Contested neighborhoods: The tensions between between symbolic and social boundaries and their social and political implications

Marta Rodrigues Neves

Research output: ThesisPh.D. thesis

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Abstract

Space is inherently political, social, and emotional (Lefebvre, 1991; Giuliani, 2003; Duarte, 2017). When individuals and groups interact with space, they endow it with affective meaning and rules (Duarte, 2017). Groups appropriate and self-organize in space (Sundstrom, 2003; Schrieff et al.,2005; Clayton, 2009; Peters & De Haan, 2011). Simultaneously, social identities are formed based on shared place belonging (Bonaiuto & Bonnes, 2000; Twigger-Ross et al., 2003; Hopkins &Dixon, 2006). Therefore, space inhabits groups just as much as groups inhabit space (Sundstrom,2003). This dissertation explores how individuals draw symbolic socio-spatial boundaries that contest or reinforce institutionalized boundaries and their consequences for group interactions andcivic engagement. By investigating the visible and invisible lines that create and divide groups andspaces, this dissertation advances our knowledge about individuals’ agency in creating social and spatial categories. The research project adopts an interpretivist approach, examining socio-spatialboundaries through individuals’ subjective meanings and interpretations. The empirical analyses are set in three Portuguese social housing neighborhoods (Bairro de Contumil, Bairro daPasteleira, and Bairro do Cerco) and their immediate surroundings. Data was gathered through qualitative interviews and mental mapping methods with seventy-two residents. The dissertation i scomposed of three articles. The first article explores the role of affects in the construction of subjective neighborhood boundaries, showing that individuals construct their places by drawing boundaries that reflect their affective ties with places and people near their residences. The second article investigates how subjective perceptions of boundaries affect the stability of intergroup contact. The article shows that subjective boundaries vary in salience. Boundary-salience influences individuals’ socio-spatial practices and, consequently, their contact with the other side of the boundary. I find that very salient boundaries generally result in stable forms of parallelcoexistence; moderately salient boundaries generally result in unstable forms of mixed coexistence; and very blurred boundaries generally result in stable forms of integration. The third article explores how policy and planning decisions influence subjective neighborhood boundaries and its implications for community engagement. The article demonstrates that, even though subjective boundaries are unique to each individual, they are neither without shared meaning, nor outside the local governments’ influence. Because individuals recognize the political origins of boundaries, they hold local governments accountable for the marginality they create while simultaneously relinquishing responsibility for constructing them in alternative ways.
Translated title of the contributionOmstridte kvarterer: Spændingerne mellem symbolske og sociale grænser og deres sociale og politiske implikationer
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University of Southern Denmark
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Careja, Romana, Principal supervisor
  • Kjær, Ulrik, Co-supervisor
Date of defence17. Apr 2023
Publisher
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27. Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Print copy of the thesis is restricted to reference use in the Library.

Keywords

  • social housing
  • boundaries
  • space
  • identity
  • affects
  • territory
  • place-making

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