Stadens rasifiering : Etnisk boendesegregation i folkhemmet : [ethnic residential segregation in the Swedish Folkhem]

Sammanfattning: The thesis approaches the phenomenon of ethnic residential segregation in Sweden froma critical perspective in which the structures of social, and in particular of racial relationsare central. Firstly, the role of the Swedish state in processes of what is called urban racialization isexplored through an examination of the sequential ideological discourses and housingpolicies valid during the twentieth century, seeking a historical continuity in processes ofresidential segregation as well as in social constructions of the Other Secondly, a cluster analysis is carried out in the medium-sized Swedish city of Uppsala.The analysis indicates that a spatial division of residence along racial lines to some extentis taking place in Uppsala, as can be the case in other Swedish cities, Thirdly, a phenomenological survey is carried out in the suburb of Gottsunda, Uppsala,The interview survey finds no empirical support for the culturally deterministic postulatebased on the otherwise common belief that spatial patterns of ethnic segregation couldhave been generated by immigrants when choosing their allocations in the city, strivingthus the proximity to countrymen. Finally, symbolic mechanisms, such as everyday discourses, the drawing of invisibleboundaries between We and Them and media representations, are explored. These,together with structural ideological and political factors, are constantly interacting in theprocesses of maintenance and reproduction of racialized residential patterns in theSwedish urban structure.