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The construction of the Danish ’ghetto’ in legislation, media and planning:The Skovvejen-Skovparken-case

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This paper investigates how the Danish legislation on parallel societies impact media coverage, identity and the planning of the areas affected by this policy. The paper is part of the Regeneration of Danish Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods: Long-term Evaluation (2019-2028) and draws on case studies of 15 areas in two rounds, including media analyses of a 12-month period. To untangle the aspects of the construction of the Danish concept ‘ghetto’, the paper focuses mainly on the case of Skovvejen-Skovparken, a joint venture of two housing associations categorised as a Danish ghetto in 2019, after collaborating on social initiatives for years. The paper applies concepts of place reputation and territorial stigmatisation as well as media studies on disadvantaged housing areas. It shows the following: First, the media analysis shows that the annual Danish list of parallel societies and the media coverage of it confirms and constructs a common place identity that all areas on the list become subject to. Second, the list initiates an informal battle between the areas on the list, and an informal hierarchy is constructed. Third, the paper gives examples of how the ‘naming’ of parallel societies is confirmed by planning strategies and physical analysis. The paper concludes that the parallel society legislation may simultaneously reinforce the spatial problems that it aims at counteracting.
Authors: Mechlenborg, Mette; id_orcid 0000-0002-9446-9795, Sundstrup, Rikke Borg; id_orcid 0009-0003-0323-3125, Nielsen, Rikke Skovgaard; id_orcid 0000-0003-0308-1275, Nordberg, Lene Wiell; id_orcid 0000-0003-3344-0574, Bech-Danielsen, Claus; id_orcid 0000-0002-4822-6039, Stender, Marie; id_orcid 0000-0002-1009-3138
Institution: Aalborg University
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4412209613
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