Monterrey, like other major Mexican cities, rapidly expanded outward during the end of the 20th century. New policies favored investment in new suburban neighborhoods, attracting residents and businesses to the periphery, and provoking several decades of insecurity and population decline. City streets emptied, unused public spaces fell into disarray and drug-related criminality tore at the social fabric of local communities.
In 2010, Tecnológico de Monterrey (Tec), Monterrey’s historic and prestigious university, reached a crossroads when two students were killed right outside the university’s gates. This was a turning point for the university and Monterrey. Tec’s response to the tragedy would eventually shape the fate of the city; it laid the groundwork for a new model of dense and mixed-use city planning and design that would draw people back to the city center.