The Can’t Move-Must Move Contradiction: A Case Study of Displacement of the Poor and Social Stress
Abstract
Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1994 The Can't Move-Must Move Contradiction: A Case Study of Displacement of the Poor and Social Stress Leslie G. Carr ·2 INTRODUCTION This is a case study of the social stress which resulted from the dis placement of approximately 400 poor families from their homes in a pri vately owned apartment complex in 1987-1988. It was an instance of a particular type of "urban renewal," private-public urban renewal. The event studied here is representative of one aspect of a national and international process that ultimately is driven by the cycle of disinvestment and reinvest ment of capital in urban areas. Ratner (1991, p. 7) has defined social stress as a phenomenon which "must include enduring social practices characteristic of particular social systems that violate socially generated as well as biological needs." Social stress refers to "social practices that impact on individuals with debilitating effect" (Ratner, 1991, p. 9). This distinguishes social stress from stress that simply implies some disruption in ordinary behavior. The concept of "stress" has often been used in a way that confuses such differences. For example, the stress of preparing a wedding and the stress