Mitigating Neighborhood Stigma: Examining Strategies of Relating and Reframing

• Published date: 01 August 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/02750740241239052
• Author: Alexander Kroll,Aarti Mehta-Kroll,Dominik Vogel
• Date: 01 August 2024

Mitigating Neighborhood Stigma:

Examining Strategies of Relating and

Reframing

Alexander Kroll

1

, Aarti Mehta-Kroll

1

and Dominik Vogel

2

Abstract

In line with social construction scholarship, the stigmatization of neighborhoods has been used to justify or advocate for gen-

trif‌ication and development efforts that often displace marginalized populations. Challenging stigma in public discourse can

help level the playing f‌ield in support of community interests. This study examines two strategies to mitigate neighborhood

stigma: create opportunities for people to personally relate to a place and engage them in the positive reframing of extant

narratives. It is based on a preregistered between-groups survey experiment in which 498 local college students rated the

appeal of two Black, historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Miami: Overtown and Liber ty City. It f‌inds that ratings of

Overtown are signif‌icantly lower when its name is disclosed, indicating the presence of stigma. “Relating”improves ratings

of Liberty City, however, only among Black students, not white or Hispanic students. “Reframing”improves ratings but

only if students buy into the more positive frame.

Keywords

local and urban public administration/governance, gender and/or minority issues, economic/community development,

neighborhood stigma, reframing

Introduction

Scholarship in public management has devoted increasing

attention to the role of social construction of categories,

roles, and groups in policy design and implementation. One

general assertion is that target groups, who are publicly stig-

matized as undeserving, will be more likely to experience

administrative burden or government neglect, while being

more likely to be punished (see Pierce et al., 2014 but also

Bell, 2021; Chattopadhyay & Piatak, 2023; Ingram et al.,

2007; Soss et al., 2011). Research has documented that the

public is more willing to tolerate the presence of administra-

tive burden if the recipients of a government program,

affected by the burden, are considered to be undeserving

(Nicholson-Crotty et al., 2021). We understand administra-

tive burdens as learning, psychological, and compliance

costs that often result from information requests, which cit-

izens must fulf‌ill as a part of their interactions with govern-

ment (Moynihan et al., 2015). To be served adequately,

constituents must match government-created categories

often shaped by pre-existing beliefs about identities, and

as a result marginalized populations are less likely to be

able to redeem benef‌its for which they are eligible

(Barnes, 2021; Moynihan et al., 2022). Lastly, perceptions

of recipients of government support can vary by program

and group identity, creating stigma and explaining why

some recipients are better served than others (Blessett,

2020; Ketsche et al., 2007).

Integrating literature from the f‌ields of sociology, urban

policy, and public management, our article contributes to

this line of research by adding a spatial angle. Rather than

focusing on target groups, we intend to shed light on the

social construction of neighborhood and community

images. Neighborhood stigma has been found to be impactful

when used to justify neglect or overly corrective actions by

policy makers to the disadvantage of local communities.

This includes decisions about development that foster gentri-

f‌ication, which can push marginalized groups out of their

neighborhoods and away from their social support structures

(Sisson, 2021; Wacquant et al., 2014). While the negative

effects of stigma on people’s lives have been well docu-

mented (e.g., Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004; Besbris

et al., 2015; Keene & Padilla, 2010; but see also Tunstall

et al., 2014), this study will examine strategies to challenge

its manifestation. The f‌irst strategy is to help people person-

ally relate to stigmatized neighborhoods. When people can

1

Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

2

University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Corresponding Author:

Alexander Kroll, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.

Email: akroll@f‌iu.edu

Article

American Review of Public Administration

2024, Vol. 54(6) 555–567

© The Author(s) 2024

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DOI: 10.1177/02750740241239052

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