"The Same But Not the Same": The Discursive Constitution of Large Housing Estates in Germany, France, and Poland

Glasze G, Pütz R, Germes M, Schirmel H, Brailich A (2012)

Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2012

Journal

Urban Geography V H Winston & Sons Inc

Publisher: V H Winston & Sons Inc

Book Volume: 33

Pages Range: 1192-1211

Journal Issue: 8

DOI: 10.2747/0272-3638.33.8.1192

Abstract

Since the 1960s, large housing estates have shaped the geography of suburbia in many Western and Eastern European cities. This paper examines the constitution of the social and spatial meanings of large housing estates within three different national contexts: in Germany, Poland, and France. Employing discourse theory and an empirical analysis of the coverage of major national newspapers, we identify cross-national and specific national patterns of discourses that (re)produce particular social spaces and distinct social orders. Quantitative discourse analysis reveals differences, similarities, and ruptures in various constructions of the meaning of large housing estates. We find that large housing estates in France and Germany are constituted in print media as threatening places and as places of foreignness located outside the proper society. In contrast, Polish large housing estates are framed discursively as threatened places located in the social inside.

Authors with CRIS profile

Georg Glasze Chair in Cultural Geography Melina Germes Institut für Geographie Adam Brailich Chair in Cultural Geography

Involved external institutions

Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Glasze, G., Pütz, R., Germes, M., Schirmel, H., & Brailich, A. (2012). "The Same But Not the Same": The Discursive Constitution of Large Housing Estates in Germany, France, and Poland. Urban Geography, 33(8), 1192-1211. https://doi.org/10.2747/0272-3638.33.8.1192

MLA:

Glasze, Georg, et al. ""The Same But Not the Same": The Discursive Constitution of Large Housing Estates in Germany, France, and Poland." Urban Geography 33.8 (2012): 1192-1211.

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