‘Together apart’ or ‘apart together’? – middle-class parents’ choice of playgrounds and playground interactions in socially diverse neighbourhoods

Abstract

Taking an everyday life setting, namely playgrounds, as a starting point, the paper foregrounds a nuanced analysis of the internal differentiations of the middle class’s positioning in regard to social diversity. In so doing, the paper contributes to debates on contemporary segregation research, (dis-)affiliation of the middle classes in inner-city diverse neighbourhoods and geographies of encounter. Empirical findings are based on an analysis of the narratives and daily spatial routines of middle-class parents in three inner-city neighbourhoods in a major German town. The findings contradict the conventional wisdom that middle-class parents would always seek a socially homogeneous environment in which to raise their children and show the presence of a middle-class fraction with a collective orientation. The analysis highlights the need for a closer look at playgrounds as a setting for cross-social interaction and, in terms of micro-level politics, a setting to promote diverse and inclusive neighbourhoods.

Résumé

Prenant pour point de départ un cadre de la vie quotidienne, les terrains de jeux en l’occurrence, cet article met en avant une analyse nuancée des différentiations internes du positionnement de la classe moyenne en ce qui concerne la diversité sociale. Ce faisant, cet article contribue aux débats sur la recherche de ségrégation contemporaine, la (dés-)affiliation de la classe moyenne dans divers quartiers du centre-ville et les géographies de la rencontre. Les résultats empiriques sont fondés sur une analyse de discours et de routines spatiales quotidiennes de parents de classe moyenne dans trois quartiers de centres villes dans des grandes villes allemandes. Les résultats contredisent la sagesse conventionnelle selon laquelle les parents de classe moyenne recherchent toujours un environnement socialement homogène où élever leurs enfants et montrent la présence d’une fraction de la classe moyenne ayant l’esprit d’orientation collective. L’analyse met l’accent sur la nécessité d’une observation plus poussée des terrains de jeux en tant que cadre d’interaction sociale plurielle et, concernant la politique à un niveau local, d’un cadre qui encourage les quartiers à diversité culturelle et inclusifs.

Resumen

Tomando como punto de partida un entorno de vida cotidiana, concretamente las plazas de juegos, este trabajo pone de relieve un análisis matizado de las diferenciaciones internas del posicionamiento de la clase media en relación con la diversidad social. Al hacer esto, el trabajo contribuye a los debates sobre la investigación de la segregación contemporánea, la (des-)afiliación de las clases medias en los barrios diversos del centro de la ciudad y las geografías de encuentro. Los hallazgos empíricos se basan en un análisis de las narrativas y las rutinas espaciales diarias de los padres de clase media en tres barrios del centro de una gran ciudad alemana. Los resultados contradicen la creencia convencional de que los padres de clase media siempre buscan un ambiente socialmente homogéneo en el que criar a sus hijos y muestran la presencia de una fracción de clase media con una orientación colectiva. El análisis destaca la necesidad de una mirada más cercana a las plazas de juego como escenario de interacción inter-social y, en términos de política de micro-nivel, un entorno para promover barrios diversos e inclusivos.

Keywords:

• Middle classes
• encounter with difference
• playgrounds
• urban parenting
• inner-city neighbourhoods
• Dusseldorf/Germany

Mots clés:

• classes moyennes
• rencontre de la différence
• terrains de jeux
• éducation parentale urbaine
• quartiers du centre-ville
• Dusseldorf/Allemagne

Palabras clave:

• clases medias
• encuentro con la diferencia
• plazas infantiles
• crianza urbana
• barrios del centro de la ciudad
• Dusseldorf/Alemania

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the rest of the ILS research team (Sabine Beißwenger, Heike Hanhörster and Isabel Ramos Lobato) for co-producing the research data and discussing ideas arising from these. I wish to thank the three anonymous referees, as well as Sabine Beißwenger and Susanne Frank (Technical University of Dortmund) for helpful comments on an earlier draft.

Notes

1. The names of the neighbourhoods, playgrounds and all interviewees have been anonymized.

2. Respondents in our sample lived within a radius of not more than 800 m of one of the selected playgrounds. In the cases of Northville and Southville, both of the selected playgrounds were within that distance for 14 respondents.

3. Data were produced in a research group. Please see the acknowledgments.

4. ‘Regularly’ was defined as at least once a week. ‘Once in a while’ was defined as once every two weeks to once every two months. ‘Seldom’ was defined as once or twice a year.

5. ‘Mixed’ is defined here on the basis of the researcher’s fieldwork, specifically personal observation and the parents’ narratives. Frequency of usage is based on the parents’ responses to the standardized interview questions.

6. All quotations have been translated by the author. Ellipsis points (…) indicate an omission within a quotation, whereas square brackets [ ] indicate a comment or clarification added by the author.

7. One could also say, ‘They see it as a trash place’ (‘die gehen da nicht hin, weil das denen zu asi ist’).