Valor de uso y espacio urbano: la ciudad como eje central de la conformación política, cultural y simbólica de las sociedades

Abstract

This article outlines a theoretical proposal intended to understand the concept of use value applied to the study of the city and the urban space, in their origins and development. Based on Henri Lefebvre's views, the main argument of this work is that the city initially arises as use value. According to Bolívar Echeverría and Gilbert Durand approaches, the article claims that use value not only is material, signic and semiotic, but also symbolic. It is argued that the symbolic plays a crucial role in the construction of cities, just as important as economy and politics. A case study is carried out with the aim of suggesting a concurrence of theoretical interpretations ranging from historical materialism to symbolic hermeneutics. The author concludes that the city and the ordering of its urban space are major hubs around which societies are organized.