Retail Business Spaces in Santiago de Chile: Three Ways of Contributing to the Public Sphere in Urban Areas

Based on the premise that public space and commerce are connected in the theory derived from Max Weber, this article analyzes three different types of commerce in Santiago de Chile to illustrate how the public makes use of them. We review the spatial and social characteristics of a traditional market, a commercial gallery, and a shopping mall. It studies the morphological qualities, the inhabitants' perceptions, and the business communities' ways of managing and producing commercial space, as well as the implications for the spatial, social and functional integration of these spaces within the city.