Socio-spatial stigmatization and its ‘incorporation’ in the centre of Athens, Greece

Abstract

City: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Penny (Panagiota) KoutrolikouConsidering stigmatization as a process ingrained into power relations, difference and contexts, this paper focuses on how socio-spatial stigmatization is deployed by specific social actors within a broader context of multiple stigmatization of social groups in the city of Athens, Greece. As such, it discusses imposed stigmatization, whereby stigma is attributed to a group and/or a place by external (to the group) actors and further explores what can be termed as 'incorporated' stigmatization whereby socio-spatial stigma becomes the central feature around which a group is formed and/or mobilized. Furthermore, in both cases, it explores the consequences of stigmatization, while raising further questions about (de)legitimization.

Affective practices in the European city of encounter

“…Two other papers in the special feature also deal with the production, or transformation, of specific urban spaces of different kinds. Koutrolikou (2015, this issue) discusses, on the one hand, how the emotional aspects of stigmatization solidify prejudice and discrimination of migrant neighbourhoods in inner-city Athens as 'reputational ghettoes' (using Ceri Peach's term); while, on the other hand, 'socio-spatial stigmatization is deployed by local actors in order to assert their vulnerability, legitimize and solidify a socio-political identity and turn stigmatization [into] a vehicle for demanding or securing political and/or economic gains'. Conversely, Inceoglu (2015, this issue) considers the making of Istanbul's Gezi Park as a physical and symbolic 'public space' the central feature in the nationwide collective reactions and uprisings against authoritarian rule and neo-liberal gentrification projects (i.e.…”

Resonance beyond regimes: Migrant’s alternative infrastructuring practices in Athens

“…Greece has been at the centre of ‘two overlapping “humanitarian crises”: the economic crisis and the crisis of refugees’ (Cabot, 2019: 747) which have affected each other (Koutrolikou, 2015). The austerity politics and migration developments in recent years are central to the infrastructuring practices presented in this paper.…”

“…The economic crisis and austerity policies have thus affected Athenian lives and infrastructures in significant ways. However, as Koutrolikou (2015: 513) points out, the impact of the crisis is felt in some neighbourhoods more than others. The inner-city neighbourhoods particularly strongly affected by the economic downturn were also the more ethnically and racially diverse neighbourhoods.…”

Negotiations of Socio-Spatial Coexistence through Everyday Encounters in Central Athens, Greece

“…'Ghetto,' a term used to characterise areas of central Athens, entered the media discourse in the late 2000s, while in the early 2010s it also dominated the political discourse of official authorities (Kalantzopoulou, Koutrolikou, & Polihroniadi, 2011). Both migrant groups and specific central Athenian neighbourhoods with relatively higher percentages of migrants have been stigmatised (Koutrolikou, 2015). These developments run in parallel with the rise of racism and exclusions both in terms of discourse and everyday violent practices against migrants at the local level (Kandylis & Kavoulakos, 2011;Papatzani, in press).…”