Experience of a Preventive Experiment : Spatial Social Mixing in Post-World War II Housing Estates in Helsinki, Finland

The contingent of large housing estates built in the 1960s and 1970s accounts for almost a half of all high-rises in Finland. The primary ideology in their genesis was to combine industrially prefabricated urban housing development with the surrounding forest landscape—together with a policy of spatial social mixing—to prevent social disorder and segregation. These policies seemed to work as intended until the early 1990s, but have since proved to be insufficient. With Western integration and new information and communication-based economic growth, new trends of population differentiation have emerged. As new wealth has moved out to the fringes of cities, the large housing estates have declined socio-economically—and have been enriched ethnically. This differentiation is structurally produced, works through the regional housing market and, as such, is beyond the scope of the preventive policies pursued. Recent attempts at controlling the regional markets and new forms of spatial social mixing have so far proved difficult.The contingent of large housing estates built in the 1960s and 1970s accounts for almost a half of all high-rises in Finland. The primary ideology in their genesis was to combine industrially prefabricated urban housing development with the surrounding forest landscape—together with a policy of spatial social mixing—to prevent social disorder and segregation. These policies seemed to work as intended until the early 1990s, but have since proved to be insufficient. With Western integration and new information and communication-based economic growth, new trends of population differentiation have emerged. As new wealth has moved out to the fringes of cities, the large housing estates have declined socio-economically—and have been enriched ethnically. This differentiation is structurally produced, works through the regional housing market and, as such, is beyond the scope of the preventive policies pursued. Recent attempts at controlling the regional markets and new forms of spatial social mixing have so far proved difficult.Peer reviewe

The autonomous city: towards a critical geography of occupation

This paper explores the recent resurgence of occupation-based practices across the globe, from the seizure of public space to the assembling of improvised protest camps. It re-examines the relationship between the figure of occupation and the affirmation of an alternative ‘right to the city’. The paper develops a critical understanding of occupation as a political process that prefigures and materializes the social order which it seeks to enact. The paper highlights the constituent role of occupation as an autonomous form of urban dwelling, as a radical politics of infrastructure and as a set of relations that produce common spaces for political action

The makeshift city: towards a global geography of squatting

This paper introduces a set of analytical frames that explore the possibilities of conceiving, researching and writing a global geography of squatting. The paper argues that it is possible to detect, in the most tenuous of urban settings, ways of thinking about and living urban life that have the potential to reanimate the city as a key site of geographical inquiry. The paper develops a modest theory of ‘urban combats’ to account for the complexity and provisionality of squatting as an informal set of practices, as a makeshift approach to housing and as a precarious form of inhabiting the city

The Influence of Education and Socialization on Radicalization: An Exploration of Theoretical Presumptions and Empirical Research

Background and Objective: Research into radicalization does not pay much attention to education. This is remarkable and possibly misses an important influence on the process of radicalization. Therefore this article sets out to explore the relation between education on the one hand and the onset or prevention of radicalization on the other hand. Method: This article is a theoretical literature review. It has analyzed empirical studies-mainly from European countries-about the educational aims, content and style of Muslim parents and parents with (extreme) right-wing sympathies. Results: Research examining similarity in right-wing sympathies between parents and children yields mixed results, but studies among adolescents point to a significant concordance. Research also showed that authoritarian parenting may play a significant role. Similar research among Muslim families was not found. While raising children with distrust and an authoritarian style are prevalent, the impact on adolescents has not been investigated. The empirical literature we reviewed does not give sufficient evidence to conclude that democratic ideal in and an authoritative style of education are conducive to the development of a democratic attitude. Conclusion: There is a knowledge gap with regard to the influence of education on the onset or the prevention of radicalization. Schools and families are underappreciated sources of informal social control and social capital and therefore the gap should be closed. If there is a better understanding of the effect of education, policy as well as interventions can be developed to assist parents and teachers in preventing radicalization. © 2011 The Author(s)

Assessing the impact of area-based initiatives in deprived neighborhoods: The example of S. João de Deus in Porto, Portugal

Though there have been many area-based initiatives to regenerate rundown areas in numerous cities around the world, many of them involving the demolition of stigmatized housing estates, far fewer attempts have been made to assess the effects of these initiatives upon the fortunes of displaced households and those who remain in these areas. By presenting the results of an empirical in-depth case study on the effects of an area-based initiative targeted at one of the most deprived neighborhoods in Porto, this article raises several epistemological concerns related to the goals, ideological assumptions, and social and spatial effects of these initiatives. Among other interrelated issues, the article discusses the impact of conflicting ideologies upon processes of radical strategy shift and of social and territorial marginalization and appeals to the need for more pluralistic approaches to evaluation.I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for research grant SFRH/BPD/75863/2011, POPH/FSE