In the evolution of contemporary urban forms, a critical rupture emerges between the spatial expressions of rootedness and the advancing erosion of symbolic urban centers. This condition is marked by a duality: on one side, monumental spaces that once served as energy condensers and loci of collective meaning now operate as inert symbols, disconnected from their communities; on the other, flexible, emergent spaces strive to adapt to evolving social and cultural logics, yet often lack the historical gravitas to sustain long-term belonging. The disarticulation of urban cores, as theorized in relation to the axis mundi, reflects a deeper sociocultural entropy wherein spaces lose their integrative function and instead become sites of alienation. This spatial estrangement generates a form of socio-existential rootlessness, in which individuals encounter urban environments as fragmented, superficial, and emotionally barren. A telling instance is the transformation of formerly sacred or civic spaces into commodified tourist spectacles, where façade and visual appeal override substance, displacing communal memory with aesthetic consumption. The symbolic vacuum thus left unfilled contributes to a broader urban pathology: cities that expand materially yet contract symbolically, proliferating placelessness and undermining civic cohesion.
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.
