Expansion and urban planning in tourism policy contexts. The case of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, 1980-2012

In the last decade of the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st century, Mexico's fastest growing cities were sun and beach tourist sites, including Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, were public policies in tourism since 1974 enhanced growth both physically and in terms of population, as consequence of immigration attracted by the jobs associated with leisure activities. This article aimstostudythe urban planning instruments thatwere employed to shape the growth of the city and their effectiveness. It concludes that such urban development plans were not sufficient for an accelerated population growth, with great demand for urban land, which caused the disordered growth of the city; a large part of itwas built illegally as a result of invasions of public lands.