Turning newcomers into locals: Kinship practices and belonging in low-income neighborhoods in Finland

Abstract

For a long time, researchers have explored practices of kinship, but while focusing on individuals and groups, have ignored a crucial aspect of social life: place. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in low-income neighborhoods in Finland, this article analyzes practices of kinship as emplaced, asking what kinship in a particular urban setting does and how. Empirical data suggests that the social function of kinship practices is to make people belong to a neighborhood. The process of becoming family provides emotional and practical support but is also beneficial in previously understudied ways: For newcomers, kinship is a shortcut for becoming “a local,” whereas for established residents, kinship serves the reproduction of the historical place narrative and local moral order. As meaningful sources of respect and recognition, kinship practices connect people to families but even more to places in which they live.