Urban Geography
2019

Cosmopolitanism beyond the city: discourses and experiences of young migrants in post-suburban Netherlands (Article) (Open Access)

Tzaninis Y.*
  • a Department of Sociology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

Cosmopolitanism has been, and largely still is, understood as a phenomenon exclusive to the city, while the periphery is traditionally identified with lack of diversity. Meanwhile, cosmopolitanism is broadly assumed to be an attitude primarily represented by liberal elites. This paper challenges these binary conceptions by focusing on the existence of cosmopolitanism together with (migrant) youth precarity in (post)suburbia. Based on research in a post-suburban New Town in the Netherlands, the paper looks beyond the bias of strictly “city” perspectives on cosmopolitanism, and investigates the experiences of young migrants who find themselves in a (post)suburban environment. The case is Almere, 30km east of Amsterdam, a place that has rapidly diversified in the past two decades. Based on interviews with young migrants who moved recently to Almere, the paper focuses on their experiences and everyday struggles. The analysis ultimately alludes to post-suburban cosmopolitanisms, coupled with potentially precarious circumstances. © 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Author Keywords

youth precarity Migration cosmopolitanism postsuburbs

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85068589728&doi=10.1080%2f02723638.2019.1637212&partnerID=40&md5=b583aad889d658135506633c7fb1f8da

DOI: 10.1080/02723638.2019.1637212
ISSN: 02723638
Original Language: English