The neighbourhood of Sofielund in Malm. is marked by diversity in terms of its population and its varying architecture and types of housing. It is also marked by social divisions, including poverty, housing exploitations and criminality. Over time, a large number of interventions have been implemented to better the situation. The interventions are, among other things, inspired by the Business Improvement District (BID) model and include efforts to enhance social cohesion through a strategy of “opening up Sofielund” through creating “meeting-places.” The article provides an analysis of the lived experiences of residents in Sofielund, and shows how policy efforts on “social cohesion” and the creation of meeting-places are perceived by residents. The presentation argues that while meeting-places aim to even out tensions and strengthen social cohesion, they may also reproduce existent power relations and increase tensions. Consequently, the article shows that strategies of opening up places can have the unintended consequences of closing down for buildings, people, and social relations. The article focuses on how inequality and exclusion unfold in inclusive spaces, and entail different forms of polarisation based on “us” and “them”.

Bydelen Sofielund er pr.get af diversitet, både i forhold til beboere og varieret arkitektur med forskellige typer af boliger. Bydelen er også markeret ved sociale skel, som omfatter fattigdom, boligspekulation og kriminalitet. Der er igennem tiden blevet iværksat et stort antal interventioner for at forbedre situationen. Disse interventioner er bl.a. inspireret af den internationale Business Improvement District (BID) og inkluderer bestræbelser på at forstærke social sammenhængskraft gennem strategier til at “åbne Sofielund” gennem skabelsen af “mødesteder”. Artiklen analysere levede erfaringer blandt beboere i Sofielund, og hvordan de opfatter policyindsatsen omkring “social sammenhængskraft” og etableringen af “mødesteder”. Artiklen argumenterer for, at hvor skabelsen af mødesteder har til formål at udligne spændinger og skabe social sammenhængskraft, kan de også reproducere eksisterende magtrelationer og forøge spændinger. Således viser artiklen, at strategier til at åbne steder kan have utilsigtede konsekvenser i form af at lukke ned for både bygninger, mennesker og sociale relationer. Artiklen fokuserer på, hvordan diversitet og eksklusion i denne proces udfoldes i inklusive rum og omfatter forskellige former for polarisering af ‘os’ og ‘dem’.