Social Housing in Guadalajara: A Viable Strategy to Mitigate the Negative Externalities of Metropolitan Urban Sprawl?

The urban population in Mexico doubled between 1980 and 2010, while urban sprawl increased tenfold on average [1]. This unsustainable growth is exemplified in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (GMA). Among the negative effects of urban sprawl are environmental, social, and economic problems, many of which stem from increasing dependence on the private car in a dispersed, fragmented and low-accessibility urban environment. One of the driving forces behind this urban sprawl is an increase in the cost of housing in Guadalajara: 11% between 2018 and 2020 [2] combined with a decrease in the average income of its inhabitants [3]. In addition, an increase in the supply of social housing in the municipality of Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, at the fringe of the metropolitan area, has encouraged urban sprawl. This article explores a series of social housing policies for low-income groups to access affordable housing in the city urban core, in order to limit or prevent further urban sprawl. Among the housing policy alternatives explored here are rental housing, inclusive housing and land banks.