I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but Mexico city is outrageously crowded. If, at any point in time, you aren’t looking at every car in the known universe, then you’re looking at every human being in the known universe. That much is clear and widely known.
What does that mean, though? What does the size of the city’s crowd have to do with life in that city? That’s the tasty question. I’m going to try and answer it.
First, we’ll whet our appetites with some data. How crowded, exactly, is Mexico City? I’m super excited right now, you guys.
If the green cells are the highest for a dimension, and the orange cells are second-highest, then the data set my pants on fire when I looked at them for the first time. I’ve always paired “Mexico City” with “20 million people” and “one of the most crowded places on Earth.” That’s a huge number of people making a sardine can out of a city, according to my original ideas. That means I also routinely say things that link those ideas when I go on about how crowded Mexico City probably is. That also means I’ve been saying the wrong things. Can someone please lend me some pants?
The data suggest something different, though. In fact, the place with the ungodly-enormous population is Greater Mexico City, otherwise known as the Federal District of Mexico City, otherwise known as a semi-state (I don’t know for sure, but it seems to function similarly to Washington D.C.). Mexico City (the city) has a population way closer to something we would see in the US. New York has a very similar population, for example. Overseas, London’s population is also just about the same as Mexico City’s. And just forget about Asia. Even the smallest of its top 10 cities–Manila–has twice the population of Mexico City.
But population isn’t a measure of crowdedness, is it? Population density is the data set from which all of the sense comes. The 21-million-person Federal District’s density is around 2,000 people per square kilometer. That’s more dispersion than in Munich, and Munich feels like the least crowded city on the face of the planet. Mexico City’s (the city) density, however, is around 5,000 people per square kilometer. That’s a lot, and it means its about as dense as Manila, the 10th largest city in Asia. Ahhh, now I understand why I felt like I needed a bulldozer to cross the street in Mexico City.
Ok, you get it. Mexcio City: it’s crowded. For some extra fun, though, consider this other data.
If you really want to know how crowded Mexico City is, look at the data above. I’m pretty sure most of you reading this have been to at least one of those cities. Imagine over 3 times the number of people currently living in Houston! Imagine Venice growing by a factor of more than 8! Dallas growing by a factor of almost 4! Holy cow! Those would have to happen for those cities to feel as highly populated as Mexico City (the city).
This post–well, the rest of a post which already happens to be well underway–is about 3 ways the hyper dense population of Mexico City (the city) affected my time there.
1. It takes over an hour to take a bus across town.
I escorted La Señora (more on Roxana’s mom in a future post) to a checkup at the Doctor’s office in the middle of the city. We began our journey at the south end of the city. I read a chapter and a half in my book before we reached the office. Two things about that:
- I analyze while I read, so I’m a slow reader.
- My book is A Feast for Crows. Oktoberfest is to beer as that book and the others in its series are to analyzable content.
If I knew the name of the doctor’s office, I could have just given you the distance we traveled in kilometers so you could compare it to the time it would take you to travel that distance in your city. Enjoy the overly complicated alternative.
Anyway, while most freeways on Earth are designed to facilitate transportation around a city, Periférico and, indeed, the rest of Mexico City’s streets, appeared designed for car storage instead. They were crowded all day and night, is what I’m trying to say. You should never take “a quick trip across town” lightly in Mexico City, is what I’m trying to say.
2. LOOOOOOOOUUUUD NOISES!!!!
Peace and Quiet are Aztec relics in Mexico City. If you look hard enough, you’ll see vestiges of an era when the two may have existed–a library here, a small cafe there, a green park with some benches and a fountain way off in the distance. Mostly, however, you’ll find things that make a lot of noise, all the time.
You’ll wake up in the morning to Mexico City’s streetside symphony. I personally really enjoy the first movement, in which the jackhammer section unexpectedly accompany the sirens and car horns. It establishes a striking contrast that positively sets my soul on fire. Truly. You’ll eat lunch to the sound of what can only be a private Pitbull concert next door. When you ask your local friend why nobody complains, she’ll tell you (as Rox’s sister Karen told me) that it’s more likely that the police will just collect a bribe from the offenders and let them continue, anyway. And you’ll hear more of the streetside symphony. Finally, when they day is over and you seek the comfort of a long night’s rest, you’ll have the sweet sounds of diesel engines, Pitbull and the streetside symphony to lull you to sleep.
It’s noisy all the time, is what I’m trying to say.
3. The food there is outrageously good.
The food truck/stand/kiosk/tent is to Mexico City as the YouTube channel is to the US and Canada. Absolute tons of people in the area possess the skills and the means to create at (at least) the amateur level. The result is that way more high-quality producers than any one person needs to know surface through social curation. And, if you get a kick out of discovery, then you’ll find a billion other options lining alleys, streets, freeways, parking lots, and store entrances everywhere.
“Hey. Pssst. On Tuesdays, find the dark alley behind the convenience store just off the freeway. There are some guys there who make spellbindingly good pastor tacos. Go on Tuesday, because they sell them two-for-one on that day.”
“Hey. Pssst. Go to YouTube and type in ‘Fast Food Lasagna.’ This group of Canadian guys buy, like, 45 burgers and make lasagna out of them. It’s insane!”
Mexico City was an absolutely outstanding time, is what I’m trying to say.
