Abstract Using empirical data from a case study of a square in a heterogeneous Rotterdam neighborhood, we address two contradictions in urban social engineering. The first is the aim to make neighborhoods more heterogeneous while fostering a sense of community. The second is making people feel more “at home” in public space by “re-conquering” it from specific groups who should be made to feel less at home. Our data show how people relate to other groups or categories of people on an everyday basis in public space. The square we studied is perceived as a specific territory where some people do not “belong,” while others do. Ethnicity, being an established resident or a relative newcomer, and the mastering of relevant elements of the dominant culture—e.g. speaking the Dutch language—are important elements in feeling at home at the square. Our study reveals that there are limits to bridging social difference and thus making everybody feel at home in public space. This applies to both adults who conceive of difference in terms of hegemony, antagonism, and threat, and to children who are explicitly targeted by policies that we conceptualize as practices of “parenting the city.”

中文翻译：

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在邻里广场的家中

摘要 利用鹿特丹异质社区广场案例研究的经验数据，我们解决了城市社会工程中的两个矛盾。第一个是旨在使社区更加多样化，同时培养社区意识。第二个是通过“重新征服”特定群体的公共空间，让他们在公共空间中感觉更“宾至如归”，这些群体应该让他们感觉不那么自在。我们的数据显示了人们在公共空间中日常与其他群体或类别的人之间的关系。我们研究的广场被认为是一个特定的领域，有些人不“属于”，而另一些人则“属于”。种族、作为已建立的居民或相对较新的居民以及掌握主流文化的相关元素（例如讲荷兰语）是在广场上宾至如归的重要元素。我们的研究表明，弥合社会差异并因此让每个人在公共空间感到宾至如归是有限度的。这既适用于认为霸权、对抗和威胁方面存在差异的成年人，也适用于我们将其概念化为“养育城市”的政策明确针对的儿童。