This paper analyses the relation between global city formation, the real estate boom and shifts in urban planning in Mexico City. It shows that the massive influx of (foreign) capital to the real estate sector nourished a construction boom, while the growth of the producer service sector has spurred demand for office spaces. The production of these global city spaces required, however, changes in urban planning. Left-wing governments notwithstanding, instruments of strategic planning have been introduced with the dual goal of make planning faster, more flexible and site-specific, and on the other hand of centralizing decision-making. Both global circuits of knowledge and local pressures on the real estate economy have been the main mechanisms that have induced the changes in urban politics in Mexico City.