Investing In and Revising Mexico City's Center Square

Mexico City's Centro Historico is undergoing a broad redevelopment, which has resulted in more investment, more events, and more use. However, some there are worried that increased commercialization will tarnish the public square.

1 minute read

July 2, 2009, 10:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


The redevelopment effort is being led by billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, who has partnered with city and federal governments, and has gathered private investors to bring more than $500 million to the centro.

"Slim has brought massive scale redevelopment to the area, as well as a spirit of civic pride. His work, executed largely through a charity he funds, the Foundation of the Centro Histórico, has internalized contemporary planning trends into a methodical process of downtown redevelopment. But while it is easy to laud such a comprehensive overhaul of a historically significant, underused area, the breadth of the process and the consolidation of power that has enabled it raises alarms for some civil libertarians, who worry that a quest for profit will lead to the dispossession of multiple constituencies that do not fit into the image of the "new" Centro."

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in Next American City

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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