Demographic expansion, urban sprawl and the fear of crime have resulted in the disintegration of the City - traditional public spaces now have reduced significance in the public life. Inter action within public spaces has been replaced by interaction through placeless invisible links of radio, television, video and the internet. The majority of inhabitants of Mexico City stay at home rather than use the city in their free time. They do so as a conscious effort to free themselves from the urban hubbub, but also very importantly, as a result of unequal provision of open and green spaces as well as entertainment and cultural facilities.

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A trend affecting public life in Mexico City is associated with the increased privatization and commercialization of public spaces. Face to face interaction now mostly takes place in the new spaces of shopping malls and transport hubs. The amount of public space provided by the colonial plazas is becoming increasingly residential in comparison to the spaces created with premeditated functions in mind the most common of which is consumption. To an important extent, this predetermines the kinds of interaction and activities that take place within them. In addition, the fact that these spaces are characterized by constant surveillance and regulation of access means that they come to reinforce the rise of social exclusion in the city.