Narratives of peripheralisation

Place, agency and generational cohorts in post-industrial Estonia

Bibliographic Data

ID12317693
AuthorsAlena Pfoser (0000-0002-8933-014X, Loughborough University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume25
Issue4
Pages391-404
Publication date2017-05-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Urban and Regional Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0969-7764 • E-ISSN: 1461-7145
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0969776417711215
OpenAlexW2617943769
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited49

Research on spatial polarisation in Central and Eastern Europe has tended to focus on macro-economic processes that create certain places and people as peripheral and has highlighted the socioeconomic impact of peripheralisation, while paying only limited attention to local experiences and responses. Drawing on a multiscalar conception of peripheralisation processes, the article examines the making of socio-spatial inequalities from the perspective of the periphery and foregrounds the narrative practices through which actors negotiate peripheralisation processes, focusing on the case of Narva, a former industrial city in Estonia’s Northeastern region. In the face of negative structural dynamics, actors rework their peripheral status by articulating a positive sense of belonging, claiming recognition based on their work and trying to exert control over their futures. The paper particularly highlights generational differences within these narrative responses to spatial inequalities. While older working-class populations’ narratives are shaped by collective and place-based resilience, the post-socialist generation employs more individualised strategies in the face of peripheralisation and exercises agency by detaching themselves from place. Analysing these responses, the article draws attention to constrained agency as well as cultural differentiation within peripheral communities

Agency (philosophy · Economic geography · Face (sociological concept · Geography · Inequality · Narrative · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Rural development and sustainability · Urban Planning and Governance · Urbanization and City Planning