The Cosmopolitanism of Communities: Public Space as a Generator of Equality and Democracy

Abstract

The era in which we live, that of the networked society, of the society of knowledge, of globalization, the era in which everyone is connected to each other by annihilating geographical distances thanks to the dematerialization allowed by virtual processes, is the era in which the intensification of flows in every direction contrasts with the materialisation of borders and barriers, the proliferation of inequalities, social conflicts and personal hardship. The social separation corresponds, therefore, to a spatial separation, which creates stigmatized neighbourhoods, concentrations of problems in specific areas such as, among all, the suburbs and some areas of the historic centres. Then one of the main challenges that a city that wants to be cosmopolitan must respond to is that of conflict resolution and spatial tensions identifying processes, practices and devices to promote and ensure integration and plural coexistence. This paper analyses the social function of public space, that must be intensified, its being a place of encounter and integration is fundamental in an era in which social injustices and urban segregation continue to exist despite the phenomenon of globalization that multiplies the connections but places even more on the margins those who from these dynamics are excluded due to lack of access to services. It is necessary to rebuild an open society in an open city, a democratic society in places of democratic use.