ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the Mexico Database Project including its background, discusses the methodology used in the book, presents base maps that are used throughout the volume, describes the Mexico Megacity Geographic Information System (GIS), enumerates variables used in analyses and indicates their source, and presents a preliminary discussion of the 30 variable cluster analysis. The Mexico Database Project is a computerized GIS on the states, municipios, and delegaciones of Mexico. In addition to variables and time periods presented, the Mexico Database Project contains a substantially larger computerized database on Mexico and Mexico Megacity. While analysis of the internal structure of Latin American megacities is slim, there are enough similarities among various theoretical perspectives and research endeavors examining them to suggest hypotheses that need to be tested, variables that should be included in the analysis, and methodologies having utility in such research.
