Decumanus

Arc light and incandescent light: aesthetics of electric lighting in Bogotá, Colombia (1889-1919)

Juan Felipe Montealegre — 2024-10-31

This article aims to explore the aesthetic dimensions of Bogotá’s electric lighting service through a comparative analysis of the properties of arc light and incandescent light, from the perspective of users and public opinion of the time. The analysis method starts with the selection of several descriptions and categories related to the public lighting service, in order to identify several changes in the citizenship attitudes toward arc lamps, following the introduction of incandescent bulbs, considering factors such as intensity and color temperature of both sources. This work concludes that the technological advancement of electric lighting systems (during this period) influenced the development of an aesthetic sense of lighting service among the Bogotá’s residents. Although the conditions of its emergence differ from those in other Latin American cities, these findings can serve as a basis for future interpretations and comparisons.

Reconfiguration of cultural practices and community functions in neoliberalism. Santa Fe Shopping Center, Mexico City

Deva Menéndez García — 2024-10-31

This study explores the Santa Fe Shopping Center in Mexico City as a microcosm of sociocultural transformations in neoliberal urban contexts. Through a mixed and qualitative methodology, which included observation and semi-structured interviews, the consumption practices, leisure activities, and identity construction of its visitors and users were examined. The results revealed that the Santa Fe Shopping Center transcends its function of buying and selling, becoming a space for symbolic appropriation and status construction through consumption and other dynamics. This phenomenon operated as a reflection of the reconfiguration of urban life, that privileges private and consumerist spaces and affects the perception of belonging and social interactions. Consuming, observing, and strolling practices were identified as central to the mall experience. Additionally, each of these practices had different implications in the formation of identities and social relationships, especially regarding processes of narcissism, voyeurism, and fetishism. In conclusion, the Santa Fe Shopping Center emerged as an emblematic example of how commercial spaces in the neoliberal city redefine urban experience, leisure and social interaction, demonstrating a complex interrelationship between consumption, identity and urban space. At the same time, the architectural and spatial ensemble acquired a very clear role as a reflection of the crisis of public space in Latin America.

Tree Diversity and CO2 Capture in the Zazil Ecologic Park, Chetumal, Quintana Roo

Luis Enrique Reyes Chan — 2024-10-31

Different factors such as rapid urbanization and the excessive use of fossil fuels for economic activities carried out within cities have contributed to the increase in Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), with CO. being one of the main GHGs causing the increase of temperature on Earth and, as a consequence, Climate Change. Nowadays, strategies such as capture of CO₂ by the trees in urban public parks have been implemented within cities to reduce and mitigate the effects of this atmospheric gas. The objective of this work was to determine the tree diversity and amount of CO₂ that is currently captured in the Zazil Ecological Park in the city of Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. For this, a forest survey was carried out on an area of 4.5 ha corresponding to the trees within the park with information on specimens with diameters greater than 7.5 cm, recording the normal diameter (1.30 m from ground level) and total height. From these data, 71 species and 32 families distributed in 2366 individuals were identified. Diversity and richness were evaluated using the Margalef index (D _Mg) registering a value of 9.01, the Menhinick index (D _Mn) presenting a value of 1.45 and the Simpson index (1-D) with a value of 0.50, which show a high diversity in the park. In addition, the biomass was determined and, through it, the carbon content was estimated by applying a conversion factor of 4.7 %. These data were converted to CO₂ using the constant 3.67. Results showed a total of 215.339 t-CO_2-e/ha captured in the trees of the Zazil Ecological Park, which is comparable to captured quantities reported in other studies. The information generated contributes to the design of urban parks and conservation of their trees as mitigation strategies, through carbon capture at the city level.

Iconoclasm and feminisms: the resignification of space from the Chihuahua Government Palace

Dafne Ahmid Gómez Gómez — 2024-10-31

This article aims to analyze the role of iconoclasm concerning the Government Palace building in Chihuahua, following the feminist marches held in recent years in this city. From a methodological standpoint, this study was developed using a qualitative approach. It was based on a bibliographic analysis and semi-structured interviews with actors involved in the demonstrations and the field of heritage preservation.

This study highlights the diversity of perspectives surrounding iconoclasm, the reinterpretation of public spaces, and its potential to drive social and political change. Thus, it serves as a tool of memory, which has been re-signified and consequently altered in its function in response to the social realities of Chihuahua. Although not free from criticism in terms of heritage preservation, the transgressive nature of iconoclasm is seen by these actors as a space for participation and the promotion of new values to reshape the present and future of society, based on a reinterpreted past.

Considering this situation, there is an urgent need for a concept of heritage preservation that considers the social and political changes of the context, encourages a broader perspective from academics and public representatives, and focuses on understanding new ways of reclaiming history, fostering the capacity for dialogue to address the demands of society.

From the statist to the financial model in housing production in the Metropolitan Zone of Mexico City

Francisco Javier Luna Moreno — 2024-10-31

This work analyzes the various modalities of housing production in the Metropolitan Zone of Mexico City (ZMCM), focusing on the arrangements resulting from the interaction between public and private actors, housing policies, and forms of production within the sector. Changes in the roles of the State, as well as in the real estate and financial sectors, are examined alongside the different logics of housing production. This analysis is conducted through a systematic review of the specialized literature and the quantification of housing production from 2000 to 2022, which has enriched the discussion about the financialization of the housing sector in the ZMCM. The importance of considering the housing sector within its historical-geographical context lies in identifying the elements that structure it, as well as the socio-territorial effects and experiences that result from these elements. In conclusion, three production models are identified: the first, characterized by a strong State involvement; the second, related to the emergence of housing real estate markets; and the third, which emphasizes the complexity of the (inter)relationships between the State, real estate markets, and financial institutions. The latter is manifested in new institutional arrangements and large-scale projects, both in the peripheries and in central urban areas. The results contribute to understanding the processes and mechanisms that have transformed housing from a basic need into a commodity and an object of investment.