ABSTRACT
Clara Irazábal and her contributors explore the urban history of some of Latin America’s great cities through studies of their public spaces and what has taken place there. The avenues and plazas of Mexico City, Havana, Santo Domingo, Caracas, Bogotaì, SaÞo Paulo, Lima, Santiago, and Buenos Aires have been the backdrop for extraordinary, history-making events. While some argue that public spaces are a prerequisite for the expression, representation and reinforcement of democracy, they can equally be used in the pursuit of totalitarianism. Indeed, public spaces, in both the past and present, have been the site for the contestation by ordinary people of various stances on democracy and citizenship. By exploring the use and meaning of public spaces in Latin American cities, this book sheds light on contemporary definitions of citizenship and democracy in the Americas.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|109 pages
Cities, Democracies and Powers
chapter Chapter 2|24 pages
Political Appropriation of Public Space: Extraordinary Events in the Zócalo of Mexico City
chapter Chapter 3|25 pages
Reinventing the Void: São Paulo's Museum of Art and Public Life along Avenida Paulista
chapter Chapter 4|19 pages
A Memorable Public Space: The Plaza of the Central Station in Santiago de Chile
chapter Chapter 6|18 pages
The Plaza de Bolívar of Bogotá: Uniqueness of Place, Multiplicity of Events
part II|104 pages
Place, Citizenship and Nationhood