Water challenges in peri-urban growth. An analysis of flooding and water service in Tlajomulco, Jalisco, Mexico

Un análisis sobre inundaciones y servicio de agua en Tlajomulco, Jalisco, México.

Abstract

The growth of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (AMG) towards the municipality of Tlajomulco
de Zúñiga is a clear example, both at the state and national level, of discontinuous urban land use
towards rural areas close to the city; in other words, peri-urban growth. The above results in an
urban area with peripheral areas lacking basic infrastructure to guarantee access to basic services
such as water and, ironically, in spaces with the presence of increasingly catastrophic floods due
to the lack of water infiltration and poor territorial planning. This is an exploratory research that
analyzes urbanization processes in relation to water problems, particularly in relation to deficient
household water supply and flooding events in the municipality of Tlajomulco. For this purpose,
a quantitative methodology was implemented based on the design and estimation of indicators
around three analytical dimensions: urban growth, peri-urbanization and water problems. The
results show that water problems in Tlajomulco are linked to political processes that promote urban
growth patterns based on a housing model that exceeds the capacity of the municipality in terms of
governmental response, but also the capacity of the territory in environmental terms.