Social housing and segregation in Sweden - from residential segregation to social integration in public space

摘要

Segregation in the larger cities clearly appears as one of the major social problems of contemporary Swedish society. According to public research it is a problem that concerns its very foundations. Still, many of the actions taken in recent years are criticised for being ineffective. There is reason to believe that a fundamental reason for this is due to problems in translating policy into action. A dimension of the issue that is especially problematic in this regard is the spatial dimension of social segregation. Segregation is obviously an inherently spatial concept. Even so, the issue is often analysed and discussed using quite simple spatial models and weak theories on the relation between spatial and social phenomena. In this chapter the aim is therefore to discuss some of the common spatial assumptions that, from the point of view of spatial analysis, can be challenging. Partly it concerns the concept of "areas", which within urban geography is recognised as a profoundly problematic form of representation. Partly it concerns the assumption that social segregation should be defined from the point of view of "residential constitution" of such areas, where there is reason to ask whether segregation in public space is a far more urgent issue. Some preliminary analyses will be presented that suggest that such a point of departure can prove fruitful.