Social housing and sustainability: a case study of Leon, Mexico

Abstract

The way social housing in Mexico is procured could play a significant role in the sustainable development of the country. This thesis seeks to identify the critical challenges in enabling social housing. It identifies deep-seated issues around the fundamentals of land ownership, the relationship between the public sector, the private sector and the communities living in this housing sector. Finally, it also looks into the contemporary regulations and the procurement environment. The work deals with the historical challenges that still inform the characteristics of poorly planned urban growth seen through the rapid expansion of social housing. The research seeks to define what characteristics of sustainable development are particularly relevant to the Mexican experience. This thesis gains focus through fieldwork based in the city of Leon located in central Mexico. The research identifies the complexities of social housing procurement in a clearly defined context. Research conducted in Leon sets out relevant physical, commercial and cultural landscapes as well as key social, economic and political actors. This investigation also looks at the processes of housing procurement, urban impact and the understanding of sustainability in social housing and how sustainability might be addressed in this housing sector. This analysis establishes whether the current programs promote sustainability and if they are efficiently applied, and if not, how they can be improved. Overall, the research seeks to define what characteristics of sustainable development are particularly important to the context of a city, in this case Leon.