Mexican cities have sprawled outwards in the past few decades. The growth of the urban footprint— accompanied by a reduction in urban density—generates negative impacts that compromise the transition to a sustainable urban model:

• loss of land with environmental and productive value;
• problems in the provision of basic services;
• longer commuting times and congestion; and
• higher emissions and socio-spatial segregation, among others.

This publication, developed by the World Resources Institute México (WRI Mexico) in partnership with the Coalition for Urban Transitions, analyses the recent evolution of Mexico’s metropolitan areas from three perspectives: growth of the urban footprint, evolution of air pollutant emissions, and characterisation of patterns of spatial inequality in the access to employment hubs and urban facilities.