Dispersed expansion, diffused city and transportation: The case of Queretaro, Mexico

Abstract

Based on the conceptual discussion on trends in spatial concentration and dispersion in the recent phase of capitalist development and the transformation of relations between urban and rural issues, this article discusses the role of transport networks in new spatial patterns of a Mexican intermediate city (Querétaro), characterized by the diffuse expansion of its metropolitan area. This process involves a growing link with rural localities (Navajas-Galera micro-region), which have witnessed the rapid modification of their environment in the past fifteen years by the progressive and discontinuous settlement of industrial and service activities in the territory. The method of analysis, based on a structural-systemic approach, shows the progressive disappearance of the sharp conceptual division traditionally established between the countryside and the city. It is also noted that the development of regional transport systems is a strategic element of spatial articulation in this new enlarged territorial configuration, where the intensification of mobility is substantive.