Mapping of metropolitan areas
Introduction
The metropolitan areas of Mexico have traditionally been defined as the group of municipalities or cities that interact strongly with each other, normally around a city core.[1] In 2004, in a joint effort between CONAPO, INEGI and SEDESOL, it was agreed to define metropolitan areas for the first time.[2].
On October 19, 2023, the Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development, CONAPO and INEGI, published the document Metrópolis of Mexico 2020, which establishes the new official guidelines to determine the metropolitan areas of the country, as well as the plans, programs and projects that will guide public policies on the matter. The new delimitation determined three definitions:[3].
• - Metropolitan zone: Group of municipalities whose relationship is based on a high degree of physical or functional inter-municipal or interstate integration and the total population of the municipalities that comprise it is 200 thousand inhabitants or more. The urban locality or conurbation that gives rise to the metropolitan area has 100 thousand inhabitants or more.
• - Municipal metropolis: Municipality that is not part of a metropolitan area, however, has a total population of 300 thousand inhabitants or more and is economically or politically relevant to the state. The urban locality that gives rise to the municipal metropolis has 200 thousand inhabitants or more.
• - Conurbation area: Group of municipalities whose relationship is based on a high degree of physical or functional inter-municipal or interstate integration. The urban locality or conurbation that gives rise to the metropolitan area has between 50 thousand and 100 thousand inhabitants.
According to this new delimitation, Mexico has 92 metropolises made up of 421 municipalities that are classified into: 48 metropolitan areas, 22 municipal metropolises and 22 suburban areas; The 48 metropolitan areas are made up of 345 municipalities in which 67.6 million people reside; 12 million live in the 22 municipal metropolises; and 2.9 million live in the 54 municipalities that make up the 22 metropolitan areas. In this way, 82.5 million people, 65.5 percent of the national population, live in these metropolises.[3].