Revisiting the working-class neighborhood: Emerging identities in the context of informality and urban precariousness. The case of the Vallejo Industrial Zone, Azcapotzalco, Mexico City

Abstract

The article addresses the construction of urban and labor identities in the Vallejo Industrial Zone in Azcapotzalco, Mexico City. Through a qualitative study based on the analysis of testimonies and situated observations, the ways of living, mobility practices, meanings about work in residents and visitors in the polygon are considered, reconstructing identities based on the native category of “Chintololo” in a context of industrial reactivation and urban renewal. The article shows the emergence of new identities anchored no longer in the formal work environment of industrial work but in the experience of informal work and precarious urban experience. They highlight social identities with a weak connection with their territory, life projects outside their place of origin, a differentiated identification due to the loss of memory and appropriation of their places in urban contexts where industrial activity due to commerce and services decreases.