Elderly people's experiences of housing renewal and forced relocation: Social theories and contextual analysis in explanations of emotional experiences

Abstract

Abstract Transformation of the urban environment, forcing people to leave their homes either temporarily or permanently, is a widespread phenomenon in the Western world. To those whose homes are affected, the process often has a strong emotional meaning. This article shows how various contributions to a sociology of emotions together can deepen our knowledge of the socio‐psychological mechanisms that lie behind elderly people's greatly varying emotional experiences of housing renewal and forced relocation. Mechanisms regarding five groups of emotions are presented: (1) trust, mistrust, security and insecurity, (2) powerlessness, self‐estrangement and belonging, (3) guilt, shame, pride and dignity, (4) the feeling of having been violated, and (5) stress. An intensive interview study of elderly people in three neighbourhoods in a middle‐sized Swedish town is presented, showing how these mechanisms are expressed in the encounter between the housing renewal process and the everyday life of elderly people. The article shows how peoples’ concrete emotional experiences are related to, e.g. the nature of the renewal process, the meaning of home and life history.