Social and material appropriation of neighborhood space: Collective space and resistance in a Dutch urban community
Year: 2005
Type: book
Abstract: This paper analyses the reactions to infill housing plans in a neighborhood in the Dutch city Arnhem. A brief review of the infill housing or densification concept reveals that it has significant consequences for the people in a residential area. This paper aims at providing insights into the possible effects of infill housing on social and cultural aspects of neighborhood life. An analysis is made of the ways in which residents use and experience their residential environment, and how the interaction between space and people strengthens both neighborhood cohesion and attachment to place. The paper starts with a brief description of the case study area. This is followed by an analysis of the ways in which neighborhood space is represented within different actor networks: the city government and neighborhood residents. The next section of the paper introduces the concept of appropriation, and discusses how power relationships result in differential types of socio-spatial order. These insights are used to explain the successful appropriation of neighborhood space as a strategy of resistance and community empowerment. The paper ends with a description of collective residential spaces, how they are constructed and what they mean as a setting for interaction and activities.
Author: H.J. de Haan
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W162966860