[Encolpius]

I lived there for three years. Don’t be dissuaded, but come and make up your own mind. Much of what Crawford says is true, and the Covid measures on public transport sound typically idiotic. His larger point, that Mexico City is ‘dysfunctional’ in ways most first-world cities are not, is hard to argue. But most people there don’t drive, and Mexico City is only actually difficult to get around in by private automobile. Most upper-middle-class residents feel as Crawford’s wife does about public transit. Hence their neighborhoods (some, not all) can be as car-oriented as Crawford describes. But if you can stand the noise and jostling on public transport and take the occasional taxi or Uber after the metro closes, you won’t have much trouble getting anywhere you’d want to go.

As for walkability, honestly. At the neighborhood level I’ve never lived anywhere that was more pleasant to walk around. Aesthetically it’s not Paris or Buenos Aires, but: great climate, lots of trees, amazing street life. Chilangos really live much of their life outside, in public, and they’ve made public spaces that are beautiful and well-inhabited. Lots of small parks, cafes, ubiquitous street food, and plenty of quiet streets in between the busy arterials. And it’s much easier to get around on a bicycle now than it used to be, from what I hear.