Public spaces and immigration in Seville: building citizenship or reproducing power relationships?

Abstract

Many studies have focused on the importance of immigrants participating in the public spaces of the cities where they have settled in order to become integrated. Our research, in contrast, demonstrates the importance of contextualizing participation within the framework of the power relationships that justify and give meaning to certain practices of discipline and control. We look at one concrete example in Seville (Spain): the regulation of the Latin American sports leagues of San Jeronimo. This case demonstrates the central role of public space in monitoring and controlling immigrants and in the dynamics of resistance they develop.