In just 20 years, the heart of Puebla has shrunk by almost half: the Historic Center lost 45.7 percent of its population, according to official data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and the Municipal Planning Institute (IMPLAN) in 2023.
What was once a vibrant area with 76,102 inhabitants now has only 41,293, as a result of gentrification that has driven up the cost of living and displaced low-income residents to the outskirts.
Of the 13,587 total dwellings registered in 2020, 18.1 percent (2,342 properties) are vacant, while 10.1 percent are temporary residences.
The transformation of land use, which now prioritizes tourism and services over housing, is especially visible in founding neighborhoods like Analco and El Alto, as well as San Francisco, Los Sapos, El Carmen, and Santiago, where the rise of platforms like Airbnb and real estate investment are reshaping the area’s social identity.
The Historic Center, which earned Puebla the UNESCO World Heritage designation in 1987, is facing a process of urban transformation characterized by the rising cost of living, the displacement of low-income residents who lived in old tenement buildings, and a shift in land use that prioritizes the service sector and tourism over residential.
The absence of permanent residents has led to the underutilization of monumental buildings, which are being used for parking lots, warehouses, or remain vacant. In some cases, this has resulted in the demolition of interiors, leaving only the perimeter walls intact.
In contrast, residential growth occurred in the southern part of the city, in the outlying districts of San Francisco Totimehuacan and San Baltazar Campeche, which accounted for 52 percent of the increase in occupied private dwellings over the last two decades.
The replacement of traditional businesses with franchises
The transition from a neighborhood economy to one based on tourist services has led to the closure of traditional businesses such as small restaurants, candy shops, lunch counters, and grocery stores, which have been replaced by franchises, specialty coffee shops, bars, and boutiques whose prices are beyond the purchasing power of long-time residents.
Researchers such as Carlos Montero Pantoja and Yesenia Hernández García, in their study “Gentrification Process of the Historic Center of Puebla,” compiled in the book Processes of Gentrification and Verticalization of the City, warned that the “tertiarization” of the central area in the city of Puebla has generated an “elitization” of public space.
They stated that current establishments cater to the consumption habits of a floating population with high purchasing power, including so-called “digital nomads.”
This situation is reinforced by the Puebla Hotel and Motel Association, which has identified at least 10 mansions offering exclusive lodging to foreigners working remotely for companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe. These businesses take advantage of the lower cost of living in Puebla compared to their home countries, driving up rental costs in the area.
Director Gustavo Ponce de León urged authorities to regulate these services, which represent losses for the hotel sector, considering room rental platforms as unfair competition.
Despite this, the manager of the Historic Center, Aimeé Guerra Pérez, recently stated that the city government is incompetent to regulate rental and housing prices in this area to combat gentrification.
The Real Estate Market and Rates Up to 30,000 Pesos per Night
Montero Pantoja and Hernández García documented that the Barrio de los Sapos (Frog Neighborhood) and the San Francisco district are the most visible examples of tourism specialization in Puebla.
In Los Sapos, buildings that once served as tenements or antique shops now house hotels with nightly rates ranging from 2,000 to 30,000 pesos, depending on the room category.
In San Francisco, the operation of hotels belonging to international chains and local firms has increased the area’s property values.
According to official websites, lodging rates at establishments like La Purificadora or Banyan Tree Puebla fluctuate between $125 and $1,754 USD per night.
This private investment has encouraged the renovation of 20th-century homes, converting them into lofts or high-end residential apartments, thus eliminating the rental housing options available to students or minimum-wage workers.
From a real estate perspective, the Historic Center is considered a profitable area because it has basic and specialized infrastructure (such as fiber optics), established street alignments, and requires no investment in new urbanization.
However, developers acquire properties at land value, add the cost of renovation, and demand imposes final prices that are inaccessible to the working class.
Urban Transformation Aimed at “Social Whitening”
For researchers, urban transformation in Puebla shows indicators of “social whitening” and “gentrification.”
The supply of renovated housing is geared toward middle- and upper-income sectors, while the original residents face inaccessibility to basic services due to their increased cost.
Despite this, the Puebla state government recently announced an investment of 1.3 billion pesos for the rehabilitation of old mansions in El Alto, Analco, and La Luz, for tourism purposes.
The state cabinet coordinator, José Luis García Parra, reported that the plan aims to improve infrastructure and services, revitalize the economy, and repopulate the city center.
However, an analysis of the gentrification process warns that it tends to drive up property values, making it difficult for residents to return to the city center.
Ultimately, the official discourse of “improvement,” “preservation,” and “progress” clashes with the reality for local residents, who are often the last to benefit from urban renewal, forced to relocate to the outskirts where land values are more affordable.
Source: jornada
