Antonia Burchard-Levine Master Candidate –Urban Management Technische Universität Berlin TOWARDS A TRANSIT-ORIENTED AFFORDABLE HOUSING (TOAH) STRATEGY IN MEXICO CITY ANTONIA BURCHARD-LEVINE Supervisor: Dr.Ing. Wulf-Holger Arndt Co-Supervisor: Dr.Dipl-Ing Michael Abraham Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in urban Management at Technische Universität Berlin Berlin, February 1st 2016 Antonia Burchard-Levine Master Candidate –Urban Management Technische Universität Berlin STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY OF MATERIAL This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any institution and to the best of my knowledge and belief, the research contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text of the thesis. 2 Antonia Burchard-Levine Master Candidate –Urban Management Technische Universität Berlin Antonia Burchard-Levine Berlin, February 1st ,2016 3 Antonia Burchard-Levine Master Candidate –Urban Management Technische Universität Berlin ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing this thesis would not have been possible without the support of numerous people, to whom I am very grateful. I would like to thank Bettina and Claudia, as well as the entire Urban Management Class for everything they have taught me. A special thanks to Naomi, my roommate and private cook throughout the year. I would like to especially thank my supervisors Dr.Ing. Wulf-Holger Arndt and Dr.Dipl-Ing Michael Abraham for their mentorship throughout my thesis. I am also grateful to the entire team at ITDP Mexico. I am especially grateful to Salvador Medina for his supervision, mentorship, and patience in guiding me through the research process; and to Nely Patlan for her enthusiasm with my topic and valuable feedback. A special thanks to all interviewees for taking the time to share their thoughts and expertise with me. Their contribution was invaluable to this thesis. I am most grateful to my family, a consistent source of support and inspiration, and this thesis is dedicated to all four of them. To Vicente and Alejandra for their technical help, patience and encouragement. A special thanks to my dad for his academic wisdom, for teaching me to analyze interviews, last minute proofreading and feedback; and last but not least, my mom for her unconditional patience, encouragement, and simply for putting up with me even when I am not the most pleasant person. Finally to Andres, for introducing me to Mexico City and sharing his contagious passion for this beautiful and chaotic city, but mostly for his endless patience throughout this process. This thesis would have not been possible without Andres. 4 Antonia Burchard-Levine Master Candidate –Urban Management Technische Universität Berlin ABSTRACT Is it possible to control urban sprawl, improve urban mobility, and achieve more sustainable forms of urban development, all the while responding to the housing needs of low-income populations in Mexico City? The concept of Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing (TOAH)1 presents a unique opportunity to counteract these pressing urban challenges under a unified and comprehensive strategy. Over the past few decades Mexico City has witness rapid rates of urban sprawl, growing social segregation, and significant environmental degradation. In Mexico, TOD is gaining momentum and increasingly becoming a politically and economically attractive concept for sustainable urban development. Investments in the transit infrastructure enhance mobility and increase accessibility to transit, resulting in greater socio-economic benefits. Transit- Oriented Development (TOD) has become a viable option to address some of the most pressing urban challenges in developing countries including urban sprawl, environmental degradation, urban poverty, social segregation and unequal urban development (Suzuki et al., 2013). However, often during the implementation of TOD, market forces increase the price of land around transit stations, placing pressure on the stock of affordable housing (AH), and in turn resulting in processes of gentrification and the displacement of low-income segments of society (Suzuki et al., 2013), which then further accentuates urban sprawl. Therefore, to achieve its goals, TOD must necessarily ensure the availability of AH for low- income populations. In other words, it is key to ensure Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing (TOAH) in order to achieve inclusive, equitable and sustainable urban development. To this end, the authorities of Mexico need to provide affordable housing in proximity to transit, establish inclusionary housing policies, reformulate current parking requirements, encourage greater coordination mechanisms, and ensure mass housing projects are built in better urban locations. Furthermore, affordable housing (AH) financing tools need to be formulated, and incentives need to be provided to encourage the private sector to engage in the production of TOAH. This document explores a number of international strategies and four case studies linking AH to public transit (two in the United States and two in Latin American) along with an analysis of the main urban challenges and the policy framework of Mexico City. The last section 1 Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing (TOAH) consists in below-market rate housing (housing affordable to low-income populations) in current of future TOD developments, or in proximity to mass transit stations or corridors. 5 Antonia Burchard-Levine Master Candidate –Urban Management Technische Universität Berlin provides a set of recommendations for the government of Mexico City to work towards a TOAH strategy, as a means to achieve inclusive, equitable sustainable urban development. Key Words: Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing (TOAH), Inclusive City, Urban Sprawl, Density, Parking Regulations, Housing Policy, Public Policy, Land Market Value, Gentrification, Displacement. 6 Antonia Burchard-Levine Master Candidate –Urban Management Technische Universität Berlin Table of Content Statement of authenticity of material ............................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................... 4 Abstract ........................................................................................................................... 5 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ 11 Definitions and Terminology .......................................................................................... 13 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 14 1.1 Problem Statement ........................................................................................... 15 1.2 Hypothesis ........................................................................................................ 15 1.3 Research Questions, Objectives and Justification ............................................... 16 1.3.1 Main Research Questions ................................................................................... 16 1.3.2 Research Sub-Questions ..................................................................................... 16 1.3.3 Research Objectives ........................................................................................... 16 1.3.4 Research Justification ......................................................................................... 17 2 The Context: Mexico City .......................................................................................... 19 2.1 Expansion from Mexico City towards the State of Mexico .................................. 21 2.2 Travel Demands, Motorization Rates, and Traffic Congestion ............................. 22 2.3 Social Segregation and Lack of Affordable housing ............................................. 24 2.4 Mexico City and Opportunities for TOD .............................................................. 25 2.5 Mexico City and Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing ........................................ 26 3 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................ 28 3.1 Defining Transit Oriented Development (TOD) ................................................... 28 3.2 Equitable Transit-oriented Development ........................................................... 29 3.3 Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing ................................................................. 31 4 Research Design and Methodology ........................................................................... 33 4.1 Literature Analyses ........................................................................................... 33 4.2 Case Studies ...................................................................................................... 33 4.3 Policy Analysis................................................................................................... 33 4.4 Stakeholder Analysis ......................................................................................... 34 4.5 Semi-Structured in-depth interviews ................................................................. 34 4.5.1 Conducting the interviews ................................................................................