Tracing the connectivity of marginalized urban neighbourhoods through a mobilities lens: a Danish case

Many cities have neighbourhoods that are considered socially and physically disconnected from the urban landscape. These areas are often seen as sociocultural and sociospatial deviations from the norm. This paper explores the connectivity of marginalized neighbourhoods in Denmark by focusing on residents’ perceived mobilities within so-called parallel societies. Previous studies emphasize the need for more comprehensive measures to classify urban neighbourhoods in planning policies that often rely on a population’s socioeconomic status. This paper asserts that mobility structures are central to shaping neighbourhoods and draws on literature from the fields of mobilities and urban marginality. It employs a mixed-methods design focusing on residents’ physical movement alongside the representation and stigmatization of their neighbourhoods, following Cresswell’s aspects of mobility and Wacquant’s advanced sociology. Territorial stigma shapes perceptions of urban areas’ connectivity and, arguably, perceptions of mobility. By comparing residents’ perceived mobility with neighbourhood representations, the paper highlights the multiplicity and ambiguity of urban connectivity, which challenge state-sanctioned labels that frame parallel societies as disintegrated parts of the urban landscape. This ambiguity is illustrated by a mismatch between residents’ experiences of being socially and physically connected and broader perceptions of these areas as disconnected – not belonging to the city or wider society.