Mesoamerican urbanism: Indigenous institutions, infrastructure, and resilience

David M Carballo, Gary M Feinman and Aurelio López Corral
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David M Carballo: Boston University, USA
Gary M Feinman: Field Museum of Natural History, USA
Aurelio López Corral: Centro INAH Tlaxcala, México

Urban Studies, 2025, vol. 62, issue 3, 507-524

Abstract: Mesoamerica was the most urbanised landscape of the precolonial Western Hemisphere, and urban dwellers there shared many cultural commonalities. They also varied significantly regarding what social institutions they emphasised, what forms of urban infrastructure they created, their fiscal financing and systems of governance, as well as how they managed ecological resources and risk. In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of Mesoamerican cities using a database of archaeological indices of Indigenous urban characteristics. We report positive correlations between the longevity of cities in our sample and more collective institutions of governance, higher population densities, and more shared and equitably distributed forms of urban infrastructure. The study draws on Indigenous knowledge and practices to assist the target-based approach of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and New Urban Agenda and provides insights into how certain urban institutions and infrastructure can foster greater resilience and equity in the face of ecological and cultural-historical perturbations.

Keywords: Aztec; collective action; governance; Maya; neighbourhoods; social infrastructure; urbanism; é˜¿å…¹å °å…‹äºº (Aztec); 集体行动; æ²»ç †; 玛雅人 (Maya); 社区; 社会基础设施; 城市化 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:62:y:2025:i:3:p:507-524

DOI: 10.1177/00420980221105418

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