Credible and knowledgeable Enforcers

Abstract: In many of Sweden’s major cities, the majority of apartments in the suburbs are managed and owned by municipality-owned public housing companies. A number of these suburbs are defined by the National Operations Branch (NOA) of the Swedish Police as vulnerable or particularly vulnerable. These definitions are based on the level of influence of criminal behavior within the areas. This study aims to investigate how local public housing companies construct their role in improving the status of socio-economically challenged areas and what significance publicly set labels such as Vulnerable areas have on their work within certain areas. Unstructured interviews with representatives from five public housing companies in five different Swedish municipalities were conducted. Neither of the interviewed companies puts particular significance into the "NOA labels”, instead they use self-constructed labels. Other findings are that these companies are „credible enforcers“ within their neighborhoods of operation. The companies can practice a certain power based on the legitimacy of reward (empowerment of and responsiveness towards the tenants) and punishment (of unwanted behavior). The companies are also the most present public actors and, as such, are functioning as a hub for cooperation with other actors. Thirdly, the companies play a significant role in improving the neighborhood‘s image for outsiders and residents alike.