ABSTRACT
Social exclusion in its various shapes and contexts of course may look completely different when considered from these contradictory – and ideological – basic assumptions on the social organisation of city life. Low income and being excluded from average patterns of consumption, housing and other material reproduction can be considered a rather ‘common’ problem affecting many residents of the quarter and not just some special problem-groups. A closer look at the data demonstrates that contexts, (supposed) causes and pre-histories of ‘low income’-situations are rather different. In some cases where ‘informal’ (material, financial) support is mobilized, it usually comes from the partner or from family members and simply means depending on his/her income. Some portions of the qualitative material reflect the impact of recent general socioeconomic transformations, for instance de-industrialization, restructuring of transnational and regional economies, flexibilization of work and employment, globalization, fragmentation of local communities due to migration, tendencies of polarization and increased segregation in cities, individualization etc.
