Buying Development: Housing and Urban Growth in Guadalajara, Mexico

Declining Suburbs in Europe and Latin America

“…The expansion of this ‘social‐interest’ housing sector corresponded with the boom of Guadalajara's electronics industry. However, in spite of an increase in homeownership during this period, as in the case of São Paulo's suburbs, the resulting suburban landscape is highly fragmented, segregated according to income and social characteristics, poorly served by public infrastructure and lacking in amenities (Harner et al ., 2009).…”

“…The expansion of this 'social-interest' housing sector corresponded with the boom of Guadalajara's electronics industry. However, in spite of an increase in homeownership during this period, as in the case of São Paulo's suburbs, the resulting suburban landscape is highly fragmented, segregated according to income and social characteristics, poorly served by public infrastructure and lacking in amenities (Harner et al, 2009). Despite the strong pronouncements and lofty sustainable development goals found in state and local planning documents, these remain wish lists of public administrations whose policies are fundamentally oriented to attracting FDI.…”

Everyday Experiences of Women in Mass-produced Housing in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, Mexico

“…As in the case of this research, practically all the knowledge about complejos habitacionales has used a case-study approach, where usually, the selected complex is deemed to be representative of this form of urbanization. A large portion of the literature concentrates on explaining the processes that gave rise to this kind of urbanization: structural adjustment policies, the flexibilization of regulatory frameworks, and greater autonomy for municipalities (Esquivel Hernandez, Maya Perez, and Cervantes Borja, 2005;Harner, Jiménez-Huerta and Solís, 2009;Monkkonen, 2011a;Salinas Arreortua and Pardo Montaño, 2018). These studies have played a key role in highlighting the impact of a neoliberal approach to social housing in Latin America.…”

“…Going back to the "in here" situation of Mexico, notably, most Mexican cities have historically struggled with providing an adequate supply of formal land and shelter for its increasing populations (Harner, Jiménez-Huerta and Solís, 2009). Combined with low income levels, this lack of adequate -and affordable -land supply has meant that in Mexico, like many other countries of Latin America, irregular settlements account for most urban housing production.…”

“…Mexico (Harner et al, 2009). However, I want to underline here that whereas market-driven housing accounts for a significant amount of contemporary urban housing production, this approach fails to "provide housing for all."…”