Social integration through social connection in everyday life. Residents' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in SällBo collaborative housing, Sweden
ISSN: 2631-6862
Article publication date: 12 January 2021
Issue publication date: 30 March 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this article is to explore the everyday life experiences of elderly (+70 years) living with young locals and refugees in a collaborative housing project before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden. The paper discusses the importance of the spatial dimension in the conceptualization of social integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The main method is a qualitative case study based on observations of settings, document/video analysis, online diary entries made by ten residents and eight semi- structured interviews conducted with the residents.
Findings
SällBo was conceived as a new type of collaborative housing in which elderly, young locals and refugees share common spaces with the aim of enabling social integration. In this context, COVID-19 interrupted the ongoing processes of living together after four months of moving to the house. The three main themes that emerge from the empirical material are (1) changes in the use of common spaces and social interactions, (2) residents' resilient coping responses during the pandemic and (3) insights for future design of collaborative housing based on their experience. The pandemic caused a moment of institutional vacuum, which triggered the agency of the residents whilst developing social bonds and social bridges among them.
Social implications
Social connection created in everyday life at SällBo's common spaces has triggered processes of social integration.
Originality/value
The ongoing processes of social integration have included the spatial dimension. We understand social integration as a process that involves people from different generations and ethnical backgrounds, which takes place in common spaces and everyday life as different modes of socialization.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to residents of SällBo for participating in this research. The authors appreciate the support from Helsingborgshem by facilitating access to SällBo. We acknowledge the proofreading of the manuscript and comments made by Laura Liuke, lecturer at Housing Development and Management, Lund University.Funding: This publication resulted from research supported by The Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning (Boverket) and The Platform (Helsingborg City and Lund University). The views expressed in the paper are those of the authors.
Citation
Arroyo, I., Montesino, N., Johansson, E. and Yahia, M.W. (2021), "Social integration through social connection in everyday life. Residents' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in SällBo collaborative housing, Sweden", Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 79-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-10-2020-0236
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited