Youth, Temporality, and Territorial Stigma: Finding Good in Camden, New Jersey

Abstract

The concept of “territorial stigmatisation” identifies the role of symbolic denigration in the production of marginalised places. In this paper, I draw on ethnographic research with a food justice organisation in Camden, New Jersey, to examine youth's responses to territorial stigma. The analysis demonstrates how Black and Latinx youth rewrite the story of Camden in a way that locates the “good” within it, using narratives of the city's prosperous history and possible futures to recuperate value within a stigmatised place. I argue that the perspectives of youth illuminate the temporal dimensions of territorial stigma, situating the blemish of place in relation to conceptions of individual and social change. The article contributes to a growing literature examining the strategic responses of those who dwell in pathologised places. Because youth are uniquely situated within the production of place, their perspectives offer important insights in this process.

On the Stickiness of Territorial Stigma: Diverging Experiences in Amsterdam’s Most Notorious Neighbourhood

“…Moreover, in negotiating territorial stigma, the materiality of place was found to play an important role. Residents in the newly constructed housing projects mobilised the built environment to re‐inscribe place as an ordinary, suburban neighbourhood (Cairns ; Nayak ), functioning as an additional identity marker that served to distance them from negative cultural stereotypes. In this respect, the benefits of urban renewal are clearly unequally distributed: not only is stigma often used by governing actors to justify area‐based interventions, displacing social renters and attracting more affluent residents (De Koning ; Kipfer ; Tissot ; Tyler and Slater ), these new residents also disproportionally benefit from material improvements because it enables them to develop counter‐narratives against blemish of place.…”

“…Other scholars, however, question the degree to which territorial stigma is internalised by residents. Cairns (:1225) found that youths in Camden, New Jersey expressed “deep frustration with the singular, stigmatising narrative that so powerfully defined their city” and that has rendered them passive victims of their surroundings. While her respondents do not deny the challenges associated with living in Camden, they also describe such outsider accounts of present problems as “partial truths”.…”

“…For example, Marja described extensively how living in the Bijlmer means you have to be able to interact with “all sorts of residents”, contrasting herself with “less worldly” people who are “uncomfortable with difference” . At the same time, these residents also try to abate racial stereotypes by re‐scripting place identity (Cairns ; Nayak ). They systematically describe their neighbourhood as “mixed”, “multicultural” and “colourful” rather than “dark” or “black”.…”

“…Wacquant’s work has triggered a growing body of research on resident responses to territorial stigma (Slater ). While some scholars find support for processes of internalisation and alienation (Contreras ), others have challenged these findings, noting that residents may also reject and resist territorial stigmatisation (Cairns ; Kirkness ). However, in much of the research literature, territorial stigma is presented as a generalised experience for all residents.…”

Re‐scripting Place: Managing Social Class Stigma in a Former Steel‐Making Region

“…The Cleveland Hills, our coastline, our friendly and effacing people, our mighty River Tees and our wonderful history sum up Middlesbrough beautifully ... (Harry) These responses offer an alternative viewpoint on the town as a bleak postindustrial outpost, pointing instead to easy access to the countryside, recent urban regeneration, a vibrant nightlife and the immediacy of the coastline. As such, they seek to redraw the town and re-script place through an alternative grammar, largely derived from a local, "insider" perspective that doesn't negate that problems exist (Cairns 2018;Kirkness 2014). As one resident explained: "It's a lovely place to live", but "the steelworks closed.…”