Planning for the sake of the plan: An exploration of the implementability of sustainable, smart, and resilient city models in Monterrey, Mexico

This article analyzes the integration of the sustainable, smart, and resilient city models into Monterrey, Mexico’s metropolitan and municipal urban policy covering the period from 2000 to 2040. Drawing on a review of four urban development plans and one urban resilience plan, the article traces how these models have become increasingly embedded in official urban policy without engaging with institutional and governance conditions necessary for their implementation. Using the concept of planning for the sake of the plan, we argue that metropolitan and municipal planning in Monterrey reflects a broader performative logic, in which the production of plans serves as a symbolic demonstration of alignment with international urban models rather than a driver of concrete local change, making the plan an end in itself. The persistency of limited implementability across successive plans is interpreted as a consistent pattern over time. To conclude, we call for a shift from planning for the sake of the plan to planning for measurable urban transformation.