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047 Issue # 11/11 : PublIc Issues
In his text la ciudad latinoamericana s.A. o el asalto al espacio público (The latin
American city ltd or the assault on public space), Gustavo Remedi states:
"Reflecting on public space forces us to think of space as a resource, as a
product and as a practice (whether sensual, social, political or symbolic).
The appropriation and particular use of space (both materially and symbolically)
as well as the transformation of existing spaces and the production of hither-
to unheard of spatialities, corresponding to various 'emerging' and competing
cultural projects. […] In this sense, 'the assault on public space' translates
into both the displacement of spaces and spatial practices that encourage
social relations and the growth of a healthy public sphere (one that is free,
sophisticated and inclusive) as well as the increase in useless spaces and
hostile forms, which distort, inhibit and hinder its development."
It is not possible to locate with any precision a social public space that might counter-
act this change in the cultural sphere. But we can begin to look for it in the efforts
to defend the freedom of spaces that create a sense of community. One example is the
National Autonomous University of Mexico, and I am not referring to the physical space
of the ciudad universitaria, but to the series of relations of economic and political
negotiation represented by free education in Mexico. This is clearly demonstrated
by the sense of community generated over the decades of student struggle to defend it
(fig. 6).
6 — Rector's Office Tower and Muralb y David Alfaro siqueiros, UNAM National Autonomous University
of Mexico, Torre de Rectoría y Mural de David Alfaro Siqueiros, uNAM universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México, courtesy of Victormoz, Dominio Público.
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