WATER AND SUSTAINABILITY IN MEXICO CITY

The geography of Mexico City has been drastically altered over time to meet the needs of the population. In order to build Mexico City, the Spaniards carried out one of the most drastic reordering of the natural environment ever seen. Where five interconnected lakes once sat, a megalopolis now sits. Since Mexico City and its suburbs extract water from aquifers twice as fast as they are replenished, the “spongy clay” on which the city sits slowly dries up, compresses, and sinks. This article touches upon the history of the basin’s geography, the hydraulic systems built to allow the society to expand further, and the effects on the ecosystem after the Spanish conquest. The goal “is to emphasize the interrelated nature of the availability of natural resources, especially water, and population dynamics.”