Beyond exit, voice, and loyalty: the role of urban resistance in a deprived neighborhood of Madrid

Abstract

In large cities, the decay of deprived neighborhoods externalizes the consequences of present-day urban social inequality. Residents of these areas often show discomfort with living in a poor environment. Adopting Hirschman's classic Exit, Voice and Loyalty model, this study analyzes the reactions of residents to dissatisfaction in San Diego, a deprived neighborhood in Madrid. A qualitative methodology was applied to analyze the discourses of residents by conducting fourteen focus groups with diverse profiles according to gender, age, socio-labor situation, and geographical origin. The results reflect that, in a deprived neighborhood, there are limits to reactions, so that exit (moving out) is only partially manifested, and voice (social mobilization) is only temporarily activated, conditioned by the situation and organizational capacity. Loyalty, on the contrary, appears as an option that improves coexistence, but it remains attached to long-term residents and hardly welcomes newcomers, especially immigrants. The explanatory capacity of Hirschman's model is here expanded by exploring the use of resistance as a complementary response. This strategy, as a political reaction, complements voice and reinforces agency by seeking concrete improvements in the daily life of the residents. These qualitative research results provide important insight into neighbors’ reactions in deprived areas, where exit and voice, as main options, are limited, and resistance becomes a significant potential for them.