Territories of exclusion the reproduction of social and urban inequalities in Lisbon Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Urban areas continue to be characterized by physical spaces that reproduce social inequalities arising from the economic and symbolic value attributed to different areas, owing both to the pressure of the real estate market and the higher classes or social elites who tend to gather on the "best" places in general more expensive and with good mobility. In contrast, economically poorest people are confined to urban spaces with unskilled population and to the outskirts of the urban fabric (poor accessibility, urban abandonment, lack of urban planning and no landscaping, dilapidated housing, etc.). This latter context applies to the Gypsy/Roma population who is usually poorly housed and reside in disqualified urban areas. These territories are marked by a strong stigma, mainly due to the effects of hyper media coverage and by a strong isolation in relation to the surrounding areas. This reality impacts directly in the schools of these neighbourhoods, regarding the level of success and the continuity of the education pathways of children and young people, many of which are of Gypsy/ Roma origin. This paper intends to give an account of these existing urban concerns in specific territories (neighbourhood relocation) within the metropolitan areas of Lisbon. An ethnographic approach will be used in the analysis of space and its dimensions that reveal the reproduction of social inequalities in some social groups, particularly regarding the Gypsy/Roma population.