ABSTRACT

In this article, we ask how migrants establish social relationships, attachments and feelings of belonging within and to disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Drawing on extensive qualitative research with East European migrants in Scotland, we explore empirically the material, relational and temporal aspects of experiences of settlement at the neighbourhood level. We consider the ways in which migrants encounter and assess the material and institutional realities of their neighbourhoods. We examine the social relationships which develop in place, paying attention to social and cultural distancing and mutual ‘othering’, which may run counter to the development of place-based bonds. We discuss the role of time and the processual and ambiguous nature of settlement. Importantly, in our analysis, we consider the possibility that theoretical frameworks developed specifically for understanding migrant experiences might overemphasise their uniqueness and risk overlooking similarities grounded in multi-scalar hierarchies of power, which cut across lines of ethnic or cultural difference. We draw on wider theories and studies of place-attachment, as well as migration studies theories of embedding and emplacement, to explore the ways in which our participants’ experiences may be understood as both similar to and different from more widely shared realities of life in deprived areas.

摘要

在本文中，我们询问移民如何在弱势社区内部和对弱势社区建立社会关系、依恋和归属感。借鉴对苏格兰东欧移民的广泛定性研究，我们从经验上探讨了邻里定居经历的物质、关系和时间方面。我们考虑移民遇到和评估其社区的物质和制度现实的方式。我们研究就地发展的社会关系，关注社会和文化距离以及相互的“他者”，这可能与基于地方的联系的发展背道而驰。我们讨论了时间的作用以及解决的过程性和模糊性。重要的是，在我们的分析中，我们认为，专门为理解移民经历而开发的理论框架可能会过分强调其独特性，并有可能忽视基于多层次权力等级的相似性，这些权力等级跨越了种族或文化差异的界限。我们利用更广泛的地方依恋理论和研究，以及嵌入和就位的迁移研究理论，探索参与者的经历可以被理解为与更广泛共享的生活现实相似和不同的方式。贫困地区。