San Cristóbal de Las Casas is facing an accelerated urban transformation driven by gentrification in its historic center. This phenomenon has expelled low-income residents to the periphery and expanded the urban area by 581.33 hectares between 2010 and 2024, according to data from the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu).
The pilot initiative of the Municipal Urban Development Program developed by Sedatu links this peripheral growth to the rise in land prices in the center, where tourism and the arrival of new residents have turned the homes into shops, hotels and spaces for expatriates.
This has forced local families to migrate to areas with lower real estate value, lacking basic services and exposed to environmental risks.
Development was concentrated in the west (Huitepec, Las Nubes), north (San Juan del Bosque) and east (Santa Cruz), following road axes such as the Periférico Norte. In rural areas, towns such as Corazón de María and Canaán registered the greatest growth.
Expansion towards the periphery has generated settlements in unplanned areas, increasing vulnerability to floods and landslides. In addition, the lack of public transport and services in these areas deepens inequality.
The report highlights the urgency of policies to contain uncontrolled expansion: with greater urban rehabilitation in underused areas in the center to curb speculation.
Also, densification, that is, encouraging construction in consolidated areas through subsidies or tax exemptions. And generating a new alternative development pole, in this case, promoting the rural town of Corazón de María, to the west, as an urban complement.
All this, without neglecting environmental protection, limiting growth in natural areas to the south and creating green corridors.
Source: meganoticias
