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Housing context and legitimacy in the transformation of a stigmatized estate: the case of Rosengård

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Abstract

Large housing estates built in the post second world war era have been the object of extensive debates and research in Europe and in North America, due to their social and maintenance challenges but also their high symbolic value. A wide range of regeneration strategies has been employed in addressing issues of segregation and stigmatization of these estates. This paper examines the role of local housing and public management in the selection of regeneration strategies. The paper starts from the concept of housing context as means of explaining the selection of regeneration strategy. The paper is informed by a case study of regeneration efforts in Rosengård, where a minor regeneration effort, the Bokals, led by the municipal housing company, crystalizes a new integrated approach in regenerating the estate. This sets the stage for subsequent developments. We argue that legitimacy, in the sense of management being perceived as a credible agent of change, is critical in the cumulative strengthening and shaping of the regeneration strategy in Rosengård. We put forward the notion of legitimacy trading to capture the mutual and instrumental public support of the main actors. The main contribution of the paper is to demonstrate how including aspects of management legitimacy can develop the concept of housing context, by extending the range of applicability and broadening the range of regeneration strategies that can be accounted for.

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Notes

  1. See Malmö Stad (2008).

  2. Interviews MC1. Councilman with executive responsibility for physical and infrastructural development in Malmö. Jan. 13, 2011. MPM1: Interview with public manager responsible for Rosengård city district. Jan.18, 2011 and MPM2: Municipal urban planner with responsibility for development in Rosengård. Feb. 17, 2011.

  3. Interview MPM1 see above.

  4. Interview MC1, see above.

  5. Interview MC1 see above.

  6. Interview MKB1: Interview with manager and concept designer of MKB May 7, 2012.

  7. Interview MKB1 see above.

  8. BE1: Bokal entrepreneur Aug 26, 2014.

  9. Interview MKB2 Interviews with three managers of MKB July 4, 2012.

  10. Interview BE1 see above.

  11. Interview MKB1 see above.

  12. MKB's press release Dec. 01 2009. Bokaler—a new way of promoting entrepreneurship and creating spaces for interaction in Rosengård, Malmö. (author translation).

  13. Annual reports for MKB Fastighets AB 2012 and 2013. The entire front cover of the 2013 annual report is an image of the Bokals.

  14. the shift is most noticeable in the comparison of the short self description provided in the annual reports of MKB Fastighets AB for the years 2008 and 2009.

  15. Översiktsplan för Malmö 2012: samrådsunderlag/planeringsstrategi. (2011). ().Malmö Stad.

  16. See the municipal project Rosengårdsstråket headed by the department of streets and parks via www.malmo.se.

  17. http://culturecasbah.com accessed June 20 2015.

  18. Municipal planning document PP6044, City of Malmö.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the constructive comments of three anonymous reviewers. We are also grateful for comments on earlier drafts by Stig Westerdahl, Carina Listerborn, Eva Öresjö and Daniel Ericsson, and the help of Magnus Johansson in collecting and discussing materials. The research has been funded by the Swedish Research Council FORMAS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urban Studies, Malmö University, 205 06, Malmö, Sweden

    Peter Parker

  2. Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden

    Ana Mafalda Madureira

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  1. Peter Parker
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  2. Ana Mafalda Madureira
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Correspondence to Peter Parker.

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Parker, P., Madureira, A.M. Housing context and legitimacy in the transformation of a stigmatized estate: the case of Rosengård. J Hous and the Built Environ 31, 589–604 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-015-9480-3

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