Public Space Praxis: Cultural Capacity and Political Efficacy in Latina/o Placemaking

Abstract

Public space has increasingly become a critical issue in American urbanism. This article examines how the act of Latina/o identity formation in public spaces of American metropolises contain the possibility of new democratic formations. The evidence of Latino/a heritage and culture in spatial interventions, appropriations and practices are a type of place-making activity. This identity-based spatial practice harnesses public participation and carves out spaces for democratic interventions in the city. By focusing on the value of culture as a political capacity, Rios exposes a set of case studies centered around three types of spaces-adaptive, assertive, and negotiative-along a continuum to discuss different ways Latina/ os make group claims in the city and whereupon cultural identity becomes a usable resource for community development practice and local urban policy. The use, access to, and control of public space is, and always has been, political. In recent years, struggles over public space have become a battleground for issues related to terrorism, anti-immigration, and xenophobia, among other confl icts. With respect to the regulation of urban space, manifestations of these antagonisms include gang injunctions, curfew laws, the criminalization of undocumented renters, and government designated "free speech" zones. This is in addition to less obvious forms of exclusion defi ned by privatization, class and cultural markers of who can claim public space. The topic of public space (as a domain, realm, or sphere) has been extensively discussed and includes, among others, the effects of global capitalism and the privatization of space, consumption, and cultural identity (Harvey 1989

The ‘Occupy’ Movement: Emerging Protest Forms and Contested Urban Spaces

“…The Occupy Wall Street demonstration touched off an 'Occupy Movement' that produced solidarity protests in major U.S. cities and over 80 countries around the world (Karimi and Sterling 2011). These protests highlight the inherently political character of the distribution and use of space in urban settings (Rios 2009, Swyngedouw 2009. As stewards of public spaces, planners can learn from the way in which the Occupy Movement challenged the use of public spaces and the precedent it has set for future urban protests.…”

Planning the Barrio: Ethnic Identity and Struggles over Transit-oriented, Development-Induced Gentrification

“…-Chicano Park artist and activist Chicano Park is a public space with significant symbolic and cultural meaning to the Latino community in Southern California (Rios 2009). It is a public space located in Barrio Logan, a neighborhood in San Diego.…”

“…Activists in the barrio protested the highway patrol facility and reclaimed the space as a community park for the Latino community. Chicano Park now represents a cultural symbol of self-determination for Chicanos in Southern California and a physical expression of Latino identity via murals and activist public space (Rios 2009).…”

Foundational Knowledge and Skills in Community Development: A Comparison of Educator Perspectives

“…More recently, a number of scholars have identified insurgent forms of planning and design outside of formal processes, professional roles, and sanctioned citizen participation. A focus on community-driven placemaking, grassroots action, novel forms of community engagement, a challenge to dominant institutions and problematizing universal conceptions of the public characterize much of this work (Hou and Rios 2003; Miraftab 2009; Rios 2009; Sandoval 2018).…”