Cancún Chosen by Computer Models

Cancun did not exist as a city until 1970, when the Mexican government decided to build a new resort destination along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Officials used early computer models to analyze potential locations and selected the narrow barrier island where Cancun now stands. At the time, the area had only three residents living there. The government then launched a massive development project that transformed the empty coastline into one of the world’s most famous tourist cities.

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