`Ordinary, the Same as Anywhere Else'

Abstract

Urban sociologists are becoming increasingly interested in neighbourhood as a source of middle-class identity. Par ticular emphasis is currently being given to two types of middle-class neighbourhood; gentrified urban neighbourhoods of'distinction' and inconspicuous `suburban landscapes of privilege'. However, there has been a dear th of work on `marginal' middle-class neighbourhoods that are similarly `inconspicuous' rather than distinctive, but less exclusive, thus containing sources of `spoiled identity'. This ar ticle draws on data gathered from two `marginal' middle-class neighbourhoods that contained a par ticular source of `spoiled identity': social renters. Urban sociological analyses of neighbour responses to these situations highlight a process of dis-identification with the maligned object, which exacerbates neighbour differences. Our analysis of data from the `marginal' m idd le-class neighbourhoods suggests something entirely different and Goffmanesque. This entailed the management of spoiled identity, which emphasized similarities rather than differences between neighbours.