O tema deste estudo é a relação da criança com a cidade na sociedade contemporânea. O problema de pesquisa se constitui a partir dos indicativos de que a fruição do espaço urbano, fundada na apropriação da rua como espaço de lazer, sofreria importantes transformações diante das inovações produtivas, tecnológicas e comunicacionais da sociedade. A hipótese é que a alteração das práticas está associada às diferenças na estrutura sócio-espacial, não sendo homogênea. Assim, seu objetivo é caracterizar a experiência urbana das crianças, identificando as práticas cotidianas e os espaços vividos; além de evidenciar a relação entre as práticas e as características sócio-espaciais; bem como avaliar a extensão do fenômeno de esvaziamento da rua como espaço de lazer. A investigação toma Porto Alegre como lócus de pesquisa, por se tratar de metrópole inserida no contexto da globalização. A empiria adota como recorte etário a faixa de 7 a 14 anos, e se estrutura em duas etapas: a primeira consiste na análise da estrutura sócio-espacial do município, através de dados censitários que articulam o espaço social das famílias ao espaço físico dos bairros, da qual resulta a classificação dos bairros segundo Perfis do Espaço Social. A segunda etapa é a análise da inter-relação entre a estrutura sócio-espacial de Porto Alegre, em seus aspectos demográficos, locacionais e morfológicos, e as práticas cotidianas. Como fontes de pesquisa, além dos dados censitários espacializados, estão os próprios habitantes, incorporados através de estudo piloto, realizado com estudantes do 8º ano do Ensino Fundamental. A análise da estrutura sócio-espacial aponta que grande parte das crianças porto-alegrenses vive em bairros de baixa renda situados, predominantemente, na periferia da cidade. A investigação das práticas cotidianas indica que a rua continua sendo apropriada para o lazer, embora prevaleça como espaço de circulação. O recolhimento ao espaço privado é verificado em todos os estratos e está vinculado, em alguns casos, à presença de condomínios fechados. Entre os estudantes, o envolvimento com o espaço público se dá em diferentes níveis, da utilização mais intensa, passando pelo equilíbrio na vivência público-privado, até chegar à experiência centrada no privado, que culmina na não-vivência do espaço público. A experiência urbana se constitui, portanto, através de múltiplas vias, marcadas pelas diferenças sócio-espaciais que envolvem o cotidiano de cada habitante. Disto emerge a validade de tomar o recorte etário como critério de análise e definição de políticas urbanas, uma vez que permite a incorporação da dimensão humana e da escala cotidiana à prática do planejamento urbano. / The subject of this study is the children's relationship with the city in contemporary society. The research issue is constituted from the indications that the enjoyment of urban space, based on appropriation of the street as a space for leisure, has undergone important changes in face of the productive, technological and communicative innovations of society. The hypothesis is that the changing of the practices is associated with socio-spatial differences and is not homogeneous. So, the research objective is to characterize the urban experience of children, identifying the everyday practices and lived spaces; show the relationship between the practices and socio-spatial characteristics, and to assess the extent of the phenomenon of deflation of the street as a space for leisure. The investigation takes Porto Alegre, Brazil, as locus of research, because of its condition of metropolis into the context of globalization. The empirical study adopts as age cut the range from 7 to 14 years, and is divided into two stages: the first is the analysis of socio-spatial structure of the city, through census data that articulate the social space of the families with the physical space of the districts, which results in the districts´ classification according the social-space profiles. The second step is the analysis of the inter-relationship between the socio-spatial structure of Porto Alegre, in their demographic, locational and morphological features, and everyday practices. As research sources, in addition to spatialized census data, are the inhabitants, incorporated through a pilot study with 8th grade students of elementary school. The analysis of socio-spatial structure shows that most children at Porto Alegre live in low-income neighborhoods, mostly located on the suburbs of the city. The investigation about everyday life indicates that street is still appropriate for leisure, although prevails as circulation space. The retreat into private space is found in all strata, and it is linked, in some cases, with the presence of gated communities. Among students, engagement with public space is established at different levels, from more intensive use, through the balance in public-private experience, to the experience focused on private, culminating in the non-experience of public space. The urban experience is constituted, therefore, through multiple ways, marked by socio-spatial differences surrounding the daily life of each inhabitant. Hence the validity to consider the age cut as an analysis and defining criterion of urban policies, especially because it allows the incorporation of the human dimension and of the everyday life scale into the urban planning practice.

Cette thèse traite de la question des enfants des rues au Mexique, de son histoire, de sa construction en enjeu social et de l’expérience des jeunes aux marges des villes de Mexico et de Tijuana. Symbole de « l'enfance délaissée » dans les pays en voie de développement, cette catégorie sociale a été l'une des « priorités officielles » du premier gouvernement élu démocratiquement à la tête du pays en 2000. La thèse montre comment se configure le monde des enfants des rues en analysant les acteurs de l’intervention sociale auprès des jeunes mais également la façon dont se déploient les existences de ces jeunesses urbaines marginales dans un pays traversé par d’importantes reconfigurations politiques et sociétales. Par une approche sociohistorique de 1880 à nos jours, cette thèse se penche en premier lieu sur l'émergence de cette catégorie dans l’espace public et sa mise en problème qui s'articulent aux transformations sociopolitiques du pays. L’analyse de plusieurs supports iconographiques et documentaires révèle une tension constante entre les figures de la victime et du délinquant qui va de pair avec les angoisses que produit l’important développement urbain du Mexique. L'enquête ethnographique réalisée à Mexico et Tijuana entre 2003 et 2010 montre la pertinence de l'étude à l'échelle de la ville pour comprendre comment s'articulent les politiques, les représentations et les expériences sociales. L'analyse met au jour les spécificités de ces deux villes dans l'appréhension et le traitement du problème, mais également dans les modes d’individuation et les trajectoires biographiques de ces jeunes : si un « effet de frontière » est observé à Tijuana, la dynamique du monde des rues à Mexico se caractérise plutôt par un « effet de capitale ».Finalement, l'analyse par le genre met en évidence les tensions à l'œuvre entre la traduction du langage des droits dans les pratiques quotidiennes des organisations qui travaillent avec cette population et la permanence d'un imaginaire de la famille sexué et hiérarchisé, qui s'articule au récit national. / This thesis deals with the history and construction of the social problem of Mexican street children and with the actual experience of marginalised youth in Mexico City and Tijuana. Symbol of the issue of “abandoned children” in developing countries, this social category has become one of the priorities of the first democratically elected Mexican government in 2000. The thesis examines how the world of “street children” is shaped by analysing the actors of social intervention and the effects of the country’s deep political and societal changes on these marginalised urban youth.Through a socio-historic approach from 1880 to nowadays, this thesis firstly studies the emergence of this category within the public space and its construction as a social problem, embedded in the socio-political transformations of the country. By exploring iconographic and documentary supports, the analysis identifies a constant tension between the figure of ‘victim’ and of ‘delinquent’, a tension which goes hand in hand with the anxiety produced by the tremendous urban development of Mexico.This ethnographic research, carried out in Mexico and Tijuana between 2003 and 2010, demonstrates the relevance of observing at city level in order to understand how the policies, representations and social experiences articulate. The analysis brings to light the specific features of these two cities in their perception and treatment of the problem as well as in the resulting individualisation modes and biographies of these young people. In Tijuana, a “border effect” is observed, whereas the streets dynamics in Mexico City are characterised by a “capital effect”. Finally, the gender analysis demonstrates the tensions between the appropriation of a law terminology in the everyday practices of the organisations working with this population and the traditional image of a sexualised and hierarchic family, embedded in the national narrative.