Primed for harm

Inaccessible housing as a vulnerabilising assemblage

Bibliographic Data

ID8942478
AuthorsIlan Wiesel (0000-0002-7244-1775, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author), Emma R Power (0000-0001-5204-322X, Western Sydney University)
Year2023
Volume145
Pages103826-103826
Publication date2023-07-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeoforum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7185 • E-ISSN: 1872-9398
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103826
OpenAlexW4385257792
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited36

In this paper we propose the concept of ‘vulnerabilising’ to mark an explicit shift in the focus of analysis and intervention away from those individuals and groups labelled vulnerable, towards the processes that generate and reproduce vulnerability. To that end, we develop a framework that conceptualises how ‘vulnerabilising assemblages’ operate. We mobilise assemblage thinking and engage with theoretical debates on the nature of vulnerability as a universal, albeit unequal, human condition. Addressing inaccessible housing as a case study, we identify three mechanisms through which it vulnerabilises people with physical disabilities: through exposure to harm; through erosion of defenses against harm; and by legitimising or motivating harm. We propose that such mechanisms can be investigated in different contexts, and call on researchers, policymakers and grassroot activists to shift their attention from vulnerable bodies to vulnerabilising assemblages

Archaeology · Assemblage (archaeology · Computer security · Criminology · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Focus (optics · Geography · Harm · Intervention (counseling · Paradigm shift · Political science · Sociology · Vulnerability (computing · Computer Science · Disaster Management and Resilience · Homelessness and Social Issues · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access