At Home at the Neighborhood Square

Abstract

Using empirical data from a case study of a square in a heterogeneous Rotterdam neighborhood, we address two contradictions in urban social engineering. The first is the aim to make neighborhoods more heterogeneous while fostering a sense of community. The second is making people feel more "at home" in public space by "re-conquering" it from specific groups who should be made to feel less at home. Our data show how people relate to other groups or categories of people on an everyday basis in public space. The square we studied is perceived as a specific territory where some people do not "belong," while others do. Ethnicity, being an established resident or a relative newcomer, and the mastering of relevant elements

Roots and routes in neighbourhoods. Length of residence, belonging and public familiarity in Berlin, Germany

“…The challenge was timely. Indeed, that long durée in a neighbourhood could produce disidentification and ‘uncommunity’ (Williams, 1986: 35), especially in neighbourhoods undergoing rapid transformations, had been noted in studies on local identities along lines of ethnicity (Blokland, 2003b; Burgers and Zuijderwijk, 2016). Pinkster’s (2014) case study in Den Haag, the Netherlands, evidenced that residents adopt strategies of neighbourhood disaffiliation.…”

“…For example, Dirksmeier and Helbrecht (2015: 488) argued that encounters between strangers include ‘micro-mechanisms’ of negotiating status, so that encounters always include power. Belonging can then mean an entitlement to define the rules of the game called neighbourhoodin norms for appropriate behaviour (Burgers and Zuijderwijk, 2016; de Koning, 2015; Karsten, 2014), for which knowing about other people may suffice. In Felder’s (2020) study of residents of one building, inclusions and exclusions worked without personal networks between all residents (also Talen, 2010; Tonkiss, 2003).…”

There’s a middle ground, you know

“…Eventually, the structural activity present and visible in the neighborhood -the Trading Shop -seemed to add an extra dimension to the sense of belonging and meaning to their lives (chapter 4). 'You can be who you are' was quoted as an important win for the Trading Shop, enabling low-SES families and other vulnerable citizens to develop themselves in a safe, trusting, and engaging environment (Burgers & Zuijderwijk, 2016).…”