Real Estate Investments Funds and City Production : Private Mixe-Use Complexes in Mexico[Fonds d'investissements immobilier et production de la ville : les complexes urbains multifonctionnels privés au Mexique]

Since 2010, new types of urban projects in Mexico - privately-owned multifunctional urban complexes - have marked a turning point in the logic of city closure. These projects concentrate residential and commercial buildings, offices, and leisure activities, all within a delimited, secure perimeter aimed at the affluent social classes. This article mobilizes the figure of the multifunctional urban complex as a revelation of transformations in the modes of production of the private city in Mexico. The creation of a database of over 79 projects reveals a continuity in the production logics of closed neighborhoods, but a rupture in terms of the scale and urban form they imply, and their location. The novelty of these buildings, which are intended to be true urban centralities, lies in the combination of functional diversity, enclosure and verticalization of residential spaces, but at the service of a specific category of population. A field study shows how the mobilization of financial capital by an exclusive social network becomes a lever of power in urban governance and management. Managed by investment funds, these spatial entities appear to be a tool and a support for the financial development of the country's metropolises, also reinforcing the socio-spatial polarity of the metropolises.