Centrality and globalization

in Mexico City

Abstract

Today, Mexico City can be seen as a chaotic place, full of inconveniences such as insecurity, traffic jams, and noise. None of these visions would be wrong, nor is that of the taxi driver who travels through the avenues in the right lane, at medium speed, in search of clients; that of the minibus driver waiting for passage or that of the pedestrian who aspires to cross the street facing only vehicles and drivers.Each inhabitant of the metropolis has "his city", because the early mornings are not the same for the runner who jogs in the park and for the merchant of the Central de Abasto, nor are the mornings for the businessman who browses the newspaper in the back seat or for the driver of a garbage truck. Half a day for a Stock Exchange official is different from that of the lady who fries quesadillas on the corner. And the urban nightfall means for some the beginning of the working day and for others the longed-for shelter from furtive encounters.