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Perceptions of social disorder in public spaces in a disadvantaged neighborhood: The example of Cologne‐Chorweiler
Author(s) -
Kurtenbach Sebastian
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.21903
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , perception , ethnography , social psychology , psychology , sociology , political science , neuroscience , anthropology , law
Residents of segregated neighborhoods perceive social disorder in their neighborhoods differently. Starting from the broken‐windows theory and the social organization approach, the paper develops a deeper understanding of the role of place for the perception of social disorder. Participant structural observations were conducted, along with a photo survey and collection of ethnographic data about six locations within the studied neighborhood. Comparison of perceptions of the locations and social practices within them shows that social disorder is perceived not by residents who live directly at the location, but by others. This pattern is independent of the type and intensity of social disorder observed.