General Plan

The downtown section lies between Constitution Square and Chapultepec Park—a span of about three miles (4.8 km) northeast-southwest. Its heart is Constitution Square, better known as the Zócalo, which occupies part of the central site and ceremonial center of the Aztec capital. The main business district lies immediately to the west. The Alameda Central, or Alameda, a park dating from colonial times, is in this area.

From the Alameda southwestward to Chapultepec Park runs a two-mile (3.2-km) section of one of the world's most beautiful boulevards, the Paseo de la Reforma. It is a broad, tree-lined thoroughfare, dotted by monuments at traffic circles. Along the Reforma are modern office buildings, foreign embassies, and fashionable shops, hotels, and restaurants.

The western and southern parts of the city contain the main residential sections, the western part being the wealthiest. Industrial districts, poorer residential areas, and slums make up much of the northern and eastern sections.