 11 lines linking 175 stations, with a total length of 201 km (125 miles); an additional line is under construction. The metro is used by 5 million passengers a day. Some parts of the system are overground, but 56% of the network is underground. The deepest station is 35 m below street level. The Mexico City metro is the 7th most widely used in the world, after the metros in Tokyo, Moscow, Seoul, New York, Paris and Beijing.

  • many archaeological finds, including a pyramid, were made during the excavation required for Mexico City’s metro
  • Pino Suárez station was built around an ancient pyramid unearthed during metro construction
  • stations are named, but are also identified by simple glyph-like logos designed for easy use by people who have difficulty reading or writing
  • a single trip between any two stations on the network costs $3 pesos (about 25 cents US).; the metro is free for the elderly and physically-challenged
  • during peak hours, the Metro reserves some carriages for women and children only (no men)
  • almost all Mexico City metro cars run on rubber tires, making for a smooth, quiet ride

When the first line was built in 1969, one of the strategies adopted by engineers to limit damage from subsequent subsidence was apparently to build the metro tunnels and stations in such a way that their total weight was very similar to the weight of the mud and sediments removed during construction. Presumably, if the weights were identical, at least the tunnels would be likely to remain in the same relative positions over time, even if the subsoil contracted and sank. To a large extent, the engineers were successful, and the metro has experienced  amazingly few structural problems in its 41 years of operation. In the devastating 1985 earthquakes, Mexico City’s metro system sustained no serious damage despite the widespread destruction and loss of life above ground.

Mexico City’s metro network is administered by the Metro Transportation System (Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metro, STCM). STCM ackowledges several recent problems related to small-scale earth movements on five of its eleven lines: Lines 4, 5, 9, A and B. For example, the maximum permitted velocities for metro trains were reduced for the section of Line A between Pantitlán and La Paz while repairs costing 36 million dollars were completed. Even as STCM undertakes the necessary repair work, it is starting to install a state-of-the-art, 1.6-million-dollar fiber-optic monitoring system which will eventually cover the entire network.  The system enables the “real time” detection (with live video feeds) of any subsidence, fissures, inundations or related issues.

Useful link:

Key question, based on the map:

  • Why does the metro system have a much higher density in eastern and southern Mexico City than in the northern and western parts of the city?

Chapters 21 and 22 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico analyze Mexico’s 500-year transition to an urban society and the internal geography of Mexico’s cities. Chapter 23 looks at urban issues, problems and trends. To preview more parts of the book, click here and use amazon.com’s “Look Inside” feature; buy your copy today!

Why are some parts of Mexico City sinking into the old lakebed?

 Excerpts from Geo-Mexico  Comments Off on Why are some parts of Mexico City sinking into the old lakebed?
Nov 042010
 

Mexico City was built originally (ca. 1325) on an island in the middle of a lake, and eventually became the capital of the powerful Aztec Empire.

The provision of potable water is a problem that has plagued the city for centuries. Deforestation in the 19th century depleted the springs that had supplied the city with fresh water via aqueducts (some dating from precolonial times). The first fresh water well was built in the city center in 1857. By 1900 there were hundreds of wells sucking water from the underground aquifer.

As more and more water was sucked up through the wells, the city began to sink. Some parts have dropped more than seven meters (23 ft) since 1891. Parts of the city center sank more than a meter between 1948 and 1951, and another meter by 1960. The city sank two meters below what remained of Lake Texcoco, posing a serious risk of flooding during the rainy season. In response, engineers sank wells into Lake Texcoco, sucked water from the aquifer, and the lake level dropped below the height of the city center.

Bellas Artes opera house, Mexico City

Rates of subsidence are very uneven. In places the weight of large buildings has caused them to sink into the dried out mud. The city’s magnificent Opera House (Palacio de Bellas Artes, see photo) sank so far that its original ground floor is now a subterranean basement. To slow down the rate of sinking in the city center, in 1950 new wells were drilled south of the city reducing central city sinking to its current rate of about 10 cm (4 in) a year. Of course, areas in the south started sinking more rapidly.

Elsewhere, buildings (including the Cathedral) have tilted and underground sewers and water pipes have cracked and broken. Furthermore, drains in the city center sank below the large drainage canals and pumps had to be added to lift storm water and sewage up to the drainage canals.

These ground movements pose major challenges for the construction and maintenance of the city’s extensive metro network.

This is a lightly edited excerpt from chapter 23 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. If you have enjoyed this post, please consider purchasing a copy of Geo-Mexico so that you have your own handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography.

The revitalization of Mexico City’s historic downtown core.

 Excerpts from Geo-Mexico  Comments Off on The revitalization of Mexico City’s historic downtown core.
Aug 172010
 

The Historic Center of Mexico City was originally founded in 1524 atop the Aztec capital of Tenochititlan. The Historic Center declined considerably during the 20th century. The government froze rents in the 1940s and they stayed frozen until 1998. With constant inflation, the real price of rents declined to almost nothing.

Bellas Artes opera house, Mexico CityWithout meaningful rental incomes, landlords abandoned or stopped maintaining their properties. Buildings and neighborhoods decayed. Once-fancy communities became slums. Many wealthy and middle class residents as well as commercial establishments moved out to suburbs. The National University (UNAM) moved to a new purpose-built campus in the south.

The tragic earthquakes in September 1985, the first measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, hit many badly maintained downtown areas particularly hard. More and more residential buildings were abandoned as insecurity, pollution and decay set in, aided and abetted by the sinking ground levels due to aquifer depletion.

At the start of the 21st century, a government-private sector Historic Center Trust was formed to buy and systematically rehabilitate dozens of centuries-old buildings and breathe new life into the city center. Investment in the revitalization effort was over $500 million and has created 15,000 new jobs.

Drainage and water systems were replaced. Electric and telephone cables were buried below ground. The facades of more than 500 buildings on 13 streets were carefully restored. Streets were repaved and pedestrianized. Plazas came back to life; new museums sprung up; street vendors were relocated. Cafes and restaurants opened, giving new focal points for residents and tourists alike.

If you have enjoyed this brief excerpt from chapter 23 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico please consider purchasing your own copy of the book. Chapters 21 and 22 analyze Mexico’s 500-year transition to an urban society and the internal geography of Mexico’s cities. Chapter 23 looks at urban issues, problems and trends. To preview more parts of the book, click here and use amazon.com’s “Look Inside” feature

Air quality improving in Mexico City but not in Monterrey

 Mexico's geography in the Press, Other  Comments Off on Air quality improving in Mexico City but not in Monterrey
Aug 102010
 

A recent short piece in The Economist, “A breath of fresh air” (31 July 2010) echoes Geo-Mexico’s contention that air quality has been improving in Mexico City in recent years, but declining in other large cities, especially Monterrey.

The improving air quality in Mexico City is attributed to:

  • relocation of heavy industry away from the city
  • closure of the Azcapotzalco oil refinery (1991); part of this area is now a public park
  • vehicle emissions standards, and enforcement
  • “Día sin coche” (Day without a car) policy for all but the newest vehicles
  • improvements to public transport, such as introducing Metrobus; starting in 2011, taxi owners have incentives to use hybrid or electric vehicles
  • on-going, effective monitoring of air quality since the mid 1980s
The IMECA scale for urban air quality

The IMECA scale for urban air quality

Air quality still exceeds environmental norms in Mexico City many days each year, but far fewer than during the late 1980s and early 1990s when air pollution was at its peak. Even low-level ozone measurements are showing improvement. Ironically, ozone in the lower atmosphere rose immediately after the introduction of a new unleaded gasoline, designed to  ensure that the major source of brain-damaging lead pollution was removed. The new gasoline, it emerged, simply traded one serious pollutant for another.

Latest pollution values for Mexico City.

Mexico’s other big cities still face enormous challenges with regards to air pollution. Monterrey’s air regularly has very high concentrations of microparticulates (PM10); the levels now exceed Mexico City’s peak readings from twenty years ago.  The air in Guadalajara is improving, but not as rapidly as in Mexico City.

Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico examines the trends in air quality (ozone, microparticulates and carbon monoxide) for Mexico’s three largest cities and also asks whether the air pollution from maquiladora plants in Ciudad Juárez raises public health issues.

Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

Previous post on this topic: Mexico City air quality continues to improve

Aug 062010
 

The rapid spatial expansion of Mexico City is not slowing down in the 21st century but accelerating. The main stimulus of this sprawl is income growth, which leads to widespread ownership of private automobiles and the desire of Mexican families to own homes. The number of automobiles in Metropolitan Mexico City (ZMCM) is approaching 10 million, almost double the number in 2000. Most households have access to a private car, many have several cars. Automobiles are responsible for nearly half of all trips. While the 2008–2009 economic downturn dramatically reduced new car purchases, the market has picked up significantly in 2010.

Map of Mexico City urban system

Map of Mexico City urban system. Click to enlarge. All rights reserved.

New suburban residential developments for all income levels now stretch up to 40 km from the Zócalo (the main plaza in Mexico City’s center).  Some developers sell undeveloped lots; others build family homes. Most of these new developments are in gated communities and are focused on car-owning buyers.

A case can be made that Mexico City is beginning to merge with surrounding urban areas (see map) into a “super city” or megalopolis, with a total population of about 30 million.

The eastern border of the Toluca Metropolitan Area (population 1.6 million) is the Federal District. The Cuernavaca urban area (population 788,000) is only about 20 minutes south by toll road. The western edge of Metropolitan Puebla-Tlaxcala (population 2.1 million) is only about 30 minutes from the eastern edge of Greater Mexico City. Pachuca (population 278,000) is only about 30 minutes north.

A megalopolis is one possible future scenario for Mexico City.

If you have enjoyed this brief excerpt from chapter 23 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico please consider purchasing your own copy of the book. Chapters 21 and 22 analyze Mexico’s 500-year transition to an urban society and the internal geography of Mexico’s cities. Chapter 23 looks at urban issues, problems and trends. To preview more parts of the book, click here and use amazon.com’s “Look Inside” feature.

Bringing place names to life in Mexico City

 Books and resources  Comments Off on Bringing place names to life in Mexico City
Aug 022010
 

I love gifts, especially books, and especially when they are related to the geography of Mexico!

So, it was a doubly pleasant surprise recently to receive a copy of Glifos de la ciudad de México by Pablo Moctezuma Barragán (Gobierno del Distrito Federal, 2006; 103 pp.)

The author is an accomplished researcher, historian and politician who holds a teaching position at the Azcapotzalco campus of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, and who spearheaded a campaign in Mexico City to bring the meanings of place names to life.

Atocpan = "On fertile soil"

Atocpan = "On fertile soil"

The project involved the installation around the city in 2006 of more than 300 works of art, all using traditional Talavera tiles, depicting pre-Hispanic glyphs, together with a brief explanation of their derivation and meaning. Each mosaic of 25 tiles measures one meter by one meter.  The vast majority of the glyphs are depicted as they are known in ancient codices or other historic sources, but in a few cases, glyphs have been specially created, faithfully reflecting  the ancient principles. Glifos de la Ciudad de México is a handy pocket guide to these glyphs.

The obligatory introductory statements by politicians are mercifully brief, though significantly for us, they do refer to the fact that many names depend on a circunstancia geográfica (a geographical circumstance) or are related to activities undertaken by the early settlers or to characteristic plants or animals. How encouraging to see such a tribute to geography!

Next comes a very interesting essay by Pablo Moctezuma Barragán, setting the scene for the full color illustrations of hundreds of glyphs which follow. The author discusses the origins of place name glyphs (the oldest date back 2500 years), and emphasizes that many reflect the importance of local geographic conditions. The forces of globalization may be at work in what is arguably the world’s largest city, but “It is important to rescue our roots”, argues Moctezuma Barragán, “We should not live like foreigners in our own land”.

He goes on to summarize the Nahuatl roots of many of the names and gives a potted history of the development of Mexico City.

Tile mosaic depicting glyph of Texcoco

Tile mosaic depicting glyph of Texcoco ("in the place where plants grow on rocks") on a wall in Mexico City. Credit: Glifos de la ciudad de México.

All the glyphs refer to names used somewhere in the city and many photographs show the commemorative tiled versions in situ in the city. In all, 322 glyphs were installed, and more than 220 of them are included in this book.

This is but one example of the many projects undertaken by Mexico City authorities in recent years to beautify the city.

What a neat idea, to introduce people, even as they go about their daily lives, to pre-Hispanic symbolism as it relates to local place names. These tiled works of art are a great way to encourage a sense of place and identity. They are not only beautiful, they serve to foment local pride.  Geography is alive and well in Mexico City!

Related website.

Several hundred ancient glyphs, from Antonio Peñafiel’s 1885 “Nombres Geográficos de México,” can be viewed online as part of the Aztec Place Name Glyphs Project of the Department of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley.

Previous posts about Mexico’s place names:

Jul 082010
 

Mexico City’s inner city slums date from the regime of Porfirio Díaz (1877–1910) which stimulated rapid railroad expansion and industrialization north and northwest of the city center. The industrial zone expanded out along the rail lines into the areas now known as Azcapotzalco and Gustavo A. Madero.

Typical vecindad, Mexico CityWith this expansion, the upper classes sold or abandoned their inner city colonial mansions and moved further west, deliberately avoiding noisy and polluted industrial areas. Their abandoned multi-storied mansions were converted into vecindades, cheap tenements with individual rooms rented to families.

Vecindades, with a shared central court, kitchen and latrines, became Mexico City’s first slums. They encircled the center on the north, east and south; the west side remained upscale. As these eventually became overcrowded, incoming migrants moved into cheap, undesirable housing in the industrial zone or on the urban periphery.

Vecindad, Mexico CityRapid industrialization after World War II brought another massive wave of poor immigrants. They initially headed for the low rent vecindades which had expanded as developers built new tenements using the old vecindades as a model.

Following government-mandated rent control, many investors abandoned the vecindades, depleting an already poor housing stock. Affordable housing emerged as a paramount concern of low-income residents; most were forced into colonias populares either on very steep hillsides or the urban periphery, such as Nezahualcoyotl.

While vecindades are most closely associated with Mexico City, they also emerged in Mexico’s other large cities. About ten percent of Mexico City’s current residents live in vecindades.

Mexico’s cities and towns are analyzed in chapters 21, 22 and 23 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Buy your copy today!!

Mexico City’s wholesale food market, Central de Abasto

 Books and resources, Other  Comments Off on Mexico City’s wholesale food market, Central de Abasto
Jul 072010
 

Have you ever wondered how food supplies are organized in a metropolitan area the size of Mexico City (population 20 million) so that all its inhabitants have regular access to fresh produce? Like most major world cities, Mexico City has a specialized wholesale market for food, Central de Abasto. It is located in Iztapalapa, south-east of the city center.

Nicola Twilley, a freelance writer currently based in Montreal, has written a wonderfully informative description of what a visit to the Central de Abasto is like on her fascinating blog edible geography

Map of Central de Abasto, Mexico City

Map of Central de Abasto, Mexico City. Click to enlarge.

The map is the “official” map of the Central de Abasto in all its glory. While I often organized market surveys for school groups in Mexico, I have to admit that I never dared take on the challenge of surveying the Central de Abasto. This map, and Twilley’s fun account of the market reminds me why I never had the courage!

Mexican markets, in all their guises, from the massive Central de Abasto down to a humble tianguis (street market) in a small village, are a fascinating aspect of Mexico’s geography, and well worth a book in their own right.

Enjoy!

Notes: