Mobility practices and the social construction of urban centralities in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Bogotá (Colombia)

Abstract

This paper examines how urban centralities are socially constructed through mobility practices in Bogotá (Colombia) and Belo Horizonte (Brazil). As socially constructed geographies, centralities are shaped not only by agglomeration and density but also intersubjectively by mobility practices that vary widely depending on situational and relational dimensions of individuals such as gender, age, income, and their modal transport choices. To identify the formation of centralities beyond ‘traditional’ urban cores, we developed two indexes: the Diversity Centralities Index, which identifies areas attracting a broad range of social groups, and the Differential Centralities Index, which identifies areas attracting specific groups such as older people, women, low-income individuals and active transport users. The results show that while obligatory travel patterns align with planned centralities, distinct local centralities also emerge based on the spatial patterns of different social groups. In both cities, these local centralities appear not only in traditional cores but also in peripheral areas. These findings challenge the central–peripheral dichotomy often emphasised in urban planning and reinterpret urban centralities as dynamic, socially constructed spaces shaped by diverse and differential mobility practices.