In Mexico, Low-Income Homeowners Watch Their Dreams Crumble Whitney Eulich and Lauren Villagran - The Christian Science Monitor
go to original July 1, 2013

When Jorge and María Arzave moved their family into a two-room house on the outskirts of Mexico City, they were elated. For the first time, they would own their own home, situated in a planned development that would feature new schools, health clinics, and the opportunity to add a second story.

But today, their dream home has a “high risk” sign posted over the front door, courtesy of a state civil protection agency. Inside, Mr. Arzave has highlighted with colored pencil the scores of long cracks snaking across the walls.

The house is barely 10 years old and it’s breaking apart.

Leaning over a desk in his front room, Arvaze pulls up academic studies on his aging computer and launches into a litany about problems in the low-income neighborhood. The ground wasn’t suited for building and the house he bought in 2003 is sinking. The area has scarce water, overcrowded schools, no health clinics, and poor transportation to and from Mexico City, 90 minutes away. Outside, he points to an open-air landfill within walking distance. Developers had assured him it was closed and remediated before he bought the house, but the reality fell short of the promises, residents say.

Poor and faced with indifference by the government and developers, some have simply abandoned their homes. Arzave says he holds keys to the homes of five neighbors who have left the troubled development.

Mexico has one of the largest housing gaps in Latin America: More citizens need quality homes with access to infrastructure and services than currently exist. As more people move to urban areas in search of a middle class life, Mexico will need to build 8.5 million new homes over the next 12 years in order to meet demand, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

So why, then, do so many homes in Mexico sit empty?

Read the rest at The Christian Science Monitor

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