Urban Threat Figurations. Boundary-Making in and across Unequal Neighborhoods

Abstract

Building on ethnographic research in Johannesburg, this article introduces the concept of figurations to segregation research to analyze the multi-layered relationships between unequal and diverse neighborhoods. In this way, the equation of residential with social segregation, which is often found in global segregation literature, can be overcome. The figurative lens enables us to grasp the dynamics of relational intra- and inter group processes in and across residentially segregated neighborhoods. I show this by means of three different figurations: 1) a victim-perpetrator figuration around the threat of criminality, 2) a Black-White figuration around the threat of losing Afrikaner identity, and 3) a locals-externals figuration around the threat of environmental pollution and health. The result is a more complex understanding of neighborhood relations. Instead of reifying a static picture of segregated areas and the assumption of omni-relevant categorizations, the figurational perspective facilitates the recognition of social change on the neighborhood level.