Abstract

The growing importance attributed to the local dimension of daily life in contemporary cities can, in some cases, lead to dynamics of exclusion of «others ». In neighbourhoods, the different ways in which groups perceive, appropriate and use public space reveal the construction of an opposition between «us» and «them». This article analyses the relation between established residents and immigrants in the dispute over the use of certain public spaces - a small park and a pedestrian street - in two neighbourhoods of Milan and Barcelona.It also reflects comparatively on the role played by local institutions in the management of public space and the cohabitation of different urban populations.