OECD urban policy reviews. Mexico, 2015 : transforming urban policy and housing finance

Annotation In parallel to a sweeping structural reform agenda, Mexico announced in 2013 a new approach to housing and urban policy. Calling for a more explicit qualitative focus on housing and the urban environment, the policy shift is a welcome development. Mexico urbanised more rapidly than most OECD countries in the past half-century, in part as a result of the expansion of housing finance led by INFONAVIT and facilitated by policies aiming to expand access to formal housing. Yet the quantitative push for formal housing came with quantitative costs: inefficient development patterns resulting in a hollowing out of city centres and the third-highest rate of urban sprawl in the OECD; increasing motorisation rates; a significant share of vacant housing, with one-seventh of the housing stock uninhabited in 2010; housing developments with inadequate access to public transport and basic urban services; and social segregation. How can the Mexican authorities "get cities right" and develop more competitive, sustainable and inclusive cities? How can they improve the capacity of the relevant institutions and foster greater collaboration among them? How can INFONAVIT ensure that its lending activities generate more sustainable urban outcomes as it also fulfils its pension mandate and help Mexicans save more for retirement? Foreword Acknowledgements Table of contents Acronyms and abbreviations Executive summary Assessment and recommendations Cities, housing and pensions in Mexico: An opportunity to bolster growth and well-being A reform agenda for Mexico, with unprecedented attention to housing and urban policy Mexico's housing and urban transition Despite considerable progress, Mexican cities still underperform What challenges for Mexican cities? Unlocking the potential of Mexican cities: What role for housing and urban policy? Notes Bibliography Annex 1.A.1 Spatial autocorrelation. Better housing policy for Mexico: What role for INFONAVIT?Challenges for housing policy in Mexico A more sustainable housing model for Mexico Notes Bibliography Urban policy for more competitive, sustainable Mexican Cities The consequences of Mexico's "accidental" urban policy of the past Toward a broader, more integrated urban policy for Mexico Five strategies to get Mexican cities right Notes Bibliography Renovating Mexico's urban governance structure Overcoming policy fragmentation for housing and urban policy at federal level. Revitalising multi-level governance arrangements for urban developmentModernising the municipal administration Ensuring financial resources for urban development Developing capacity for better housing and urban policies at all levels of government Thinking metropolitan Notes Bibliography The potential contribution of INFONAVIT in resolving Mexico's pension shortfall Retirement income: A long-term challenge for Mexico The financial history of INFONAVIT: Balancing the dual objectives of housing and pension finance Notes Bibliography.