Theoretical Considerations for a Reading of Urban Control from the Panopticon

Abstract

From a foucaultian view, this article discusses theoretical elements to understand urban control as a correlate of the contemporary urban transformations. In order to achieve this, we propose a conceptualization of the panopticon dispositif circumscribed in the logic of neoliberal governmentality, this perspective allows us to place it as a part of the discourses and practices that affect the city and at the same time are held at the intersection of urbanism and criminology. Thus, we outline the characteristics of the main mechanisms of the panopticon dispositif today: surveillance, security, and spatial organization.