Urban norm tar form

Doktriner, historiska ekon och kollektivt identitetsbyggande i svensk nyhetsmedia

Abstract

The article follows how the term “urban norm” has been used in Swedish-language news media. The analysis critically examines what is normalized when the concept of urban norm is attributed meaning. In the article, the author also reflects on the concept’s potential to contribute to changes in unequal power relations between and in different places. By using the discourse theoretical method of “following the signifier” (Chang & Glynos 2011), the author examines the presence of the concept of urban norm in the news media, as well as the ideological connections made to the concept at different times. The article traces doctrines, historical echoes and collective identity building that build up and organize meanings of the concept of urban norm today.