Using a combination of fieldwork and secondary sources, this paper offers a critical appraisal of Mexico’s social housing policy agenda. Specifically, the study poses two research questions: Does the subsidized construction of mass-produced “social interest” housing fulfill its objectives as the primary means of providing decent housing for low and moderate-income households? And, to what extent does “densification” work as a strategy for combating urban sprawl and promoting more sustainable urban development? In both cases, the study concludes that social housing policy has largely failed to achieve its purported objectives. Notwithstanding undeniable improvement in the quality of housing and provision of essential urban services, Mexico’s social housing agenda largely disregards the messy details and complexity of local social, cultural and environmental contexts, resulting in incoherent policies that are disarticulated from the real lives of vulnerable households. Rather, the twin policy discourses of decent housing and sustainability actually allow the Mexican government to achieve three covert objectives: 1) demonstration of unfettered and unrelenting progress towards “development”, in line with international standards and the expectations of multilateral organizations; 2) generation of much-needed employment opportunities in housing-related industries; and 3) assuring the profitability of a small group of national and regional construction firms which control the country’s social interest homebuilding industry. In light of these findings, this study highlights the potential of a non-normative, place-specific approach to policy, which accounts for complexity and local context and promotes collaboration among residents, community organizations, and other stakeholders.

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