The notion of public space and the shaping of the city: A framework for the stories of loss, civility and dispute

Abstract

As any social construct, the notion of public space is the result of a socio-historical process; its definition is diverse, and according to its use it is appropriate for the identification of different situations. In this paper we review the different notions of public space in its communicative dimension and describe the elements of correspondence in the built city. This exercise arises as a comprehensive framework to situate a proposal of organization of current discourses through which urban discourses understand and act upon the city. It discusses the identification of a discourse of public space as a lost space, of public space as construction of civility and of public space as a space of control and dispute. It concludes stating the importance of uncovering these discourses and the adequacy of using the narrative of dispute and control to analyze recent social struggles.