Periferia Mexicana: Mapas y Representación Social

Abstract

Introduction: The interest of the present work is focused in Social Identity (si) and Social Representations (sr) result of the analysis of mental maps, with the purpose of explaining the cognitive structure of three peripheral districts of two main Mexican metropolises. The SR are considered as socially developed knowledge, passed on by means of social communication. Methodology: Theoretical elements about socio-spatial differentiation, SI and SR, are initially presented. Subsequently, a description of the growth in the metropolitan areas of Mexico City and Monterrey during the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st is given in order to place three particular peripheral districts where instruments, that include mental maps, were applied. Results: The creation of social networks helped an illegally created district to be legally consolidated in the Mexican capital. In Monterrey, a formerly agricultural district presents connections between antiquity, identity and housing. However, the mental maps reveal and enclosing wall that isolate it from the enclosed compound whose inhabitants think it is “quiet and safe.” Conclusions: Identities and representations bounded to settlement and tranquility are identified in the studied districts, while in popular districts the urban imaginary has symbolic bases product of communitarian bonds; in private districts the imaginary revolves around confinement, either out of fear of violence or for the desire to stand out.