The aim of this thesis is to identify current trends of urbanization of Mexico City as an example, which is one of the most urbanized cities in the world. This paper examines the impacts of urbanization in terms of increasing social and health problems of people in Mexican capital. The theoretical part describes main concepts, current trends of urbanization in developing and developed countries, and its positive and negative impacts. The practical part is focused on a very characteristic of urbanization in Mexico City, on negative impacts which arise, and on measures that the city uses in order to reduce them. The methods that has been used on this topic were literature review, data analysis, comparison and observation. To process the data, official statistics were also used.

The work reported involves the evaluation of technologies and management systems applied to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). The study focuses on Mexico City, which with a population of approximately 9 million inhabitants and an estimated daily generation of 13,000 tonnes of waste, is encountering extreme waste management issues. The structures and public policies designed to provide waste management services have proved inadequate in relation to high rates of population growth and intensive business activities. The significant increase in demand has led the government of Mexico City to base public services on rudimentary techniques using obsolete equipment. The research approaches the problem through the analysis of several different aspects: (1) a comprehensive literature review of waste management including technologies and legal frameworks; (2) a general overview of the main demographic, geographic and economic aspects of Mexico City; (3) an extensive analysis of historic and future waste generation profiles and composition of waste in Mexico City; (4) an evaluation of the current status of the waste management system, including programmes, plans, facilities and infrastructure; and (5) a comparative study of the waste management system of Mexico City and the systems of selected international cities. The evaluation resulted in the identification of the following significant issues: (1) limitations in legislation related to waste management and environmental laws; (2) high population growth and increasing business activity, which contribute escalating generation of MSW; (3) ineffective public policies focused on waste management; (4) significant gaps in low levels of recycling activities; (5) obsolescence of equipment, infrastructure and facilities; (6) lack of diversification in treatment methods for MSW; and (7) failure to exploit market opportunities in the waste management sector. In addition to the evaluation of the system in Mexico City, the analysis of waste management systems in selected international cities allowed the author to identify key factors in order to develop integrated proposals. The analysis highlighted significant aspects including: legal frameworks, the participation of the private sector, waste hierarchy, and guiding principles for plans and programmes. The information enabled the design of a proposed development plan of a comprehensive waste management system in Mexico City through two main proposals. Firstly, an integrated programme for waste management in Mexico City was developed to provide feasible long-term strategies in the field of waste management. The specific objectives, goals, actions, responsibilities and time scales were defined in order to provide concrete activities under specific fields of operation. Secondly, a project to obtain funding for technology transfer structured according to technical, market and economic studies, was elaborated. The guide is aimed to exemplify an investment project through the analysis of a feasibility study related to generation of energy from biogas in a controlled landfill in Mexico City. The process may be adapted to the acquisition of technology in different sectors of the waste management process.

In a world recently declared urban, each day technology plays a more important role in society. A majority of people seem to believe in technology not only for solving everyday problems and for supporting the current production and economic systems, but also for the redress of environmental problems that are caused to a large extent by the same technology that has driven society to the current standards. In this direction, megacities (i.e. cities with more than ten million inhabitants) represent a valuable example of both the problems caused by high urbanization rates and the possibility of solving them using technology. However, the mere development of technology does not guarantee its immediate adoption and successful implementation by a given society. In this thesis, one of the largest megacities in the world (i.e. in terms of population) was chosen as a case study for the analysis of the adoption and diffusion of environmental technology. Mexico City is studied through a set of interviews with local stakeholders from academia, government, industry and other external organizations such as non-profit organizations and international institutions. This approach resulted in the identification of different obstacles to the adoption and implementation of technologies, but also led to a successful case of technology adoption that allowed for the understanding of important traits that facilitated not only such adoption, but also the subsequent diffusion and spread to other cities. Although the thesis has a strong focus on the demand side (in this case Mexico City), the supply side (in this case the Swedish environmental technology sector) is also considered and analyzed. By using statistical data of common enterprise and economic nature, the composition of the sector was described and analyzed with the intention to identify important areas and behavioral traits that could give insight into the hindrances that the sector faces when exporting its offerings. Given the interest that the Swedish government has put in the sector for contributing to the country’s economic growth, the different studies commissioned for the assessment of the sector are also discussed in this thesis. The different conclusions and suggestions made by the different agencies entrusted with this task are shown and analyzed. Conclusions are drawn regarding the need for designing strategies that consider local conditions, that are flexible and adaptive to a highly dynamic environment and that pay particular attention to the development of strong demonstration projects that facilitate overcoming the distrust normally created when new technologies are introduced in a society. / Megatech

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It is widely claimed that geographic information and maps are highly political. Many researchers have detailed the source of the power of maps and their ability to serve specific interests, represent certain ideologies and perpetuate systems of exclusion (Harley, 1988; Harvey, 1998; Wood, 1992). Maps can be both the products and the generators of power, thus assigning the mapmaker a great responsibility in the information that they choose or not to represent and how they decide to do it. Representing the same information in different ways, or choosing to omit certain parts of it and heighten others can reveal very different conclusions and lead to multiple interpretations. In the urbanism field, information often comes in extensive policy documents, development plans and land use maps. It is relevant to expand the sources of information that urbanists use when performing their job. Interest in mapping is high, made more accessible through tools like Google Earth and GIS software and with new forms of participatory mapping practices. Mapping has evolved from being done by and for figures of power and authority, to representing the issues, needs and conditions of everyday users. When mapping is reclaimed by the people, they can be used to propose alternatives to the image and language of power and become a medium for conversation or protest. By participating in the process, citizens can engage in dialogue with different stakeholders and government officials, acquire new skills and knowledge, be more informed and generate judgments about issues that concern them and exercise their political power. In the end, it is important to remember that making the map is not the end of the process, but the beginning, as information has to be processed, analyzed and discussed in a transparent and democratic manner as well. Cities are in constant growth and evolution and so the process of updating the information is ongoing. Maps should be kept updated and accessible in order for them to remain as a relevant tool for empowerment.

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The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) is one of the largest cities in the world, and as with many megacities worldwide, it experiences serious air quality and pollution problems, especially with ozone and particulate matter. Ozone levels exceed the health-based standard, which is equivalent to the U.S. standard, on approximately 80% of all days, and concentrations of particulate matter 10 μm and smaller (PM10) exceed the standard on more than 40% of all days in most years. Particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of semi-volatile compounds that are formed during combustion and many of these compounds are known or suspected carcinogens. Recent studies on PAHs in Mexico City indicate that very high concentrations have been observed there and may pose a serious health hazard. The first part of this thesis describes results from the Megacities Initiative: Local and Regional Observations (MILAGRO) study in Mexico City in March 2006. During this field campaign, we measured PAH and aerosol active surface area (AS) concentrations at six different locations throughout the city using the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory (AML). The different sites encompassed a mix of residential, commercial, industrial, and undeveloped land use. The goals of this research were to describe spatial and temporal patterns in PAH and AS concentrations, to gain insight into sources of PAHs, and to quantify the relationships between PAHs and other pollutants. We observed that the highest measurements were generally found at sites with dense traffic networks. Also, PAH concentrations varied considerably in space. An important implication of this result is that for risk assessment studies, a single monitoring site will not adequately represent an individual's exposure. Source identification and apportionment are essential for developing effective control strategies to improve air quality and therefore reduce the health impacts associated with fine particulate matter and PAHs. However, very few studies have separated gasoline- versus diesel-powered vehicle emissions under a variety of on-road driving conditions. The second part of this thesis focuses on distinguishing between the two types of engine emissions within the MCMA using positive matrix factorization (PMF) receptor modeling. The Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory drove throughout the MCMA in March 2006 and measured on-road concentrations of a large suite of gaseous and particulate pollutants, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), benzene (C6H6), formaldehyde (HCHO), ammonia (NH3), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), PAHs, and black carbon (BC). These pollutant species served as the input data for the receptor model. Fuel-based emission factors and annual emissions within Mexico City were then calculated from the source profiles of the PMF model and fuel sales data. We found that gasoline-powered vehicles were responsible for 90% of mobile source CO emissions and 85% of VOCs, while diesel-powered vehicles accounted for almost all of NO emissions (99.98%). Furthermore, the annual emissions estimates for CO and VOC were lower than estimated during the MCMA-2003 field campaign. The number of megacities is expected to grow dramatically in the coming decades. As one of the world's largest megacities, Mexico City serves as a model for studying air quality problems in highly populated, extremely polluted environments. The results of this work can be used by policy makers to improve air quality and reduce related health risks in Mexico City and other megacities. / Master of Science

L'action publique locale dans les métropoles. Le cas de la gestion du commerce de rue à Mexico et Lima. Alors que la gouvernance métropolitaine fait l'objet de nombreux travaux en sciences sociales, les gouvernements locaux infra-métropolitains sont moins étudiés. Or, ils continuent d'être les acteurs principaux de la régulation des espaces urbains. Ils agissent de manière autonome sur leur territoire tout en étant dans une situation d'inter-territorialité spécifique au milieu urbain. L'analyse comparative de la gestion du commerce de rue à Mexico et Lima montre la mise en œuvre de l'action publique dans les territoires administratifs des métropoles. Elle distingue les centres historiques - vitrines et laboratoires des autorités régionales - des territoires municipaux où les politiques oscillent entre imitation, innovation et inertie. De plus, elle révèle une palette de processus et interactions horizontales et verticales entre les actions publiques des différentes autorités, alimentant le débat sur la fragmentation urbaine / Local public action in the metropolis. Case study of street vending policies in Mexico City and Lima. While metropolitan governance is the subject of much research in social sciences, local and infra-metropolitan governments have been studied less. However, they are still the main actors of urban space regulation. They act autonomously in their territories and are simultaneously in a situation of inter-territoriality specific to the urban environment. The comparative analysis of street vending policies in Mexico City and Lima displays the implementation of local public action in the administrative territories of the metropolis. It distinguishes historical centres –the showcases and laboratories of regional authorities– from municipal territories where the policies fluctuate between imitation, innovation and inertia. Likewise, the analysis contributes to the debate on urban fragmentation by revealing a range of horizontal and vertical interactions and processes between the public actions of the different authorities