Old and new migrant women in Ca n’Anglada: Public spaces, identity and everyday life in the metropolitan region of Barcelona

Abstract

The use and appropriation of public spaces is one of the fundamental aspects to be taken into account in research on the daily lives of the men and women who live in cities. This experience is not the same for everybody since factors such as sex, age, social class and ethnic and cultural identity affect the way in which urban life is experienced and perceived. We define public spaces as places of interrelation, social encounter and exchange, where groups with different interests converge (Borja & Muxí, 2001). Where they are used by a great diversity of people and for a wide variety of activities, public spaces can contribute to the collective identity of the community (Valle, 1997; Franck & Paxson, 1989). They have the capacity to become “participatory landscapes”, core elements in urban life that reflect our culture, beliefs and values (Francis, 1989).

Citation

Díaz-Cortés, F., Albet-Mas, A. and Garcia-Ramon, M.-D. (2008), "Old and new migrant women in Ca n’Anglada: Public spaces, identity and everyday life in the metropolitan region of Barcelona", DeSena, J.N. (Ed.) Gender in an Urban World (Research in Urban Sociology, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 263-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1047-0042(07)00010-4