Perception of Urban Residents towards Marginalized Populations; Coping Strategies of Residents in Affluent Areas of Mashhad City with Marginalization

Disadvantaged settlements encompass areas that face various vulnerabilities and deprivations. These adversities give rise to the recognition of these areas as being plagued by “spatial stigma.” The nature of this spatial stigma is dynamic and permeates individuals, leading to their notoriety. Consequently, residents of these areas bear the burden of place stigma, which results in the attachment of diverse labels to them, prompting the adoption of various strategies to confront these challenges. The objective of this research is to explore the perception of marginalized individuals as seen through the eyes of residents residing in disadvantaged areas and to investigate strategies employed to address urban marginalization in the city of Mashhad. Employing a qualitative approach, the study utilized a semi-structured interview tool and implemented purposeful sampling and sample size determination based on the principle of informational saturation. The analysis of interviews followed the thematic analysis technique proposed by Braun and Clarke. The findings from 21 interviews with residents of disadvantaged areas in Mashhad reveal that marginalized individuals are perceived based on distinctive characteristics, including initial categorization (focused on livelihood, economic marginalization, self-sufficiency, and self-reliance), deviant behavior (undesirable traits and nonconformity), and a culture of marginalization (reactive behavior, self-neglect, informal upbringing, vernacular discourse, actions, and cultural capital of marginalization). These perceptions collectively contribute to the construction of “marginalization stigma.” The establishment and perception of marginalization stigma serve as the foundation for interactions with marginalized individuals, giving rise to two categories of strategies: “social accommodation” strategies, involving acceptance and engagement with marginalized individuals, and “social non-accommodation” strategies, entailing rejection and the establishment of boundaries in interactions with marginalized individuals.