As of 2010[update], the government recognizes the existence of 191 of the settlements, which cause severe ecological damage with the disappearance of trees, advance of urban sprawl, and in some areas, the digging of septic pits.

[3][4] As the urban sprawl of Mexico City only began to reach this area starting in the mid-twentieth century, much of the former village has retained its provincial streets, older homes and other buildings with façades of reds, whites, blues and other colors, although a number have been converted into other uses such as cafes, restaurants and museums.

Since then, it was used as a barracks for Benito Juárez’s soldiers, a jail, a residence for the Empress Carlota and the site of the Instituto Literario (today the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) .

Today, the house is still the protagonist for a number of local ghost stories; however, its official function is that of a cultural center called the Instituto Javier Barros Sierra.

These donations cover the eight rural “pueblos” in the Ajusco area, traditional barrios and the major apartment complexes in Coapa and San Lorenzo Huipulco as well as Tlalpan center.

The main restaurant offers traditional Mexican dishes with chiles en nogada, cabrito (roast goat), escamoles and duck as specialties.

[3][4] As Tlalpan was the capital of the State of Mexico for six years, a number of constructions related to this function, such as the Casa de Moneda (coin mint) and a government print shop were built and still remain.

All of these are divided into neighborhoods variously called “colonias”, “barrios”, “fraccionamientos” or “unidades habitacionales” with the exception of the Pueblo Rurales area, which also contains eight semi independent villages.

[19] The far northern zones such as Tlalpan Center, Villa Coapa, and Padierna Miguel Hidalgo are urbanized areas where the sprawl of the city has reach, which the southern sections are still rural.

[19] This northern area is crossed by a number of major road arteries such as the Anillo Periférico, Calzada de Tlalpan, Viaducto-Tlalpan, Acoxpa, Division del Norte/Miramontes, which experience extremely heavy traffic during rush hour.

[6] In the urban areas, problems are similar to that in other parts of Mexico City and include carjacking, illegal firearms, muggings, graffiti, deterioration of infrastructure.

[28] The area experiences regular seismic activity, mostly of low intensity, which is believed mostly from small ancient faults reactivated by regional stresses, or by the sinking of the Valley of Mexico.

Most of this is due to the lack of wells, drilling equipment and pipelines to serve local residents, with the city authorities only reserving less than a fifth of its infrastructure budget for works in Tlalpan.

The three main problems in the protected areas is illegal logging, the dumping of trash and rubble, squatting, and the theft of volcanic rock (for building materials).

[32] In Tlalpan, settlements are in Ajusco Medio, Pedregales and Padierna, where the mountainous terrain and/or volcanic rock severely limits the ability to provide services, often leading to residents creating septic pits.

[20] Many settlements have occurred because communal owners of ejidos have illegally sold parts of their land at cheap prices to settlers on the outskirts of the city proper.

The event was initially sponsored by the Cultura Integral Forestal, made up of principally ex employees of the Loreto y Peña Pobre paper factory.

Replanting efforts are focused on the main mountains of the Bosque de Tlalpan as well as the Tenantongo Valley in the same forest, planting mostly holm oak and ash trees.

The Bosque de Tlalpan is filled with pines, oyamel fir, cedars, oaks and eucalyptus trees, which grow on a solidified lava bed.

Cuicuilco was destroyed by a volcanic eruption from Xitle in 100 CE, whose lava flow eventually covered much of the south of the Valley of Mexico, creating what is now called the Pedregales del Sur as well as numerous caves and caverns.

[6] No battle of the Mexican Revolution occurred here, but Zapatista troops passed through, allowing for a historic meeting between Emiliano Zapata and Francisco Villa in Tlalpan.

With the construction of the Jardines de Pedregal by Luis Barragán and the Ciudad Universitaria by Mario Pani, the city began to grow in that direction.

[6] In the 1990s, borough authorities warned that there was no more space in Tlalpan suitable for development and that preservation of the ecological areas needed to be primary as most of the territory is mountainous, with delicate forests and meadows.

[20] The Festival Ollin Jazz Tlalpan Internacional is a series of concerts which has hosted artists such as Enrique Neri, Eugenio Toussaint, Agustín Bernal, Bill McHenry, Brian Allen and Héctor Infanzón.

Just outside the archeological zone of Cuicuilco is the Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli (Movement and Life), where professional classes in music and dance are offered.

Heroes de Padierna is a lower-class neighborhood and the pool is aimed at attracting children and youths, charging only a small fee, in order to provide alternative recreation and sporting opportunities for families with few resources.

In addition, to the online resources, students from the campus can also complete their social service requirement for graduation by tutoring in rural schools in the borough.

[3][4] Near Cuiculco there is the Villa Olímpica which was constructed in 1968, and a zone with sculptures called the Ruta de la Amistad (Friendship Route), created for the Cultural Olympics of 1968.

[71] Parres el Guarda was founded in the middle of the 19th century as a rail town, when the line connecting Mexico City and Cuernavaca was built.

[72] San Andrés Totoltepec was founded in 1548, when the lands in this area were taken from their indigenous owners and the residents moved to the new village, with its church whose current structure was built in the 18th century.