Participation and Appropriation of Public Space as a Fundamental Right to the City: Two Case Studies in Merida, Yucatan

Abstract

In this article I examine two important festivals in the city of Merida, Yucatan, in order to analyze the processes of participation and appropriation of public spaces in the urban, neoliberal context. From Merida's recent exponential growth and the tendency of planners to favor privatization and the creation of highly segregated communities and infrastructure, arise a series of pertinent questions: What symbolical value can we give to places, beyond a legal framework, that are held collectively rather than individually? How do we use these kinds of spa ces? Which processes move us closer or farther away from public spaces that, according to thinkers such as Borja and Muxí or even Lefevbre, are fundamental pillars of any city? This article will attempt to elucidate some of the answers to these questions. My approach to these subjects will be founded in the sociospatial elements of the right to the city.