Social inclusion, neighbourhood reputation and stigma: resident's experiences from within

In this paper the reputation of the neighbourhood is conceptualised as having important impacts on whether residents' are socially included or socially excluded. A stigmatised neighbourhood can affect access to employment and other opportunities, business and government investment in the neighbourhood and residents' ability to reach their full potential and become socially included. Living in neighbourhoods with poor reputations - viewed as 'problem places' that are home to 'problem people' - can reinforce many of the difficulties of already socially excluded individuals. Overall, the stigmatisation of particular neighbourhoods raises social justice issues as it accentuates the gulf between an apparently poor and spatially contained minority from a welloff majority. Taken as a whole, these issues undermine policies to establish a cohesive and pluralist society as well as diminishing political imperatives associated with social inclusion. Many of these stigmatised neighbourhoods consist of high concentrations of low-income rental housing that presents a significant challenge for policy-makers and practitioners. The evidence gathered from this study of three Australian neighbourhoods explores the impact of changes to social mix in neighbourhood regeneration on social housing tenants, home owners and private renters' perceptions of neighbourhood stigma. An unexpected finding was that the private rental tenure in regenerated neighbourhoods is increasingly becoming associated with stigma.