Place, Class Interaction, and Urban Segregation: Experiencing Inequality in Mexico City

Based on ethnographic research conducted in wealthy and deprived areas of Mexico City, this article analyzes and discusses the contribution of place and class interaction in shaping urban segregation. Spatial isolation and social homogeneity are both the result of structural forces and cultural processes embodied in individual practices. Focusing on cultural processes, three main issues are explored: “the sense of place” in poor peripheries; the experience of “being-in-place,” or “being-out-of-place” among people coming from disadvantaged and privileged backgrounds; and the process of “othering” in urban encounters between social classes. We conclude that current processes give a new character to the experience of urban inequality, which deeply erodes social coexistence, recognition, and solidarity.