Deprivation and the rural-urban trap

Departing from the idea that cultural mechanisms are capable of allowing for conceptual dichotomies to create oppression, this article challenges the engrained tradition of using ‘urban/rural’ as guiding labels in societal organization when seen through the prism of deprivation. Two Polish deprivation-ridden estates – one ‘urban’ and one ‘rural’ – were investigated. Having taken account of the residents’ everyday lives in the socio-economic, material and discursive dimensions, our results indicate that the notions of rurality and urbanity imbricate and leapfrog meaningful territories at the lo... Mehr ...