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12. Nature

The Valley of Mexico is a biodiversity hotspot. Due to its varied climates and geographical features many different species occupy different niches in the landscape. The growth of the city naturally encroaches on these niches, especially in the four southern… 12. Nature

11. History

Mexico city was founded on an island in a lake in 1325. This means that much of the city’s history took place on the shores of the lake in what is now the periphery of the megalopolis. Most archeological sites… 11. History

10. Dynamics of power

The dynamics of power on the edge of the city generally have to do with the process of urbanization. Power in the end is after all the ability to influence the future and that means controlling how things change. Oddly… 10. Dynamics of power

9. Communities

Community is hard to define. Generally it requires many different kinds of relation tp really be more than a group of people reunited for some common interest. One of these characteristics certainly is family relationships. Friendship and shared practical interests… 9. Communities

8. Pores

Practically everything in Mexico City came from somewhere else. The only resource really produced locally is human beings. So the city must be porous to survive. The edge of the city is where these passages of matter into and out… 8. Pores

7. Obstacles

Mexico City has continued to expand through the Valley of Mexico until it reaches places where it can expand no more. Without these physical obstacles the city would probably just keep on growing. These physical obstacle are also the reason… 7. Obstacles

6. Music

Music as the most accessible expression of immaterial culture is naturally geographically fluid. All kinds of different music can be found in all kinds of different places. Nonetheless there are concentrations of certain kinds of music in different parts of… 6. Music

5. Iconography

Many styles of symbols and pictorial systems clash on the edge of the city. One of the most interesting aspects to the edge of the city is that it reflects contemporary culture and contemporary cultural conflicts. It is after all… 5. Iconography

4. Entertainment

Entertainment is scarce on the edge of the city. There is little money to support an entertainment industry. Culturally the deeply aspirational nature of urban migration means that many cultural expressions are highly imitative, giving rise to cover bands and… 4. Entertainment

3. Economy

The Greater Mexico City Area is the 15th largest urban economy in the world. Though the image of the periphery as place of shanty towns persist these are actually a very rare sight on the edge of the city. The… 3. Economy