Metropolisation, Fragmentation in Cities and the Urbanisation of Poverty in the State of Hidalgo, México

Abstract

The metropolisation of Mexico’s small and medium-sized cities further exacerbates a type of city characterised by physical fragmentation and social segregation. This situation is especially marked in cities in the hinterland of the country’s main urban area, Mexico City. This paper studies the formation of metropolitan areas in Hidalgo, which absorbs population from the capital, as a result of burgeoning inter-metropolitan migratory movements. Hidalgo’s entire southern swath, and especially Pachuca’s metropolitan zone, have been the most affected, with the transformation of its socio-spatial dynamic, including the construction of vast urban peripheries. Progress has been made recently in territorial planning; however, serious weak points still remain. The commitment to intervene in Pachuca’s illegal settlements should be reinforced from the land use planning and housing policy points of view as a way to combat segregation and social exclusion.