Rational fictions and imaginary systems : cynical ideology and the problem figuration and practise of public housing
Date
2015Keywords
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Abstract
This paper aims to show how Van Wel’s theory of problem figuration, Carlen’s concept of imaginary systems and Zizek’s notion of cynical ideology may advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the contemporary construction of housing policy narratives and embedded localised housing practise. Applying this theoretical framework to a case study of responses to homelessness in Scotland and further illustrative examples from the UK and the USA, the paper examines how housing practise is constituted through different imaginaries of housing systems. These are based on fictional as well as rational elements, located within a form of cynical ideology whereby actors act ‘as if’ the realities of the present housing crisis are distanced from the imagined intended functioning of housing systems. This masks alternative social realities and denies an explicitly articulated politics of housing which would reveal new processes of capitalism, generational and class realignments and a reframing of the role of government itself.
Citation
Crawford , J & Flint , J 2015 , ' Rational fictions and imaginary systems : cynical ideology and the problem figuration and practise of public housing ' , Housing Studies , vol. In press . https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2015.1013092
Publication
Housing Studies
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0267-3037Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright 2015 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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