ABSTRACT
Structural changes at the end of the century tend to concentrate particularly in large metropolitan spaces, turning them into the main scenes of the struggle between emerging global trends and the revival of local identities. In the 1990s, the restructuring of those spaces—within the context of privatization, deregulation, and economic liberalization—has meant that factors external to the metropolis and its country have tended to supercede domestic factors, potentially causing considerable loss of control over the economic, social, and territorial processes that develop in these urban spaces. For instance, fragmentation and urban segregation do not develop only because of social divisions or urban planning, but because urban spaces are unevenly incorporated into the global network. Poorly integrated sectors, neighborhoods, or municipalities coexist with modern, globalized, specialized, and competitive urban fragments.
