Zoning laws are the structural backbone of the United States. They define community areas for living, working and recreation and have been a major cause of segregated neighborhoods. If, for example, a neighborhood is zoned for houses that cost over a half a million dollars that fact alone restricts who may live there. Gated communities shut people out. Suburbs are for people owning cars while those without cars are left to find affordable housing near the city centers. Etcetra.

The situation is very different in Mexico. To be truthful I do not know if there are zoning laws in Mexico. There may be and it may be that they are simply ignored or perhaps there are none. In either case the result is the same: a walk down the street in my neighborhood is a very different experience than in a similar neighborhood in the States.

I live in a small town with a relatively low incidence of real poverty. Veracruz is one of the more prosperous states in Mexico owing to its oil production and shipping industry and Coatepec has prospered as a center for coffee production. My street is shaped like a “u” with two ways to enter (or exit). Some of the two story houses appear to be second homes for people from Mexico City or the port city of Veracruz. Others are small rental houses. And the rest of us own our homes and live in them. But this street could never be mistaken for one in the States because, as it is without zoning ordinances, the street is a jumble of constant activity Unlike most neighborhoods in Mexico here the house fronts are not hidden behind tall brick or adobe walls. Instead the houses are protected by see-through iron gates or even no gates. This allows us to greet our neighbors as we come and go and to keep en eye on each other’s house. I, however, not only keep an eye out for my neighbors but also for all the chickens, goats, dogs and the occasional horse that wander around here. The vacant lot at the end of the block is home to a small herd of goats and it is such fun to watch them prancing about. They climb onto the large boulders lying about and perch there each with its own chosen look-out spot. The chickens here are so colorful sporting iridescent colors of blue, black, burgundy and green with feathers covering even their legs. They roam in and out of everyone’s yard with never a second glance at the dogs that also abound. It is a dog, however, that is more likely to wake you up in the morning with its barking rather than a rooster. How did these two different creatures, usually considered to be enemies, learn to live together in peace?

Dogs may well outnumber people! They move in packs yet each one seems to either have a home to return to in the evening or has, at least, a part of the sidewalk staked out as his/her own territory, a small sunny spot perfect for a nap. Since the abundance of cars in this town is a rather new phenomena people and animals alike roam the streets without paying much attention to the danger of cars. I have frequently had to break suddenly as people leave a small grocery shop tucked inside a smaller house and walk directly into the street without even a sideway glance to see if a car is coming. As evening falls the streets become an outdoor living room. Girls cluster together chatting and giggling as they notice a boy’s attention, boys play soccer, men hang around shooting the breeze and women set up street-side food stands. A person in a car simply does not have the right of way!

As a matter of fact I often think that my street reflects life in Mexico in miniature. One can see the chaos of people, animals, obstacles, and cars all vying for space on the same narrow street dotted with potholes yet amid all the chaos things miraculously seem to work.
People enjoy their individuality, no one gets hurt and life goes on.