Commentaar en discussie. Ruimte, subcultuur en determinisme. Antwoord aan Talja Potters

Samenvatting

In a reply to Talja Potters's (1997 ) criticism of Terpstra's (1996) study of working-class neighborhood dissolution, Potters's preoccupation with the notion of local/spatial determinism is deemed astonishing since Terpstra focused on neighborhoods as central elements in workers' subculture & was little concerned with their deterministic aspect in the spatial sense. Terpstra did not analyze the neighborhood as a geographic-administrative unit, but rather as a social phenomenon, the social rather than geographic boundary is emphasized as positive, & negative status elements are associated with neighborhood affiliation. Potters's arguments against the treatment of neighborhoods as units are rejected; the role of the spatial element in neighborhoods is that it influences patterns of social action: the latter must always occur in time & space. It is pointed out that a neighborhood, suburb, or town can be used as research location without the need for the notion of local determinism, becauses they can be conceived of as social groups with a spatial dimension. 8 References. Z. Dubiel