The middle classes and the subjective representation of urban space in Santiago de Chile

Abstract

This article examines how symbolic representations of social-spatial differences help to maintain social stratification within Santiago de Chile. Several focus group discussions illuminated the approaches and resources used by the middle classes to build the boundaries that define them within the city. The way in which the middle class understands and describes the city of Santiago confirms that social position is linked to symbolic elements that are associated with occupied spaces within the city. Our analysis shows those elements that confer a particular identity upon a given territory and delimit spatial frontiers between territories.