Shanty Town Youth in Morocco: Discrimination, Stigmatization, and Resistance Strategies (A Case Study of the «Duwar al–Sehd» in Temara City)

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the processes that produce spatial stigma in a poor neighborhood in Morocco, focusing on how spatial differences between a "shanty town" and other neighborhoods are constructed at the urban level. The process of stigmatization of shanty town areas becomes a social conviction that binds shanty town youth to stereotypes that set firm boundaries between "us" (ordinary youth), and "them" (shanty town youth), giving rise to multiple forms of social discrimination and stigma. Since representation of the other always entails an act of prevailing, this study also focuses on analyzing power relations. Finally, we look at forms of resistance adopted by the youth of the slums to confront labeling, stigmatization and socio–spatial discrimination.