The courtyard of a recently restored Mexico City vecindad, decorated for the annual Day of the Dead celebrations.
Photographer: Alejandro Cegarra/BloombergDesign
How Mexico City’s Vecindades Became Homes for the Working Class
The grandiose buildings were originally inhabited by European aristocracy, but their central courtyards later turned into spaces for communal living.
(This article is part of our ongoing series exploring the iconic home designs that shaped global cities. Read more from the series and sign up to get the next story sent directly to your inbox.)
In Spanish, the word “vecindad” means neighborhood — neutral and nonspecific.
In Mexico, though, it also means something else: a kind of tenement where individual apartments encircle a central patio, and residents often share facilities such as bathrooms and kitchens.