Urban public space has long been at the centre of sociological enquiry, from Simmel’s insights on metropolitan life to the observational depth of the Chicago School and the fragmentary reflections of Benjamin. What distinguishes Henri Lefebvre’s contribution is his insistence that space is not a passive backdrop but a social product, generated by political, economic and cultural forces and by everyday practices. As Baringo Ezquerra (2011) stresses, the urban square, street or park functions simultaneously as a site of encounter and a stage of representation, a place where visibility, memory and conflict coexist. Lefebvre’s concept of the production of space unsettles earlier paradigms that reduced the city to geometry or planning. He reframes urbanity as a dynamic interplay of representations, practices and materialities. This perspective enables a critical reading of how design decisions, often shaped by shifting ideologies of power and technocratic groups, inscribe social relations in the built environment. Public space thus becomes both infrastructure and ideology, a mirror of collective aspirations and exclusions (Baringo Ezquerra, 2011). The thesis situates Lefebvre in dialogue with Jacobs and Sennett, while also acknowledging Spanish voices such as Gaviria, Borja and Saravia. Together, these contributions highlight how urban space oscillates between openness and control, between community and segregation. Issues such as fear, surveillance and the rise of digital spheres complicate its role, suggesting that contemporary publicness cannot be understood without reference to both the physical and the virtual. Ultimately, the study underscores the enduring relevance of Lefebvre’s claim to a right to the city: a demand not merely for access but for active participation in shaping the spaces that shape us. Public space remains a laboratory of democracy, an arena where citizenship is continuously enacted and contested (Baringo Ezquerra, 2011).
Baringo Ezquerra, D. (2011) La sociología del espacio público urbano: una reflexión desde la obra de Henri Lefebvre. PhD thesis, Universidad de Zaragoza.
