Browsing by Author "Álvarez Vandeputte, Martín"

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    The symbolic (re)production of marginality: Social construction, internalization, and concrete consequences of territorial stigmatization in a poor neighborhood of Santiago de Chile
    (2024) Álvarez Vandeputte, Martín; Ruiz-Tagle V., Javier; CEDEUS (Chile)
    Territorial stigmatization is a socially-constructed, symbolic representation of a place created and manipulated by external agents, which, once established, becomes decisive for the future of that place and its residents. This discredit is wide and perdurable and operates 'from above,' in the media, public officials, and part of academia, and 'from below,' in everyday interactions. Through a qualitative case-study in Santiago de Chile, mainly based on interviews and participant observations, this article shows the entire process of stigmatization: how these symbolic representations are socially constructed by different actors; how they are assumed in the discourses of residents, with a variety of reactions that include submissive internalization, naturalization, and a politicized challenge; and how these representations trigger the abandonment from several actors, which is conceptualized by residents as living in 'Red Zones' of chronic institutional abandonment. We finish suggesting that stigmatization operates as an institutional mechanism that intervenes in the relationship between poverty concentration and the emergence of social problems.
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    Urban marginality and institutional effects: Disinvestment, inefficacy, and stigmatization in Santiago de Chile
    (2023) Ruiz-Tagle V., Javier; Álvarez Vandeputte, Martín; Labbé, Gricel
    “Neighborhood effects” research, which maintains that poverty concentration generates a variety of social problems, has been questioned for concealing the role of powerful institutions. As an alternative, we focus on external institutions’ practices in marginal neighborhoods and their impact on the emergence of social problems. Through a qualitative case-study of three neighborhoods in Santiago, we observed institutional practices and identified three distinct mechanisms. Through disinvestments, these neighborhoods have been turned into “Red Zones,” because of public, private, and civil institutions’ refusal to establish themselves and to deliver their services there. Through inaction and inefficacy, public intervention has been deeply intermittent, negligent, and uncoordinated. Finally, through territorial stigmatization, these neighborhoods have almost become no-go areas. Several material and symbolic consequences have resulted from these practices, including direct and indirect connections with social problems. These have implications for the debate on “neighborhood effects” and for social mix policies.