Geographic information systems & spatial analysis are drawn on to describe, analyze, & compare the growth, change, & spatial patterns of different districts & areas of Mexico City, based on data on economics, population, & housing gathered for the US-Mexico Database Project from public documents. Particular attention is paid to patterns of urbanization, marriage, fertility, health & mortality rates, migration, environmental & housing concerns, social characteristics, & the relationship between the labor force & corporate structure. Mexico City is divided into 35 distinct spatial clusters that fall into four broad metropolitan areas: an urban core, an inner ring, an expansion zone, & poverty regions. The urban core, the central business district of the city, is surrounded by an inner ring of several zones: zones of maturity, generally of good, but older residences; & zones in situ, which started out with modest housing, but have moved through accretion toward maturity. An expansion zone & poverty regions compose the outer rings of the city. The 1978 national urban economic development plan -- which had as its goal the redistribution of population away from Mexico City, Monterey, & Guadalajara by concentrating industries in different priority zones -- is briefly assessed; its implementation requires adequate evaluation & feedback mechanisms for future adjustment. The plan must also recognize the emerging trend toward more participatory democracy at the local level. A preface accompanies 13 Chpts. 68 Tables, 62 Figures, 148 Maps, 1 Appendix. D.M. Smith