It is true that compared with the modern city dweller's, the historic urbanite's reliance on spatial clues was limited. The integration of persons and activities in his city's public space made the determination of "who" on the basis of "where" a rather risky business. Nonetheless, it is also true that some spatial segregation of persons and activities did occur in the preindustrial city. … To the degree that this was the case, location could combine with appearance to provide information about the strange other.

XREF: Connects to the broader discussion of how strangers were identified and read in historical urban settings, and how spatial cues complemented appearance as social information.

Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order a…, loc. 261