Mexico City, its Population, Economy and Social Structure - Essay Example

Mexico The Last Twenty Years Population, Economy and Social Structure By Sociology Mexico The Last Twenty Years Population, Economy and Social Structure Introduction: “In 1992 the United Nations described Mexico City’s air as the most polluted on the planet.” (Hibler, 2012). Shortly after the noted pollution labeled the same city as “the most dangerous city in the world for children.” (Hibler, 2012). Mexico has been working to change that conception of their city and make major improvements. Even with strong pollution control measures in place, a cloud lingers over the city most of the time. There have been many factors that have contributed to this phenomenon. The following research will focus on the last twenty years and how Mexico has changed. It will look at what the problems are now and how they have come to change the face of Mexico City. (Hibler, 2012). Population: If we look back as far as 1950 the population growth has been rapid. Between 1980 and 1990 the growth rate was nine percent, which did slow down due to the government creating a population control policy. (Case Study of Mexico City, 2012). By 1995 the population was estimated at 9.8 million in Mexico City and 16.9 million in the entire metropolitan area. The central city is where most of the density of the population lies and is estimated at 6,600 persons per kilometer. (Case Study of Mexico City, 2012). Statistics show that in 2009, the latest population records, Mexico City’s population to be 8,589,600 in the city and 21,027,200 in the Urban area. (Largest Cities in Mexico, 2009). Mexico City has grown at such a rapid rate that now 20 percent of the population in Mexico reside in the Mexico City area. The population is still increasing due to natural migration and a progressive increase. Migration has been attributed to the need for increased modernization and a need for employees in the city. Mexico City’s family heads make up 70 percent of workers in the city who originally came from rural areas of 5,000 persons or less. The other 30 percent of the population originated in the Federal District. This area consists of relatives of rural migrants or former small town residents. A little about the geographical area and climate lends a hint to some of the increasing problems that have plagued Mexico City for the last twenty years. The city is located in the central southern part of Mexico. The country shares boarders with the United States, Guatemala, and Belize. Mexico City lies in what is known as the Valley of Mexico. (Case Study of Mexico City, 2012). The Valley is located in a crater of an extinct volcano. The city is 2,240 meters above sea level; this causes lower oxygen levels, which result in higher emissions of carbon monoxide and other air quality compounds. (Hibler, 2012). The heat of the sun, which causes a smog layer over the city, intensifies this factor. The Valley is encircled by a series of mountain ranges from an old lake. Even though it is located in a tropical climate zone, the high altitude narrows the range of temperatures. The city is considered to have only three major seasons, mild (October to March), hot and dry (April to May), and rainy (June to September). (Case Study of Mexico City, 2012). A program called PROAIR 2002-2010 was upgraded to determine how improved air quality would improve health through the new population control policies. Roberto Munoz Cruz, the sub-director of information and analysis at Mexico City’s atmospheric monitoring system states, “it’s not air pollution that kills people but some people die sooner than they would otherwise.” (Hibler, 2012). The PROAIR 2002-2012 project was estimated at a cost in US dollars of $15 billion in public and private investments. (Hibler, 2012). The two major factors that have contributed to the air quality problems in Mexico City are attributed to Industrial growth, the rapid population boom from 3 million in 1950 to 20 million today. Secondly, an increase in gasoline combustion vehicles totaling 3.5 million include 30 percent of them being more than 20 years old. (Hibler, 2012). Economy: Mexico City is seen as the major thoroughfare for the entire country’s economy. The Federal District of the city produces most of the GDP of the country. It is noted that in 1998 the percentage was 12 percent. As mentioned earlier the boom of industrialization into Mexico City has transformed it into the center of manufacturing. Forty-five percent of the nation’s industrial production stems from Mexico City. Major manufacturing industries include textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electrical, steel and transportation. (Case Study of Mexico City, 2012). Banking and Finance are also major contributors to its economy. One of the major factors that have pushed people into the city has been the lack of good farmlands, and deterioration of the land. Lack of education in rural areas has forced people to seek work in the cities in factories and more informal employment. The move to Mexico City gives people the hope of a better life with better services and health care. However, these people usually end up working in factories or in unskilled labor jobs. Another factor that has increased over the last twenty years has been the consumption of water in the city. For the last three decades the Federal District has called on the State of Mexico for its water supply. The Metropolitan area is at present facing a serious crisis coping with the rising demand, as most of the nearby resources are dwindling quickly. Mexico City relies mainly on groundwater supplies for 80 percent of its water. It has also noted that the State of Mexico shows 23 percent of its 242 water supply wells are not up to standards for coliform bacteria and 11 percent do not meet the requirements for inorganic constituents. (Case Study of Mexico City, 2012). Many outlying disadvantaged areas today are seeing severe shortages, which translate into social and political confrontation. (Ortega-Alcazar, 2006). The greatest challenge facing the governing of the metropolitan area and its urgency depend on shared services within the infrastructure of the two governing bodies, the Federal District and the State of Mexico. The two governing bodies share the costs and resources, however, in differing ways. They do operate and practice within a unified network. (Ortega-Alcazar, 2006). As quoted by the Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, “Cities are centres of industrialization and sources of emissions, but they are also home to solutions.” (Unhabitat.org, 2012). Climate change is fast becoming the challenge of the 21st century as well as urbanization, and no one can really foresee what a town or city will be faced with in 20 or 30 years. Other factors that have affected Mexico City over the past 20 years have been earthquakes. The earthquake in 1985 took 5,000 lives as well as damaged 180,000 homes. However, their quick response and rebuild efforts supplied 45,100 dwellings in just 14 months. Thanks to the efforts of the (RHP) Reconstruction Housing Project, one in every seven families in the city’s historic center has a new or rehabilitated home. (Kreimer; Echeverria, 2011). Lack of sufficient housing has been an increasing problem, however, better in Mexico City than in other areas. Around 75 percent of the private homes in the Federal Distract contain three of more rooms. The federal district is considered substandard with unpaved roads, illegal electrical hookups, substandard water supplies, sanitation and waste collection as well. (Case Study of Mexico City, 2012). Traffic is increasing all the time; however, they do have a subway system but it is stretched as well. It is crowded and used most hours of the day. What is unusual is that the freeway system has not kept up with the increase in automobile use. (Case Study of Mexico City, 2012). Along with the problems of pollution, water, automobiles and government challenges, garbage build up has increased as well. Mexico City produces more than 12,000 tons of waste material each day. The Mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, quoted in 2009; “The biggest challenge is to change some habits; not all of them but some of them.” (terradaily.com, 2009). Recycling has been in place for decades; however, some citizens do not pay taxes for trash collection, so they see no need for change. Residents now face fines if they do not adhere to the policies for trash separation. The city has even threatened to shut down the near-full dump for increased environmental concerns. (terradaily.com, 2009). Social Structure: In the 1990s Mexico reported a slight increase in living standards over the previous twenty years. However, the 1990 census showed there had been an increase in running water and indoor plumbing. The census showed that 79.4 percent of all Mexican households did have access to running water, but that did not indicate necessarily that they had indoor plumbing. Many lower-class communities still only had access to untreated running water. Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey were the three dominant cities in Mexico in the 1990s. Their Metro areas made up one fourth of Mexico’s population and 40 percent of the urban population. Mexico City’s population actually saw a decline from 9.2 million in 1980 to 8.2 million in 1990, which is a 10.9 percent decrease. This reduction is thought to be due to the dislocation of low-income and inter city residents from the 1985 earthquake as well as temporary employment from the economic crisis of the 1980s. (mongabay.com, 2012). “For the majority of the urban lower class, self-help housing has been their only option.” (mongabay.com, 2012). This type of housing typically begins with investors of large tracts purchasing land on the edge of urban areas. Sometimes this land is questionable agricultural land and not suitable for middle or upper class residential developments. It may not be suitable for industrial purposes either. Far too often, these lands are not developed with water, sewer, paved streets or other infrastructure developments; therefore, the investors make enormous profits. The lots are simply sold off and the area remains underdeveloped. (mongabay.com, 2012). There has been a drive for community participation in recent years. Workshops have been formed to understand the issues, pointing out community problems and determining individual roles in solving them; in particular, distinguishing between the role of men and women in the environment and health issues in their homes and immediate communities. It has been identified that community participation is essential in seeing immediate benefits in consumption practices, lifestyles, environmental products, alternative technologies, fuels, and bulk purchasing. All of these things contribute to community participation if Mexico City is going to be able to deal with its major problems into the next few decades including air pollution, which affects all social aspects. “And what do people do to cope with air pollution? Usually nothing?” (Hibler, 2012). As quoted by Murioz Cruz, “despite the fact that almost all recognize that air pollution is harmful to health and is particularly hazardous for children” (Hibler, 2012). It is also noted that most people do not want to give their time, money or sacrifice comfort to deal with the problem. Conclusion: The Metropolitan Area of Mexico City offers the highest quality of life in Mexico, however, poverty and marginal poverty still remain a problem. The region itself contributes to the high levels of inequality. The division between the Federal District, the more affluent west and south and the poor north and east are contributors to the inequality. Segregation of the Federal District and the State of Mexico make up the metropolitan area, but they are still forced to operate under one infrastructure. References Blame game as Mexico City trash piles up. 25 January 2009. Web. 16 April 2012. http://terradaily.com/. Case Study of Mexico City. 2012. Web. 16 April 2012. http://water.tkk.fi/tutkimus/glob/publications/. Cities and urban areas in Mexico with population over 100,000. Updated 2009. Web. April 2012. http://mongabay.com/igapo/Mexico/. Hibler, Michelle. 2012. Taking control of air pollution in Mexico City. Web. 16 April 2012. http://idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/. Kreimer, Alcira; Echeverria, Edward. 2011. Case Study: Housing Reconstruction in Mexico City. Web. 16 April 2012. http://worldbank.org/. Mexico leads Global World Habitat Day Celebrations. 2012. Web. 15 April 2012. http://unhabitat.org/. Mexico – The Society. 2012. Web. 16 April 2012. http://mongabay.com/. Ortega-Alcazar, Iliana. February 2006. Mexico City: Growth at the Limit? Web. 15 April http://urban-age.net/. Read More