Abstract
Usually, Danish suburban history is told as a journey towards light, airy, green
spaces. However, suburban housing areas can be seen in the context of processes of urbanization,
where the boundary between urban and rural is dissolving. What does this mean for residential
identities? This article explores residential identities in a new housing area in the metropolitan
region of greater Copenhagen in this context, based on a qualitative study drawing on qualitative
interviews and photos taken by residents. It is argued that identity should be understood through
notions of reflexive identity, as well as the concepts of elective belonging and the aesthetic. In a
qualitative study with residents, it is shown how multiple and varied practices and stories are
generated. In residents’ articulation of identity in terms of centre-periphery relations, this was reconfigured
not as a linear relationship of a move from urban to non-urban areas (although it was
also expressed as this), but as generating various practices. Residents’ experiences and
negotiations emerged under the following themes: between the aesthetic and the pragmatic, being
connected or suburban, and simulated or authentic nature. The article also shows that not all
residents use such reflexivity, suggesting that it may be unevenly distributed.
spaces. However, suburban housing areas can be seen in the context of processes of urbanization,
where the boundary between urban and rural is dissolving. What does this mean for residential
identities? This article explores residential identities in a new housing area in the metropolitan
region of greater Copenhagen in this context, based on a qualitative study drawing on qualitative
interviews and photos taken by residents. It is argued that identity should be understood through
notions of reflexive identity, as well as the concepts of elective belonging and the aesthetic. In a
qualitative study with residents, it is shown how multiple and varied practices and stories are
generated. In residents’ articulation of identity in terms of centre-periphery relations, this was reconfigured
not as a linear relationship of a move from urban to non-urban areas (although it was
also expressed as this), but as generating various practices. Residents’ experiences and
negotiations emerged under the following themes: between the aesthetic and the pragmatic, being
connected or suburban, and simulated or authentic nature. The article also shows that not all
residents use such reflexivity, suggesting that it may be unevenly distributed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Housing, Theory and Society |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 42-63 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| ISSN | 1403-6096 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2010 |
