Since the signing of the “Pact for Mexico” (Pacto por México) in December 2012, Mexico has undertaken an ambitious, cross-cutting structural reform agenda – encompassing labour, fiscal, financial, energy, education and telecommunications reforms – that is aimed at boosting the country’s competitiveness and economic growth. Housing and urban policy is considered a priority within this reform agenda. The authorities seek to reduce the housing deficit that affects roughly 31% of Mexican households and to correct the inefficient development patterns of recent decades. This new approach to housing and urban policy differs from those of the recent past by shifting from quantitative objectives for housing to a more qualitative focus on housing and the urban environment. These objectives are made explicit in the National Housing Programme for 2014-18, which aims to: i) provide decent housing for Mexicans; ii) responsibly address the housing gap; iii) transition toward a smarter, more sustainable urban development model; and iv) improve inter-institutional co-ordination. The National Urban Development Programme (Programa Nacional de Desarrollo Urbano 2014-2018, PNDU), released in parallel, includes objectives to control urban sprawl, promote well-being and sustainable mobility, and avoid the development of irregular and informal settlements, among others.