Conflicts in public space and construction of otherness: a comparison between neighborhoods in Milan and Barcelona

Abstract

Contemporary cities see the presence of conflicts around quality of life, social control of space, relations with different urban populations and the cohesion of local communities. In some cases this cal lead to practices and discourses of exclusion towards those that are perceived as “others”, specially in relation to the use and appropriation of public spaces. Moving from ethnographic data, the article analyses the relation between established residents and immigrants in the contention over the use of public spaces in two neighbourhoods in the city of Milan and Barcelona. Highlighting how "autochthonous" residents frame immigrants' presence, the article compares the role of local authorities in the management of public psace and the cohabitation between different groups.