Strengthening urban-rural linkages in metropolitan areas: cooperation mechanisms for the access to basic services in South Mexico

The present paper focuses on urban-rural linkages in the context of developing countries; working on the case of the Metropolitan Area of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas in South Mexico. Chiapas is one of the poorest and most populated states in Mexico. The Metropolitan Area of Tuxtla Gutierrez is its largest urban agglomeration and one of the three major metropolitan areas in the south of the country that are expected to concentrate the population growth in that region from 2010 to 2030 (UN Habitat, 2016). The projected urban expansion increases the challenges that the region already faces and it is producing major impacts on the surrounding rural areas. Adequate housing conditions are one of the main issues and the situation is exacerbated in rural areas, where 96.5% of the households are living in inadequate housing conditions. Access to basic services such as water and sanitation is a common struggle but also one that is mobilizing rural inhabitants by implementing new mechanisms to meet their needs. As the New Urban Agenda states, the development is not only about the urban but the urban-rural continuum, and the urban-rural gap is still large. The interactions and linkages between urban and rural areas are diverse and they affect the development of the whole region. This paper focuses on the struggles for basic services and identifies cooperation mechanisms between different urban and rural stakeholders that have emerged in the face of the current challenges intensified by the urban sprawl. The aim is to analyze how these cooperation mechanisms can foster a new form of citizenship, empowering the role of the communities and promoting partnerships that can strengthen urban-rural linkages and move towards a sustainable regional development.