What Are Those Strange Sidewalk Markers In Mexico City?

Wander around Mexico City and you’ll stumble across them in seconds, painted haphazardly across pavements and other pedestrianized areas. Green circles (sometimes squares, sometimes rectangles) of varying sizes with white arrows pointing at a central dot can be seen across Mexico City and the surrounding areas, but why? For Mexico City natives or long-term residents, these inconspicuous and abundant so-called ‘sidewalk markers’ merely blend into the city’s scenery, but visitors are sometimes baffled as to their purpose. Here’s a quick guide to these unusual painted pieces and how they could save your life the next time you’re in Mexico City.
Mexico City is situated on one of the world’s most unstable foundations — the sinking Aztec stronghold of Tenochtitlán — so it’s no surprise that it’s a hotspot for earthquakes. Its reputation as an earthquake zone (Mexico has had over 1000 earthquakes in the past year alone) led to the introduction of a set of safety regulations that included these painted street-side markers in 2002, according to Fabricio Castrejón. Also known as puntos de reunión, they serve to protect and promote safety during times of natural disaster and fires by serving as a predesignated spot where residents of neighboring buildings can gather. However, the positioning and inclusion of these mandated meeting points is down to building owners, not the government.