an integrated territorial approach to the development of those policy areas would require that different elements be taken into account such as the alignment of spatial and land use planning with transportation objectives and investments and environmental strategies for example the development of a brt network is promising yet too often remains divorced from broader urban planning efforts the use of the metropolitan fund could be improved to serve metropolitanwide challenges and advance crosssectoral integrated solutions to them from transportation to environmental and spatial planning issues effective governance at the metropolitan level can reduce policy fragmentation and raise the productivity of cities it can also provide the right conditions to take advantage of agglomeration effects from its proximity to mexico city how governments regulate land use and address public and private investment how competencies are allocated across levels of government and how land use is taxed is critical