Metropolitics

Spaces of Inclusion and Exclusion: Algerians in Paris, France

Elizabeth Nelson — 2022-10-04T05:00:00Z

In the context of contemporary French republicanism, how do Algerians in Paris assert their identities and negotiate spaces of inclusion and exclusion in the public sphere?
The social and spatial integration practices of Algerian immigrants and their descendants living in Paris, France, illustrate local-level integrative practices that often involve feelings of unease related to living and working in an environment where a French/white/secular identity is normative and pervasive. French

- From the Field / Algerians, Paris region, Paris, France, Île-de-France, banlieue, exclusion, inclusion, space, republicanism

Understanding Why Homeless People Refuse Emergency Accommodation

Édouard Gardella & translated by Oliver Waine — 2021-03-09T06:00:00Z

The refusal of emergency accommodation by many homeless people expresses the intensity of their attachment to the communities to which they belong. While this attachment to the street or to their neighborhood exposes them to extreme precarity, it also reflects a need among homeless people for recognition and a certain rootedness.
If people sleep on the streets, it is because they have chosen to do so. This is what Sylvain Maillard, a French member of parliament from the ruling LREM party,

- From the Field / exclusion, homelessness, precarity, emergency accommodation, poverty

Far from the Ballot Box: The Political Exclusion of the Working Classes in France

Camille Peugny & translated by Oliver Waine — 2018-07-04T05:00:00Z

Following the French presidential and parliamentary elections of 2017, the question of equal access to the electoral process once again came to the fore. Sociologist Camille Peugny, who has exhaustive measured different forms of non-participation (linked to nationality, non-registration or abstention), reveals the extent to which political exclusion affects working-class populations, and underlines the role of collective work in the (uneven) politicization of these populations.
Each time the

- Essays / France, democracy, inequalities, vote, exclusion, elections, working classes, presidential election

Excluding Fast and Slow: Charlottesville's Long Battle over Public Space

Frank Muraca — 2018-01-09T06:00:00Z

The “Unite the Right” white-supremacist rally in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, erupted into violence, killing one person and injuring many others. While local politicians distance themselves from the largest hate gathering in the US, a closer look at Charlottesville's public spaces reveals the exclusionary tactics of local business-oriented leaders.
“It's definitely been a sad vibe today but if you didn't know any better looking out the window, you would think it was a typical Sunday,”

- From the Field / public space, United States, exclusion, affordable housing, displacement, race, homelessness, Charlottesville

All the Gayborhoods are White

Marcus Anthony Hunter — 2015-05-19T05:00:00Z

The urban “gayborhood,” the place where gay men and women found refuge for their sexuality from bigotry, is gradually changing demographically and culturally in today's “post-gay” era. In his review of Amin Ghaziani's book about the implications behind this transition, sociologist Marcus Anthony Hunter considers the omission of race from our understanding of the traditional gayborhood, and reflects on the role of social exclusion in urban spaces characterized by their inclusion of marginalized

- Reviews / gentrification, Chicago, gender, United States, homosexuality, exclusion, neighborhood, race, gay, LGBTQ+, gay flight, gayborhood

Public authorities and Roma populations in Turin

Elisabetta Rosa & translated by Oliver Waine — 2015-03-05T05:50:00Z

For the last three decades or so, European cities have had to deal with the issue of land occupation by migrant populations from Eastern Europe. The city of Turin has adopted various measures with respect to the “Roma question”: the closure of certain illegal camps, tolerance of others – facilitating their consolidation – and the creation of supervised “official” camps. Despite the apparent contradictions, these policies in fact all lead to similar outcomes: spatial relegation and the

- From the Field / camps, Italy, exclusion, public policy, migration, expulsions, Turin, Roma, vulnerable housing

The Other Side of Austin, Texas

Caitlyn Collins & Katherine Jensen & Kristine Kilanski & Javier Auyero — 2015-03-02T05:50:00Z

Despite a booming economy, Austin, Texas, is a city where inequalities persist and grow in the shadow of neoliberal governance. Ethnographer Javier Auyero and his students give us a preview of the book Invisible in Austin: Life and Labor in an American City, where they explore the rough and varied lives of the contemporary urban poor.
Working on the dark side
“There's a joke: What's the difference between a cocktail waitress and a stripper? Two weeks.” Raven laughs loudly. “I literally went

- From the Field / inequalities, United States, work, exclusion, ethnography, poverty, neoliberalization, insecurity, Austin, homelessness, precarity, marginality, neoliberalism, urban poor