Self-built stairs – such as these in Ecatepec – are one of the most successful adaptations made by communities in hilly neighbourhoods. All photographs: Feike de Jong

Tattoos are a central part of cholo gang culture: signs of status, identity and membership. Here, tattoo artists in Valle de Chalco compare tattoos with the leader of the Valle Psycho

This car in la Colonia Federal, a neighbourhood close to the airport, is an example of Mexico’s at times flashy tradition of automotive painting

This hillside area, ironically known as Urbanistas, is considered to be one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the Sierra de Guadalupe. It has only one entrance route, making it easy to control from within and very difficult for police to drive into unseen

Garbage dumps, such as this one in Chimalhuacán, are a standard feature of the edge of the megacity. When they are eventually swallowed by the city they can become prime sites for redevelopment

Malls play an important role in the city’s periphery where there is little public space. Here a worker cleans an infinity pool of the Cúspide mall in Naucalpan on the wealthier western side of Mexico City

Half-finished public works, such as this overpass in Cuauhtitlan, are typical of the edge of the megacity, where projects are often aborted as political administrations change or budgets run out

These stones in Tecamac seem to have been placed to stop people from using the concrete surface

Mexico City is in many ways a religious city, as is evinced by this Virgin painted in a vacant lot in Chimalhuacán. This area is now completely changed, a reminder that many areas on the edge of the city are construction sites rather than finished neighbourhoods

The inhabitants of the periphery of Mexico City often have surprising construction skills. When seen from a distance, neighbourhoods seem to have a dismal sameness; yet up close individuality and variety can abound. The rebar sticking out at the top of this building in Atenco shows that another storey is still being planned

Houses creep up the hills of the Sierra de Guadalupe in Ecatepec. The cost of pumping water uphill makes such neighbourhoods expensive for authorities to maintain

The triangular neighbourhood at the back of the picture – another hillside site with few entrace points – is another of Greater Mexico City’s most dangerous neighbourhoods, La Presa in Ecatepec

Cockfights are fairly common in rural and semirural areas on the edge of the city, such as Tláhuac, and good fighting cocks can be valuable. The roosters here are kept in separate pens, giving the ranch its singular appearance

The city centre seen from La Caldera volcano in La Paz. The bright lights are the headlights of cars driving back to the city’s poorer eastern periphery as they come back from work in central parts of the megalopolis