Haydea Izazola

Abstract

Based on present migration trends and environmental factors in Mexico City, the paper combines census and survey data with qualitative techniques (focus groups), to explore the role played by environmental perceptions, as well as individual, family and social factors, in the out-migration decision making of middle-class families from Mexico City to medium-sized cities in the central region of the country. The results confirm that women have played an active role in the decision of the family to migrate as a survival strategy in response to the perceived negative health impacts of the environment on their children. The paper also addresses attitudes towards environmental activities and suggests lines for future research and interventions.

Keywords: urban environment, environmental perceptions, migration, family survival strategies, middle-class families, medium-sized cities, Mexico City

Haydea Izazola, El Colegio de Mexico, Calz. de la Romeria 143-2, Colina del Sur 01430 Mexico City, D.F., Mexico
Catherine M. Marquette, Fordham University, Carolina Population Center, 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill NC 27516, USA