特拉尔潘 城镇

Tlalpan (Classical Nahuatl: Tlālpan [ˈtɬaːlpan̥] , 'place on the earth') is a borough (demarcación territorial) in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over 80% under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost all of it on the northern edge, has been urban since the mid-20th century. When it was created in 1928, it was named after the most important settlement of the area, Tlalpan, which is referred to as "Tlalpan center" (Tlalpan centro) to distinguish it from the borough.

This center, despite being in the urbanized zone, still retains much of its provincial atmosphere with colonial era mansions and cobblestone streets. Much of the borough's importance stems from its forested conservation areas, as it functions to provide oxygen to the Valley of Mexico and serves for aquifer recharge. Seventy per cent of Mexico City's water comes from wells in this borough.

However, the area is under pressure as its mountainous isolated location has attracted illegal loggers, drug traffickers, and kidnappers; the most serious problem is illegal building of homes and communities on conservation land, mostly by very poor people. As of 2010, the government recognizes the existence of 191 of the settlements, which cause severe ecological damage with the disappearance of trees, advance of urban sprawl, and in some areas, the digging of septic pits. The borough is home to one of the oldest Mesoamerican sites in the valley, Cuicuilco, as well as several major parks and ecological reserves. It is also home to a number of semi-independent "pueblos" that have limited self-rule rights under a legal provision known as "usos y costumbres" (lit. uses and customs).

Tlalpan center

What is now called "Tlalpan center" or sometimes "the historic center of Tlalpan" began as a pre-Hispanic village located at the intersection of a number of roads that connected Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) with points south. This village was renamed Villa de San Agustín de las Cuevas in 1645, with the last part "de las Cuevas" referring to the many small caves in the area. During the colonial period, the village was a modest farming village, known for its fruit orchards. However, the forests of the area made it attractive to the elite of Mexico City who built country homes and haciendas here, much as they did in other areas south of the city such as Chimalistac, San Ángel and Coyoacán.

Many of these homes and manor houses of the former haciendas still remain in and round Tlalpan center. As the urban sprawl of Mexico City only began to reach this area starting in the mid-twentieth century, much of the former village has retained its provincial streets, older homes and other buildings with façades of reds, whites, blues and other colors, although a number have been converted into other uses such as cafes, restaurants and museums. This makes the area similar to neighboring Coyoacán, and like this neighbor, Tlalpan center is popular with visitors, especially on weekends as people come to see its provincial main square/garden, mansions, narrow winding cobblestone streets lined with large trees, eat in its restaurants and cafes and visit its many nearby parks and other green areas. One popular area with cafes and restaurants is La Portada, on one side of the main plaza.

Tlalpan center has eighty structures from the 16th to the 20th centuries that have been classified by INAH as having historic value. Some of these include old Tlalpan Hacienda, the former home of the Marquis de Vivanco and the San Agustin parish church. The borough of Tlalpan has sought World Heritage Site status for the area because of these structures, the area's history and the nearby site of Cuicuilco.

The center of this former village is the main square or garden officially called the "Plaza de la Constitución" but better known as the "Jardín Principal" (Main Garden). Visually, what stands out is the large kiosk in the center, but historically more important is the "Arbol de los colgaldos" (Tree of the Hanged).

The borough

Political divisions

Tlalpan is the largest of Mexico City's sixteen boroughs, and vastly larger than the traditional village of Tlalpan. It has a surface of 310 km2 and accounts for 20.6% of Mexico City, and a total population of 650,567 inhabitants. It lies at the far south of Mexico City bordering the boroughs of Coyoacán, Xochimilco and Milpa Alta with the state of Morelos to the south and the State of Mexico to the southwest.

Administratively, the borough is divided into five zones: Centro de Tlalpan (pop. 163,209), Villa Coapa (118,291), Padierna Miguel Hidalgo (148,582), Ajusco Medio (59,905), and Pueblos Rurales (99,447). All of these are divided into neighborhoods variously called "colonias", "barrios", "fraccionamientos" or "unidades habitacionales" with the exception of the Pueblos Rurales area, which also contains eight semi independent villages. The far northern zones such as Tlalpan Center, Villa Coapa, and Padierna Miguel Hidalgo are urbanized areas where the sprawl of the city has reach, which the southern sections are still rural. The urbanized areas account for only about 15% of the borough, with the rest belonging to conservation areas or ejido communal lands. Pueblos Rurales is the largest zone, but 83% of the borough population is concentrated in the other four.

Urban areas

The urban sprawl of Mexico City reached the borough of Tlalpan in the mid-20th century, but only the far north of the borough is urbanized. This area accounts for over 80% of the borough population, who live in a mix of middle class residential areas and large apartment complexes for the lower classes. This northern area is crossed by a number of major road arteries such as the Anillo Periférico, Calzada de Tlalpan, Viaducto-Tlalpan, Acoxpa, Division del Norte/Miramontes, which experience extremely heavy traffic during rush hour. The highway connecting Mexico City with Cuernavaca also passes through the borough. Intersections of these major roads have large commercial and retail complexes such as that of Avenida Insurgentes and Anillo Periferico, which has several of these complexes, as this is a major highway connection for the south of the city.

Traffic and parking are the most serious issues for the areas in the urban areas, as the borough struggles to keep up with the demand but also keep areas such as Tlalpan Centro at least somewhat provincial.

Forests and green areas

Degradation of forest areas

Tlalpan has some of the largest forested lands within the Mexico City limits, with over 80% of this borough officially declared to be in conservation. However, only 4% of the borough is considered to be unharmed ecologically. The areas most affected by human activity are at the foot of the Xitle and Xictontle volcanos. The forest under protection in the borough equals 30,000 hectares but it is protected by only thirty-eight forest rangers, each with a territory of about 1,000 hectares of forest, canyons and volcanic areas. Three are provided by the Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente, fifteen from the Comisión de Recursos Naturales of Mexico City and twenty by the borough itself. These rangers work against illegal loggers, settlers and drug traffickers, who are often armed. The three main problems in the protected areas is illegal logging, the dumping of trash and rubble, squatting, and the theft of volcanic rock (for building materials). Most of the time, all the rangers can do is report the illegal activity to federal authorities but response is spotty.

The major problem is illegal settlements. In all of Mexico City there are over 800 illegal settlements which have some official recognition and occupy almost 60% of lands considered to be protected. These areas may hold as many as 180,000 residents who lack basic services, and cause grave ecological damage. These settlement make trees disappear and furthers urban sprawl. Erosion in conservation areas impedes aquifer recharge and disrupts the flow of surface water.

In Tlalpan, settlements are in Ajusco Medio, Pedregales and Padierna, where the mountainous terrain and/or volcanic rock severely limits the ability to provide services, often leading to residents creating septic pits. Since 2003, illegal settlements in Tlalpan have grown from 148(peligra), to 191 settlements that the government recognizes the existence of. Many settlements have occurred because communal owners of ejidos have illegally sold parts of their land at cheap prices to settlers on the outskirts of the city proper. Most illegal building is done by the very poor but there are also cases in which those which money illegally take over large sections of land for their own use.

Parque Nacional Cumbres del Ajusco

This is a national forest which covers much of the Sierra de Ajusco and Chichinautzin mountain ranges that separate Mexico City from the states of Morelos and the State of Mexico.