Framing dispersal : urban strategies for Mexico City's sprawl

Abstract

Within the framework of Mexico City's urban sprawl, this thesis investigates one specific type of territorial occupation: the urbanization of subsidized housing developments on the periphery, which accounts for 17% of the city's total urban footprint, and has generated unlivable neighborhoods. Understanding urban design as a tool to critically address Mexico City's current mode of expansion, the thesis proposes strategies to revert this process. More specifically, it develops a conceptual as well as a design solution at four scales: a project for the city; a new paradigm for the existing housing developments; an urban design intervention for three of these developments; and a set of new building typologies to replace the current housing model. This approach that engages with Mexico City's urban problems through an analysis of the periphery has been previously neglected. With this study, I hope to open a broader discussion on urban design, and the role it can play in the future of Mexico City.