Syncopated Tensions and Paradoxical Narratives on Public Space in a Border City

Abstract

In the city of Mexicali, Mexico, there is an area characterized by exposing the tensions between those who project and endow the city with public spaces, in front of whoever uses them and transforms them. Known as Rio Nuevo, this area is also identified for its dilated and unfinished development. This article deals with the concepts of allocation and appropriation, using two local places as study cases, where certain socio-spatial practices are recorded through ethnographic fieldwork; the observation is complemented by the urban-architectural analysis. The Plaza Centenario and the FEX (Fair, Events and Exhibitions Center) access square, both on holidays and daily life, are borderlands characterized by their contrasts: modernity and abandonment; institutionality and informality.