Mexico City is the capital city of Mexico.

It has a population of 22 million

people and covers an area of 1484km squared. It is the most populous city in
the Americas and the 5th most populous in the world. It is the seventh richest
city in the Americas and the oldest. It sits on top of the ruins of the Aztec
Capital city, Tenochtitlan and sinks approximately 15cm each year due to it
being built on a lake.

Mexico City has a lot of history and because of this has many historical sites
and buildings. One example of this is Templo Mayor, now an archaeological
site. Templo Mayor was the main temple in Tenochtitlan and ruins of it
remain to this day. It is 697 years old and is on the UNESCO world heritage
list. The Aztecs used it for sacrifices but today it is a museum full of Aztec
artifacts and an archaeological dig site.

The academy of San Carlos is an art academy and museum in Mexico City.
Established in the 16th century, it was the first art academy in the Americas.
It featured many Native American and Spanish artists, and in the following
decades began to collect European works as well. Famous artists who have
graduated from this academy include Manuel Rodriguez Lozano, Alfredo
Zalce and Jose Chavez Morado.

The national palace is the federal seat of the Mexican government. It

contains many of the famous Mexican artist, Diego Rivera’s, murals. It also
houses the history and records of Mexico’s federal government.

Zocalo is the main square in Mexico City. It is 46000m squared and contains
many important buildings such as the national palace and the Mexico City
Metropolitan Cathedral.

The Palacio de Correos de Mexico is a large post office from 1907, featuring
many different styles of architecture. While its purpose, a post office, is not
that interesting, it is renowned for its amazing design and architecture.

Mexico City relies heavily on tourism as its main form of economic activity.
There are hundreds of museums and art galleries around the city that cater
to tourists. An average of 3 million tourists visit the city every year. Other
industries that are present in Mexico City include electronics, iron, and steel.
Mexico City also produces a lot of cement, and its top industry is automotive
manufacturing.

Mexico City faces the same problems with urbanisation as most megacities.
There is major overpopulation throughout the city with little water and food
for many citizens. This problem is massively growing in Mexico City and
because of this, is creating other problems like large traffic congestion and
mass pollution. Overpopulation can easily get out of control and the
government needs to take action quickly.

A problem unique to Mexico City comes as a result of the overpopulation,

unregulated construction. Due to the mass overpopulation in Mexico City,
there is not enough housing for everyone. As such there are thousands of
citizens living everywhere from the streets to rooftops. These people build
shelters, water tanks, pipe systems and more to suit their needs, making the
city a mess of random materials, designs, and infrastructure. This can cause
major problems like quick disease spread, water contamination and
construction safety hazards. Construction needs to be better regulated and
more public housing must be built.
Another problem unique to Mexico City is the fact that it is sinking. It is built
on an ancient lake and every year it sinks around 15cm. This is not a major
problem right now but within a few years important infrastructure like sewage
and water pipes will be disrupted. This problem cannot be solved as the lake
was drained many years ago and its floor is slowly compacting. The more the
city is built up, the faster it compacts.

Overall Mexico City faces both generic and unique problems with
urbanization and the government needs to fix them soon before the city
breaks down.