The contemporary city unfolds as a contested field where space either fosters existential belonging or manifests profound detachment, revealing a dialectic between rootedness and estrangement. This theoretical reflection identifies two core urban spheres: first, the monumental city, composed of historically fixed structures that, having lost their symbolic vitality, act as inert objects devoid of social dynamism; second, the malleable urban space, capable of embodying the cultural and emotional intentions of its inhabitants, thereby operating as a true axis mundi. The city, understood as a site of ongoing crisis, reflects a fragmentation where centers—once sources of symbolic energy—are displaced or neutralized, becoming mere façades. Urban growth thus gravitates toward peripheral developments increasingly alien to any symbolic core, producing spaces that are simultaneously overpopulated and dislocated. This spatial disarticulation triggers a form of collective disorientation, wherein individuals fear the centralizing logic of power yet remain deprived of places that foster meaningful attachment. The subject, caught in this ambivalence, risks being objectified by the very urban forms that were meant to anchor identity. A paradigmatic illustration can be found in the transformation of central nodes into lifeless landmarks, detached from communal memory and unable to reflect collective desires, thus undermining both spatial coherence and social resonance.
Aguirre-Martínez, G., 2017. Una reflexión teórica en torno al espacio urbano como eje de enraizamiento/desarraigo. URBS. Revista de Estudios Urbanos y Ciencias Sociales, 7(1), pp.31–40.
