Picturing Halifax: Young Immigrant Women and the Social Construction of Urban Space

Abstract

This study explores the social construction of space in the lives of young immigrant women. Drawing upon data from photoelicitation interviews, I analyze how young women who recently immigrated to Canada interpret and transform the meanings of spaces in their everyday lives. Using the social construction of space as a conceptual framework, I demonstrate how the social positions of young immigrant women are reflected in and negotiated through their use of urban space. While participants share perceptions of risk and experiences of gendered safety issues, all negotiate these issues by gaining spatial knowledge through exploration. They all also experience Otherness in various spaces. However, they construct belonging by developing diverse social networks, claiming space, and getting involved in the international community. It is evident that the city affects how, and whether, young immigrant women mobilize their identities as immigrants. New spaces bring new understandings of their identities as women, young people, and immigrants. This study illuminates how young immigrant women transform cities, and how, in turn, the city transforms them.

Promoting Social Inclusion Around Cultural Heritage Through Collaborative Digital Storytelling

“…Photo-elicitation and short textual descriptions were the means used to prompt the participants to connect their stories and memories to the hosting city and culture. England [7] explored how the photo-elicitation methods helped young immigrant women in Halifax, Canada, narrate the spaces they encountered in their day-to-day lives. Tinkler [8] outlines that photo-elicitation is "a tool for social and historical research" and that photographs can be "deliberately 'inserted' into interviews to prompt discussion, reflection and recollection".…”

“…Tinkler [8] outlines that photo-elicitation is "a tool for social and historical research" and that photographs can be "deliberately 'inserted' into interviews to prompt discussion, reflection and recollection". In his study, England [7] proposes that photo-elicitation could express the participants' social positions and experiences by exploring their relationships with the urban spaces in which they dwelt. Yoon and Park [9] conducted four in-depth interviews with female Korean immigrants within the United States to understand their acculturation experiences.…”

“…Participants were welcomed in the premises and introduced to the MEMEX project aims and study goals (Figure 2). Inspired by England's approach [7], participants and facilitators took time to introduce themselves and get to know each other. A facilitator presented the structure of the co-creation workshop, and the Informed Consent form was signed.…”

Queer Space: Toilet Provision, Access and Inclusion in the West Midlands

“…As space is socially constructed, it is key to acknowledge that an individual’s age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class and disabilities influence whether someone can access particular social spaces, and how these spaces are navigated (England, 2018 ). As Koskela ( 1999 ) argues, space is not simply an area for interaction, but is simultaneously reproduced by these interactions.…”