Concealing Reproductive Tasks: An Inequality Genotype for Middle-Income Housing in Mexico

Abstract

The social behavior of people is reflected through spatial configurations. Traditionally, reproductive work and caregiving tasks have been spatially assigned by gender and often go unnoticed. With the rise of middle-income housing in Mexico, an important question arises: how do these housing layouts integrate reproductive and care tasks, particularly in kitchens and laundry areas? To investigate this, the paper focuses on five Mexican cities known for significant middle-income housing production—Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Querétaro, and Toluca—and selected 25 case studies consisting of five model homes from each city. By applying space syntax and the Justified plan graph, the paper mathematically and graphically analyses these homes to map spatial inequalities. The findings reveal that laundry areas have a low integration, similar to bathrooms. On the other hand, public and private spaces meet in kitchen, leading to better gender integration.