Understanding Streetscape Design and Temporary Appropriation in Latin American Cities: The Case of Mexico City Centre

Abstract

Mumford (1938) claims that among the physical spaces where the human inborn need to interact occur (town, village, and the city) the city, above all else represents the theatre of social action. The creation of environments that support social interaction in places is therefore a fundamental aim of urban design (Mehta 2013). Mumford's aforementioned definition suggests the existence of a dialog between people and physical space or environment, which is spatialised through people's activities occurring in the space. This dialog has been defined differently over time through expressions such as street ballet by Jacobs (1961) or the space of contact by Choay (2001), which capture the idea of a space where all the different social encounters happen i.e. people playing, walking, sitting on a table drinking a coffee, etc. According to Anderson (Anderson 1986b) the expectation of daily human contact that public space offers is unique. When public spaces do not allow this contact, one of the possible risks is the rise of alienation, which contributes to social stress, space neglecting and crime rates rise. Moreover, since motor vehicles have taken over most of the street space the only place where the street ballet occurs is on the sidewalks. Over time, the street has proved to be a spatial typology able to accomplish the role of public space (Mehta 2013). This accomplishment is reflected on the meaning of public space which is given by society and it is generated through urban design, planning and management; but more important it is produced through the use and appropriation by the users. The street as a spatial element of the city is versatile and susceptible to be transformed. Also when its use is constrained, the street can still host a high degree of activities and variety of uses, it can be reshaped and its boundaries redefined. Even though the citizens

Temporary Appropriation of Public Space As an Emergence Assemblage for the Future Urban Landscape: The Case of Mexico City

“…In total, 32 photographs were taken along Moneda St; the starting point was in the corner with Seminario St. next to the Zocalo (main square) and the end point was in EJE 6 av. Visual complexity (VC) analysis in conjunction with a TA observation method is one of the more practical ways to study the urban assemblage ( Rapoport, 2005;Salazar Trujillo, 2010;Gutierrez de Velasco Romo and Padilla Lozano, 2012;Lara-Hernandez, Melis and Caputo, 2017;Lara-Hernandez, Melis and Lehmann, 2018). The diversity of temporary appropriations is calculated using the Shannon-Weiner diversity index, which the formula comes as follows: H' = -∑piIn in which pi = 1/log S (S = total number of elements).…”

“…Figures 1 and 2 illustrate how activities related to the economy, which are extended from the place of working into the public realm (street), are an example of TA (Moudon, 1991;Monnet, 1995;Crossa, 2009Crossa, , 2016Loukaitou-Sideris and Ehrenfeucht, 2009;Vázquez and Tapia Quevedo, 2011;Kim, 2013; de la Torre, 2015; Lara-Hernandez, Melis and Caputo, 2017). Figures 3 and 4 illustrate people carrying out leisure activities, which are certainly a type of activity related to TA (Drummond, 2000;Groth and Corijn, 2005;MacDonald and Shildrick, 2007;Hernandez Mendo and Morales Sanchez, 2008;Lehmann, 2009;Díaz Larrañaga, Grassi and Mainini, 2011;Simpson, 2011;Mouffe, 2012Mouffe, , 2014Seaman and McLaughlin, 2014;Lara-Hernandez, Melis and Caputo, 2017). Moreover, TA is also manifested through religious activities ( Figure 5).…”

Temporary appropriation and urban informality: Exploring the subtle distinction

“…Appropriation is a broad term, and the majority of the literature on the general theme of appropriation refers to it as a lasting and consistent condition (Díaz and Ortiz, 2003;Ramirez-Lovering, 2008;Ardura Urquiaga, 2014). Appropriation which occurs only temporarily, specifically including actions and events which take place within public spaces, and non-permanent, daily or extemporaneous instances of appropriation, has received less critical attention (Fonseca Rodriguez, 2015;Lara-Hernandez, Melis and Caputo, 2017).…”

“…Graumann (1976) notes that the appropriation of public space is a medium and a goal in order to overcome human alienation, whilst Lara-Hernandez and Melis (2018) argue that TA is the ephemeral and time framed appropriation of the urban environment reflecting an individual, social, and spatial need. Lara-Hernandez, Melis and Caputo (2017) argue that TA can also be defined as the interaction between citizens and their city expressed through certain kinds of activities occurring in public spaces. Drawing upon the literature they identify three groups of activities that can be considered as expressions of TA.…”

Understanding the temporary appropriation in relationship to social sustainability

“…Thus, while appropriation is a broader term, its temporary variation refers more specifically to public spaces. Although there is conspicuous literature on the more general theme of appropriation, a phenomenon that refers to a lasting and consistent condition over the years (Díaz and Ortiz, 2003;Ramirez-Lovering, 2008;Ardura Urquiaga, 2014) and, even if less, on TA, that refers to non-permanent, daily or extemporaneous appropriation (Fonseca Rodriguez, 2015;Lara-Hernandez, Melis and Caputo, 2017). The accent in the latter has always been placed on the informality of this action.…”