Human dwelling in cities produces traces in outdoor spaces, particularly in residential neighborhoods. An essential part of dwelling is acting on one’s environment, establishing meaning and identity. These processes are challenged in cities by diversity, vying uses, and various regulations. This article suggests that expressing and encountering otherness in urban space extends through the material traces left by spatial users, communicating social information. Drawing empirically upon actor network theory’s relational approach of association, three studies are used to demonstrate that traces are important in urban space due to what they impart regarding user intentions, local interpretations, physical possibilities, and controls. Comparing traces found in three differently managed cases, the study opens up the question of how regulation and thorough upkeep may affect the expression of diversity in urban residential spaces.