The exhibition Habitar la Ciudad de México, presented at the Colegio de San Ildefonso as part of MEXTRÓPOLI 2025, examines collective housing as the true fabric that gives form and depth to the city. In contrast to suburban sprawl and institutional monumentalism, these projects demonstrate how densification can become a tool of urban design—capable of regenerating neighborhoods, restoring a human scale, and responding to a context shaped by rapid transformation, gentrification, and an urgent need for new housing policies.
The exhibition brings together 25 residential buildings constructed in Mexico City during the twenty-first century, including Vivienda Portales by Fernanda Canales, which exemplify how private initiatives have achieved high-quality architecture in areas undergoing intense renewal. These works, without seeking monumentality, embrace design as a form of urban acupuncture: housing that densifies with intention, fosters community, and offers replicable models for a more sustainable, inclusive, and equitable urban future.
