Includes bibliographical references and index.

Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: From Mexica Axis Mundi to Spanish conquest -- Chapter 2: The Plaza Mayor's nascent urbanscape -- Chapter 3: Major events in the Plaza Mayor during the Viceroyalty -- Chapter 4: The last decades of the Viceroyal period -- Chapter 5: A nascent national identity -- Chapter 6: Mexico's second empire and the restored republic -- Chapter 7: Expressions of national identity during the Porfiriato -- Chapter 8: From the Mexican Revolution to World War II -- Chapter 9: The Plaza de la Constitución in the second half of the 20th century -- Chapter 10: A recent history of the Zócalo as public space -- Chapter 11: The Zócalo, Mexico's public square -- Bibliography -- Image credits -- Index.

"This book presents a case study of one of Latin America's most important and symbolic spaces, the Zócalo in Mexico City, weaving together historic events and corresponding morphological changes in the urban environment. It poses questions about how the identity of a place emerges; how it evolves and, why does it change? Mexico City's Zócalo: A History of a Constructed Spatial Identity utilizes the history of a specific place, the Zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución), to explain the emergence and evolution of Mexican identities over time. Starting from the Pre-Hispanic period to present day, the work illustrates how the Zócalo reveals spatial manifestations as part of the larger socio-cultural zeitgeist. By focusing on the history of changes in spatial production -what Henri Lefebvre calls society's "secretions"- Bross traces how cultural, social, economic and political forces shaped the Zócalo's spatial identity, and in turn, how the Zócalo shaped and fostered new identities in return. It will be a fascinating read for architectural and urban historians investigating Latin America"-- Provided by publisher.