Ciudad Satélite

Ciudad Satélite, frequently called just Satélite, is a Greater Mexico City middle-class suburban area located in Naucalpan, State of Mexico. Officially the name corresponds only to the neighbourhood of the same name, Ciudad Satélite, founded circa 1957. Over the last few decades it has expanded and it is now rather segmented socially and economically, distributed in a number of different neighbourhoods, although it has remained a predominantly middle to upper middle class area.

Satélite was originally conceived as a commuter bedroom community; developers hoped to maintain a green belt between it and Mexico City, but its rapid development (and rising property prices) made this untenable. However, popular culture, market segmentation, availability of services, and comings and goings of life in this area have helped to define Satélite as a cultural center. Ciudad Satélite became the core of a new suburban phenomenon that eventually included not only single-family dwellings but also apartment buildings, condominiums, and retail spaces; some manufacturing also developed. This was a vast departure from the original concept. Over time, the progress of real estate development has expanded on the original meaning of the Satélite community in the minds of Mexico City residents.

The project was approved by the president Miguel Alemán Valdés in 1948. The city was almost finished, but remained uninhabited until 1952 when people started to move in because of the attractive prices. Public services such as the phone lines were not finished yet in all circuits and people initially had to use public phones. By the 1970s, the Ciudad Satélite population vastly increased.

The area can be divided into four (and possibly five) parts. The south zone comprises the Las Américas neighbourhood, next to Naucalpan City Hall, Vista del Valle (after the famous Norwegian poet), Paseos del Bosque and El Mirador. Some consider the neighbourhoods of San Mateo, La Florida and the Echegaray borough to be part of the south zone of Satélite. The central-western zone consists of Ciudad Satélite, the core neighbourhood, Lomas Verdes, Boulevares, Naucalli Park, and La Concordia. The northern zone consists of Fuentes de Satélite, Santa Cruz del Monte, Bellavista, and Calacoaya neighbourhoods.

Two more zones might be considered to be inside Satélite: the first is the far northern zone, including neighbourhoods such as Alamedas, Santa Mónica Valle Dorado, Arboledas, Pirules and Club de Golf Hacienda. Its possible exclusion is because there is a huge low income zone (San Andrés Atenco) between the urban extension of what is considered the Satélite neighbourhood.

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