Traversing the City. Mobility and the Subjective Experience of Space by Household Employees in Bogotá

Abstract

Domestic workers are a vital element of Latin American urban society. Focusing on the lives and experiences of household employees in Bogotá, Colombia, this article examines the interrelation between space and socioeconomic differences in the urban context. More specifically, we explore female domestic workersÍ€™ Í€œproduction of spaceÍ€ (Lefebvre, 1991), specifically analyzing how they use, experience, and intervene in the urban space. By following household employees in their trajectories, the project illuminates how space is stratified, how the women experience the space, and how spatial, social, and economic dimensions interact with each other to impact their lives and mobility possibilities. The research shows how spatial and socioeconomic mobility is put into practice and negotiated daily, not only in the city itself but also through extensions of time and space beyond the urban sphere.