Distrust, powerlessness and sociospatial differentiation in Lithuanian cities

Abstract

Drawing on the population survey of social exclusion in Lithuanian cities, the article examines how residents’ distrust of their power to change neighborhoods and influence local authority decisions reflects more general processes of sociospatial segregation and differentiation. We argue that this distrust is spatially driven, although there is a limited evidence to suggest consistent sociospatial differentiation between prestigious city areas (city centers and suburbs) and low-end zones (working-class neighborhoods and Soviet-era housing areas). Pointing to the residents’ emotions of distrust and powerlessness related to ‘messy’ social exclusion processes, the article contributes to the research of both emotional geography and sociospatial differentiation in post-socialist cities.