Search for other papers by Vanessa Stjernborg in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Mekonnen Tesfahuney in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Anders Wretstrand in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
All currencies in US Dollar
This study focuses on Seved, a segregated and socioeconomically “poor” neighborhood in the city of Malmö in Sweden. It has attracted wide media coverage, a possible consequence of which is its increased stigmatization. The wide disparity between perceived or imagined fear and the actual incidence of, or exposure to, violence attests to the important role of the media in shaping mental maps and place images. Critical discourse analysis of daily newspaper articles shows that Seved is predominantly construed as unruly and a place of lawlessness. Mobility comprises an important aspect of the stigmatization of places, the politics of fear, and discourses of the “other.” In turn, place stigmatization, discourses of the other, and the politics of fear directly and indirectly affect mobility strategies of individuals and groups.