Socio-environmental justice, participatory development, and empowerment of segregated urban Roma: Lessons from Szeged, Hungary

Abstract

This paper aims to deepen current understandings of the ways in which historical power differentials and stigmatization shape the injustices faced by urban Roma populations. It argues, firstly that spatial segregation cannot be analytically separated from social and environmental factors that marginalize and disempower this vulnerable community; and secondly, that a multi-scalar approach is necessary to capture the ways in which stigmatization acts both within the affected community, and at the levels of local policy, national policy, and wider culture. The authors then consider the advantages and the pitfalls of using participatory processes to empower Roma segregated communities, drawing on the experience of a participatory action research process carried out over an eight-year period in the city of Szeged, Hungary. The findings suggest that it is necessary to be attentive to the paradoxes, dilemmas, and conflicts that surround the attempt to empower a highly stigmatized group as citizens, in a culture where exclusion and racism still dominate. The conclusions call for a comprehensive raft of policy measures to tackle Roma stigmatization, and for a continuous process of reflection on the moral and practical problems associated with participation in a context where power differentials still dominate.