Places as a Source of Inclusion and Exclusion for Specific Communities

Identities exist in every social sphere of our society; they vary according to sex, race, nationality, race or ethnicity, and are formed through relations of individuals and groups in different places. However, there are tensions within these, thus reinforcing or challenging inequalities. They are also a subject of a changing social context, and their inclusiveness and exclusiveness contribute to a making of society. This essay will look at places where social interactions happen, and relate them to identities of people. It will examine how inclusion and exclusion work, and what role do identities have within social structures that connect or disconnect individuals. It will also be discussed that inclusion and exclusion in the city and the countryside are more than local, and can extend to other aspects of social life. Finally, the text will show that identities of a street and a neighbourhood must negotiate inclusion and exclusion within a neighbourhood identity. Hence, it will be concluded that connected lives are a subject of established identities and their meaning in places they exist.

Exclusion and Inclusion
Firstly, inclusion and exclusion of different communities happens in specific locations, where identities are viewed as either marked or unmarked. A marked identity signifies something unfamiliar, and thus abnormal, connected to a particular place and history. These identities can be determined by race, ethnicity, class, family, education, or an idea of 'us' and 'them'. Hence, typically, the Western identity is unmarked and normal, whereas other identities from other places are viewed as strangers with strange habits, conventions and social structures (Taylor, 2009). Moreover, everyday practices also propagate certai...

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