Thirty Years of Urbanization in Mexico, 1990–2020: Urban Expansion, Central Decline, and the Remaking of Urban Form

Over the past three decades, Mexico’s urban population has nearly doubled, yet its city centers are emptying out. Since 1990, 2.5 million residents have left the central zones of 69 metropolitan areas as growth spread outward in a fragmented, low-density pattern. Central areas that once held over 40% of the urban population now hold just 22%. Over the same period, commuting distances have grown by nearly 30% and emissions have risen. These changing patterns of growth create public policy challenges, mounting pressure on housing, transportation, and public services.

Roberto Ponce-López, Research Director at the Center for the Future of Cities at Tecnológico de Monterrey, will present findings from his new Nature Communications paper, on the dynamics of urban sprawl in Mexico, and discuss policy pathways toward more inclusive cities. The conversation will be moderated by Diane Davis, Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.  

Speaker: Roberto Ponce López, Research Director at the Center for the Future of Cities, Director of the M.Sc. in Data Science and Public Policy at the School of Government and Public Transformation, and Professor of Urban Science at Tecnológico de Monterrey

Moderator: Diane Davis, Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning and Urbanism and former Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD), Director of the Mexican Cities Initiative 

Whether attending in person or virtually, please register in advance. Room attendance is permitted for the Harvard community. Lunch will be served. The Zoom session is open to the public.

Speaker Bio: Roberto Ponce López is Research Director at the Center for the Future of Cities, Director of the M.Sc. in Data Science and Public Policy at the School of Government and Public Transformation, and Professor of Urban Science at Tecnológico de Monterrey, where he has been a faculty member since 2018. His research focuses on urban science, land use and transportation planning, agent-based simulation, geospatial analytics, scenario planning, and data-driven approaches to urban policy and decision-making.

Before joining Tecnológico de Monterrey, Roberto worked in the Office of the President of Mexico, where he led public opinion and policy analysis projects. His work bridges academic research with practical applications, collaborating with governments and international organizations to develop innovative solutions for sustainable and resilient cities.

Roberto holds a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

The Growth Lab’s “Development Talks” is a series of conversations with policymakers and academics working on economic growth and development in countries, regions, states, and cities in the US and around the world. The seminar provides a platform for practitioners and researchers to discuss both economic growth and development and analytical work centered on policy.