1.
Polanska Vergara, Dominika, 1980-
(författare)
The emergence of enclaves of wealth and poverty : A sociological study of residential differentiation in post-communist Poland
2011
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Since the fall of communism, some crucial political, economic and social changes have been taking place in the former communist societies. The objective of the thesis is to examine the processes of residential differentiation taking place in the urban landscape of the Polish city of Gdańsk after the introduction of the capitalist system. The focus is on different forms of residential differentiation and the social, economic and historical factors behind these forms. The empirical material that forms the basis of the thesis consists of interviews, newspaper articles, a questionnaire, official (national and local) reports and documents.Study I examines the way in which different social, economic, historical and physical conditions coincide in the formation of space and the processes of decline in the period of transformation in Poland. The focus lies on a specific residential area in the center of Gdańsk and the lack of improvements in this particular area, which would stop its successive decline.Study II explains the emergence of gated communities in the post-communist urban context and discusses the reasons for their increasing numbers and popularity. The main argument is that the popularity of gated communities is tightly intertwined with the communist past, emerging in reaction to the housing conditions that prevailed under communism.Study III investigates how social class markers are constructed in the discourse on gated communities in post-socialist Poland. The “new” capitalistic system, with its inherent social divisions, is described in the discourse as creating demands for “new” forms of housing, where gates function as separators, protectors and class identifiers.Study IV concentrates on the support for the formation of gated communities in the legal and regulatory framework in Poland since 1989. The paper asserts that the outcome of liberal politics and legal regulation in the country is the neglect of spatial planning and imprecise urban policies.
2.
Kings, Lisa
(författare)
Till det lokalas försvar : Civilsamhället i den urbana periferin
2011
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The current global restructuring processes are usually described in terms of increased integration and, concurrently, greater fragmentation among different regions and scales. How these parallel outcomes are reflected in the civic sphere, largely for those mostly affected, i.e. the urban grassroots, is the focus of this study. The theoretical objective is to develop an alternative way of conceptualizing engagement in the civil sphere in marginalized urban neighborhoods; this is presented in the form of a complementary analytical model named: the three pillars of simultaneousness. The empirical objective is to analyze the organization of civil society in two neighborhoods: Rinkeby and Tensta, both categorized as being on the lowest rung of the urban hierarchy in Stockholm, Sweden. The empirical analysis is based on three types of data: interviews, documentation and participant observation. The analysis reveals that these neighborhoods are well-organized and that it is the small, localized self-help organizations, conceptualized as the organizations of everyday life, which engage the urban grassroots. The configuration of the associations and the close face-to-face interactions, combined with traditional membership, imply that this form of activism cannot be understood without taking into account the specific national historic context. In the Swedish urban periphery, the reinvention of the Swedish social mass movement tradition is central when discussing both the constraints to and opportunities for suburban organizing. The strong movement tradition, together with political and financial incentives, has facilitated the development of a vigorous community life. At the same time, these prerequisites have undermined the political and critical potential of the urban grassroots.
