| Sumario: | One of the main objetives of the Mexican National Program of Urban Development for the 1990-1994 period is "the transformation of the territorial pattern of human settlements" in Mexico. In this article, it is claimed that the aforementioned objetive of national urban policy is based on two fallacies that have been recognized for some years now: 1) that it is possible to regulate or control the territorial expansion of urban populations and 2) that a homogeneus urban hierarchy can facilitate economic development. On the basis of the conclusions of various studies on the distribution of cites by size, the author claims that the growth of the cities is not a variable relevant to urban policy and that, probably, the least effective mechanism for achieving demographic deconcertation would be direct intervention.In this article, the author analyzes the relationship between growth rates and the sizes of cities to determine what kind of cities are the most dynamic ones in terms of their demographic growth during the 1940-1980 period. Based onthe hypothesis that the national urban hierarchy is a system marked by steady growth, several different regression and variance analyses are effected reaching the conclusion that, in effect, the proporcionality of the urban hierarchy is maintained during the period under review. This finding contradicts the widespread belief that in Mexico, as of 1970, there has been a process of "metropolitanization" and of "growth of intermediate cities". More than a process of urbanization or urban development, the proliferation of "intermediate" cities represents a phenomenon of demographic growth.
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