SOCIO-SPATIAL TRENDS: A GENERAL READING OF PUBLIC SPACE IN HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS

Abstract

Human nature implies social interaction in diverse environments, where public space, seen as an essential mediator, becomes disconnected, impersonal, and deteriorated exterior spaces, coupled with a lack of interest in participation, inclusion, and personal development. Therefore, this research aimed to analyze the socio-spatial relationships in public spaces based on the inhabitant perception of two housing developments in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. This study used a mixed methodological approach to collect information by applying the following instruments: a questionnaire on public spaces, a series of in situ and aerial photographs, and field observations. A total of 196 surveys were applied from 2016 to 2019; the morphological, typological, and functional characteristics of the public space were also observed. The results evidenced an imminent need to carry out their daily activities on a smaller scale and intensity within the housing complex with a level of spatial satisfaction within a scale of 6.37/10. In this regard, the inhabitants reported a higher attendance of the public space use in Los Encinos in contrast to Villas (62.6% and 39.3%, respectively), even though the travel times were shorter in Villas. Regarding the public space usefulness, both cases weighted spatial understanding followed by access ease to the housing complex with a Pearson correlation coefficient equal to or greater than 0.47. In this sense, spatial relations showed dispersion, disorganization, and fragmentation from the ephemeral. In contrast, social relations were considered impersonal, hurried, and of convenience, subordinated to the conditions of the environment, being that personal well-being is built from relations with the exterior and with the collective itself.