Débat sur la métropole transfrontalière : une remise en cause à partir du cas Tijuana/San Diego

Abstract

The population settled in the Mexico/States United border is concentrated on binational couples of adjacent cities. In this article the proposition that these urban couples do not shape a “transborder metropolis” is developed. What exists among them is an intense interaction generated by the stimuli that arise from the fact of belonging to different national economic formations. If the inter-urban interaction grows along with the inter-countries differences, this interaction is expression of divergence among the cities on both sides of the border. To develop this proposition this text present, first, the visions of those who defend the transborder metropolis idea on society, region, and metropolis aspects, and then it develops critics on those visions and presents empiric evidence that sustain the critics. This analysis uses the couple of cities Tijuana and San Diego as an example since it constitutes the most conspicuous case because both urban areas have concentrated more population on each side of the entire border and have received more attention in the literature. The evidence suggests that we are facing two adjacent but different urban units.

Keywords

• border
• city
• metropolis