This special issue reflects on the different articulations between public space and marginalized populations, taking into account the imperatives of competition and visibility that affect contemporary cities, in Switzerland and across the world. Space has always been a controversial issue in urban life. Given its scarcity, space quickly becomes an issue of contention and competition in what regards to its possession, but also a symbolic issue in matters of neighborhood control, access to public space and political domination. This special issue aims at understanding in what ways regulation of public space are influenced by, and influence in their turn the representations of otherness and of marginalized populations.
