Urban Landscape from the Juarez-El Paso Borderland. Mapping the Urban Art Manifestations from the Edge

Abstract

To understand and interpret the border area between Ciudad Juarez (Mexico) and El Paso (United States) as an urban landscape, this work examines it from three approaches: as a symbolic urban space, as a space for appropriation of art, and as a media landscape. Based on a mapping work, the border line Í€”the international boundaryÍ€” was taken as the axis around which international crossing areas prevail. In this space, actions of urban appropriation appear, and this due to the liminal circumstances that the same place causes. The work has a qualitative, exploratory, non-experimental and cross-sectional approach. For the mappings, an hemerographic record, ethnographic route and visual documentation were utilized. This gave way to an approach to the border as an urban space abundant in art demonstrations, which revealed the important role of these spaces as places where social concerns of the border area are expressed.