Coalitions, agendas, and funding in the public transport arena: exploring urban governance arrangements in two Mexican cities

Abstract

ABSTRACT The paper uses qualitative analysis in the public transport arena to provide a thorough understanding of governing coalitions in Mexican cities and expand Urban Regime Analysis to the context of Mexico. The evidence suggests that Mexican urban regimes are organic-instrumental. In such regimes, private economic interests play a key role; the state government becomes the leading actor, and its collaborative management capabilities become crucial to achieving coalition goals and preserve the alliance between actors. About multilevel governance, the cases show that the differences in the party affiliations of authorities are insignificant for collaboration when an urban regime exists.