1. Warm up
Write one (1)sentence using at least three (3) of your the following vocabulary words.
Indigenous, terracing, ecotourism, sustainable development, subsistence agriculture, commercial agriculture.

2. Spatial Inequality in Mexico City
From Cardboard to Castles

4. Definitions
rural decline – worsening economic conditions in the country-side, including rising unemployment and growing poverty
spatial inequality - an unequal distribution of wealth or resources over a geographic area

5. The Geographic Setting
Mexico City – one of world’s most populated cities, 7000ft above sea level
1325 Aztecs
Tenochtitlán “A City of Wonders”
1521 Spain conquered the Aztecs

6. Your Guides to Mexico City

7. Challenges in the Countryside
Only 15% of land is good for farming.
Best land owned by a few wealthy owners.
Small farmers can’t buy seeds, fertilizer, and machinery to compete with large farms.
Many end up selling their land.

8. Migration to Cities
They hope to get jobs, to enjoy a higher standard of living, and to get their children into better schools.

9. Neighborhood Visit 1

10. Listen carefully to the interview
Listen carefully to the interview. Then complete as much of the survey as you can.

11. Mexico City’s Growth
Spreading up the Valley of Mexico and filling in the valley’s lakes

12. Problems Not enough land, housing, or clean water Traffic
Air pollution
Not enough jobs
Poverty and crime increased

13. Neighborhood Visit 2

14. Interview 2

15. Mexico City’s Recent Migrants
Live in slums in one-room shacks
Houses lack electricity and water
Dirt streets trashed
Little or no work.

16. Mexico City’s Working Poor
Closer to the center of the city than the slums
Cinder-block homes with metal or tar-covered roofs
Rundown apartment buildings.
Have electricity but not always running water.
The streets are usually paved

17. Neighborhood Visit 3

18. Interview 3

19. Mexico City’s Middle Class
Work in business, education, or government.
Live near the center of the city or in modern suburbs farther away.
They can usually afford some luxuries, such as a telephone.

20. Mexico City’s Upper Class
Very wealthy
Large landowners or business or government leaders
Luxurious lifestyle.
Large estates with high walls and security systems.
They often hire the working poor as maids, gardeners, and drivers.

21. Neighborhood Visit 4

22. Interview 4

23. Reflective Journal Topic: Spatial Inequality
What I did in this lesson.
What I learned.
What Surprised me?
What Questions do I have?
Summary (spatial inequality)