Colonial period and independence

During the Spanish colonial era (late 15th century – early 19th century) and the first century of independent Mexico (early 19th century – early 20th century), the then town of Santa Fe had an open landscape of sand mining activity, which was divided between the towns of Santa Fe, Santa Lucia, San Mateo and San Pedro in Cuajimalpa.

Santa Fe was situated along the route of the former royal road connecting Tacubaya to Toluca. This road was located on the present-day avenue that is known by the name of Cuajimalpa Arteaga and Salazar, traversing the Sierra de las Cruces mountains and continuing by the current route of the federal interstate highway that connects Mexico City to Toluca. During the Porfiriato era, a steam tramline was built on the former royal road, which at first ended at Santa Fe, and later expanded to La Venta, Cuajimalpa, and San Ángel. Several trees were removed during the construction of the tramline towards San Ángel.

1930s and 1940s

The presence of sandbanks in the area was exploited in the 1930s to feed the growing construction industry in Mexico City. The extraction of sand had the unfortunate consequence of creating a deep trench in the landscape, almost 4 km long by 2 km wide and in some places up to 100 meters in depth.

A number of other land usage problems surfaced during this time period.

• The diversion of the Tacubaya River during construction of the federal highway to Toluca, meant that no water source was left available to supply the river that feeds the area of Lomas, through the natural flow of water and drainage of the area by gravity.
• Abrupt changes in ground level meant that the area had very limited potential for road building, as there was a natural barrier north of the neighborhoods that were being constructed, ravines were present to the east and west, and the Desert of the Lions national park was located to the south.
• As construction was taking place above a solid bedrock, the lack of natural drainage meant that potable water lines that were introduced were in danger of becoming contaminated by leachate that could not be removed from the soil. It was difficult to introduce artificial drainage lines due to the mechanical weakness of the soil. Also, soil settlements were in danger of rupturing and further increasing soil pollution, which led to gases being released every so often.

1950s

In 1953, after a derailment where several were killed in what is now the colony's Ocote Cuajimalpa, electric train service was withdrawn. the old royal road to Toluca already had by then strong competition from road federal Toluca, which runs along the west ridge which had to be stopped to avoid the collapse of the road. Today, in the south of the Calle 16 de Septiembre, one can see the outline of the path that requires them to leave the eastern ridge bordering the area and who once was a slum called Romita. This right of way gave rise to the Avenida Tamaulipas which connects with the road from Santa Lucia and the avenue Vasco de Quiroga.

1960s

In the 1960s, sand deposits became difficult to exploit because reinforcement of the walls became increasingly difficult and costly, so the mine owners began to sell the mines to the Federal District, which used it as landfill. Contrary to what is said, from the northern edge of Santa Fe Shopping Center to the area of the colony was used as Pena Blanca dump, even on the side of Cuajimalpa with tunnels that cross to walk of Tamarind. It was a mess that was duly closed and locked when President José López Portillo built his residential complex in the place popularly known as "Dog Hill.

1970s

In the early 1970s, an urban development plan was created for the area, which would be built in an industrial zone in the area to provide jobs to locals and develop import substitution, between what is planned consider creating the social rehabilitation center west "Ceres" like those built in the north, south and west of Mexico City. This plan did not consider the construction of residential areas as it was anticipated the weak capacity to carry water or drainage out of the area. This even had to be ratified by the boards of neighbors from the surrounding towns.

1980s

In the 1980s, most landfills had been closed and building construction had begun.

In 1982, the Universidad Iberoamericana was built on land donated by the Santa Fe unity government, marking the change from industrial land usage to the development of a residential area of great economic importance.

1990s

During the administration of President Salinas de Gortari (1988–1994), the mayor of the city, Manuel Camacho Solís, and his colleagues devised a project that in theory would be similar to the edge city of La Défense in Paris, which would be located on existing landfills. A major risk due to building on existing landfills was the spread of contaminated water that would slip into Mexico City's water supply. Modern building techniques had to be initiated to spread several flattened layers of sand over millions of tons of garbage. To safely build upon the landfill, the City created a modern Master Program which the government and investors regulate.

It is in this decade that a construction boom began with the arrival of the Santa Fe Mall. At this time and under the authority of Manuel Camacho Solís, evictions were issued to the dwellers of Romita and other neighborhoods. Most of the dwellers have resettled in the San Jose neighborhood at Cuajimalpa. Through this avenue there is access to Tamaulipas and there started the construction of the toll highway Mexico-Toluca, which was to be extended on the outskirts of the city to reach the highway to Cuernavaca.

As a result of the 1994 economic crisis in Mexico, the master plan was halted and it was not until 2000 when the first phase of Santa Fe City was reinstated. Another of Santa Fe's original projects was cancelled, the so-called "Mountain Meadows Park", as the West Alameda Park; there are three other Alameda Parks in the northern, eastern, and southern parts of Mexico City.

2000s

The inadequate road infrastructure, energy, hydro power, which was originally planned for a residential zone, and residents, generated active participation in solving their basic problems, so they propose and manage a new organization where they create a sort of government procedure in which a special item given: the GDF without telling borough governments, leading to coordination problems. For example, for drinking water can not connect to networks and to get their Cuajimalpa sewage cannot connect to networks of Álvaro Obregón and no treatment plant exists in proximity. Hence the new Government of Mexico City "GDF" has presented proposals for solution, as a road tunnel that starts from the Roma to City Santa Fe, which fail to be viable the high economic investment.

For those circumstances, in 2011, the possibility of creating a new office in the area is considered. The new borough of Mexico City was seen more as a way of validating the almost self-government in the area for the trust that manages it because the proposal covers only residential and commercial areas of high economic level, excluding the low level found on its periphery, which are part of the problem, since that is where are the roads and networks that feed the area.

Public transportation

As far as public transportation, there are pesero minibuses and regular public buses. The Ecobus connects Santa Fe (terminal at Centro Santa Fe) with Metro Balderas in downtown Mexico City^[15] and another route to Metro Miguel Ángel de Quevedo.^[16] Additionally, other buses connect to Metro Tacubaya and Metro La Villa-Basílica.^[17]

The area will be connected by the El Insurgente commuter rail system with a station located next to Centro Santa Fe.^[1] The construction has been met with delays;^[18] on September 15, 2023, the first section from Zinacantepec to Lerma opened, with four trains initially running on the section.^[19]