Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie

Think and Drink Kolloquium 

des Georg-Simmel-Zentrums und
des Lehrbereichs für Stadt und Regionalsoziologie

am

Institut für Sozialwissenschaften
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Universitätsstraße 3b

10117 Berlin

Raum 002 (Ground Floor/Erdgeschoss)

Prof. Eveline Dürr, LMU München

Notorious place or tourist space: resisting urban transformation in Mexico City 

This talk explores the ways tourism, urban redevelopment and cultural politics intersect and impact disadvantaged districts in Mexico City. As urban spaces are remade for cultural consumption, a range of actors attempt to turn ‘slums’ into attractive destinations and consumer experiences. From slum tourism to ‘favela chic’ these development strategies re-signify images, meanings and value of notorious areas in the city, making them accessible for tourists and other actors. Drawing on ethnographic methods, I show how these processes transform disadvantaged neighbourhoods’ socio-symbolic position and visibility in the city, generating power struggles for controlling the way these areas are represented, marketed and sold. I argue that while neoliberal economic restructuring can aggravate socio-spatial inequalities, it also creates new spaces of resistance and contestation.