Mérida’s Gentrification: Who Wins and Who Loses?

Mérida, Mexico — Mérida is undergoing a visible transformation. Streets once dark, houses long abandoned, and neglected properties have turned into gastronomic corridors, cultural centers, and high-value real estate. But at what social cost does this urban beautification occur? Who benefits, and who is displaced? These are some of the questions Dr. Edith Pereyra de la Rosa will address in her upcoming lecture, "Megaprojects in Mérida’s Historic Center and Their Effects on Neighborhoods: A Perspective from Gentrification."

The presentation, part of the seminar "Socioterritorial and Urban-Environmental Processes in Southeastern Mexico," will take place on Tuesday, May 13, at 12 p.m. at the Cephcis Rendón Peniche campus and will also be streamed on the academic center’s social media channels.

Tourism, Gentrification, and Culture in Mérida

Dr. Pereyra, a postdoctoral researcher at Cephcis, will focus her analysis on the socio-spatial changes in neighborhoods surrounding Parque La Plancha since its inauguration in November 2023. With an emphasis on public policy, the lecture will examine how infrastructure and tourism projects have fueled a process of "touristification," attracting visitors and investors while simultaneously triggering the gentrification of traditionally working-class areas.

"The La Plancha area, forgotten for years, has been reconfigured through investments that have altered land use and neighborhood life. Homes once occupied by local families are now galleries, restaurants, or short-term rentals. This follows public policies that shape urban space with a logic of consumption and increased property value, often ignoring the needs of those who already lived there," she explains.

While gentrification is not universally negative—some long-term residents have benefited from improved infrastructure, lighting, security, and accessibility—these improvements often arrive only after neighborhoods are redesigned for tourists.

"In my research, residents told me that for the first time, they got a ramp or street signage because there’s now more municipal attention. But the concern is that these upgrades come only when external interests are involved," Dr. Pereyra told Diario de Yucatán.

The lecture will also review tourism policies implemented over the past two decades at the national, state, and municipal levels, demonstrating their role in transforming the Historic Center and La Plancha from marginalized zones into high-value real estate areas under the guise of megaprojects.

"Gentrification in Mérida Is Not Homogeneous"

"Gentrification in Mérida is not uniform. What happens in Santiago, Santa Ana, or San Sebastián is different from La Plancha. Each case has its particularities, but they share a pattern: space is redefined not by community needs but by an economic model based on tourism and real estate investment," Dr. Pereyra warns.

She argues that a public debate is urgently needed—one that goes beyond academia.

"We must think about the city through the lens of territorial justice, the right to inhabit, and neighborhood memory. The nostalgia many feel for the Mérida that once was is also a form of resistance against a city that increasingly feels less like ours."

Dr. Pereyra is currently working on another project examining local and migrant perceptions of gentrification in the Historic Center. She envisions a future where government investment preserves cultural heritage while modernizing infrastructure.

"The Historic Center shouldn’t revert to its past divisions, like the arches that once separated populations. Instead, we must build bridges that unite everyone—because we’re all part of this."

For further inquiries, Dr. Pereyra can be contacted at epereyradlr@gmail.com.