ABSTRACT
Here we combine quantitative and qualitative data to argue that those subjectivities operate in intimate connection with the urban fabric of Santiago. Our evidence points to the awareness of upper middle-class individuals of the difference between the area in which they live and other parts of the city, a situation often referred to as ‘living in a bubble’. In that regard, socialisation of political subjectivities operates in connection with forms of self-segregation. We provide evidence of the associations between residential belonging and political orientations, and the ways in which choice is exercised through mechanisms of control of diversity or enactment of symbolic boundaries. We also show how our interviewees deal with the costs of inhabiting somewhat homogeneous environments, acknowledging the value and risks involved in inhabiting segregated areas. Urban practices are expressed as ways of reducing the effects of a class-skewed socialisation. In other words, urban socialisation would be a valid way of diminishing the effect of living in the bubble. Interestingly, no other more explicitly political ways of combatting segregation are mentioned, with the focus being on the strategies that families can adopt using their own resources.
