Freeing the Invisible Hand

The purpose of this thesis is to study the relationship between the evolution and sudden shifts in broader political economy, and the physical transformation of cities in Mexico. This research relies on the city of Querétaro, a case study of uneven urban expansion. The research design consists of an in-depth analysis of historical land use data, as well as municipal documentation and Federal census data, to study the effects that land use deregulation has had on the form of the city. The findings show that, in recent years, the city has seen the proliferation of both informal settlements and private, gated subdivisions on formerly regulated land.