Are patterns of uneven development observable with regards to public spaces in tourist cities? How has the tourist/non-tourist divide been produced historically and how it is reproduced daily? Is this a social process mediated by norms, and if this is the case, what type of norms?
How is the access of different groups of users to public space controlled, who benefits from the exclusion of particular social groups' actions and discourses, and who fights back and makes claims for inclusion? What strategies for the promotion of public uses have been implemented, and do they target patterns of uneven development, or simply reinforce them?This doctoral dissertation seeks to answer these questions by means of a multiple case study analysis regarding the intersections between urban tourism and public space regulation. The tourist cities studied as cases are Acapulco (Mexico), San Sebastian (Spain), and Florianopolis (Brazil).