Urban function and its effect on urban structure: The case of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua

Abstract

The objective of this essay is to examine the changes in urban function and its effects on the construction of Ciudad Juárez's urban structure. Its functions are characterized by the interaction between local urban dynamics and transborder and transnational processes. Both influence the city's internal organization. The major findings are characterized by the existence of two tourism districts; the first is located within the central business district and the second one toward the east. The industrial parks are located near international bridges or along the main arterial roads. Also, the location of the first industrial park to the northeast modified the traditional concentric growth and residential areas were established in this direction for high‐income residents, while middle‐income residential areas occupied an intermediate position between the central business district and low‐income housing on the periphery. The decentralization of the tertiary sector is a result of urban sprawl, residential and industrial patterns of location, and greater competition between regional and national commerce chains.

Notes

Fuentes is Researcher at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.