Urban planning and habitat III: indications of a necessary reform for Mexico

Abstract

Initiatives are being promoted to implement the New Urban Agenda in several cities around the world. This occurs about a year after the New Agenda was adopted in Habitat III. Accelerated urbanization and the aspiration to achieve a sustainable development are the common axes that coincide with Mexico, although our cities continue to grow well beyond any forecasting strategy. The Urban Development Plans in our country follow the same precepts as their predecessors, whose bases correspond to the Modern Style of the seventies, promoted by Habitat I. Perhaps, one of the most significant cases is the State of Mexico, located in the center of the country. Thus, the objective of this paper is to discuss the need of Urban Planning in the State of Mexico and to provide evidences of a necessary reform, based on the commitments of the New Urban Agenda. Our case study is the city of Toluca, the 5^th metropolitan area of Mexico. The period analyzed begins in 1985, with the first Urban Development Plan and it ends with the current Plan of 2014.