**1. Introduction**

Although Denmark along with the other Nordic countries is considered one of the least unequal societies in the world, measured by the GINI coefficient, there is a general consensus that economic and social inequality also exists in the Nordic countries [1, 2] and that this inequality has been increasing over recent decades [3, 4].

This may appear paradoxical, given that Denmark and the other Nordic countries traditionally belong to the so-called social democratic welfare model [5] or the so-called Nordic model. Gerven [6] clarifies four key areas that seem to characterize the Nordic model: universal welfare state provision, comprehensive public service, high labor market participation, and gender equality in both policy and practice.

In particular, the comprehensive public service, which, among other things, includes children and young people's schooling and education, including children and young people's association with public institutions, such as day care, school, and leisure pedagogy, is characteristic of the Nordic model. A central focus on child and youth policy applicable to all the Nordic countries is their argument to create equality for all children and young people. Equality that is particularly emphasized through institutional arrangements managed by state and municipal, such as day care and schools, which are also of high quality, where the opportunities to create equality take place through the entire education system.

The results from a research project1 that has explored the upbringing and everyday life of children and young people in various socially deprived housing areas in Denmark, based on the leisure and youth clubs that children and young people participate in after school and in the evening, show that despite of the welfare state's children and youth policy with a focus on equality-creating efforts through pedagogy and education, there are nonetheless groups of children and youth, and especially children and youth with an ethnic minority background<sup>2</sup> , who grow up in socially deprived housing areas facing difficulties gaining access to, for example, good day care services, good schools, education, and jobs3 [7, 8, 10].

Several studies, both in an international context and in the Nordic countries, have pointed out that children and young people growing up in socially deprived housing areas more often live in conditions represented by growing up in poverty, ethnic minority background, and everyday life in housing areas often identified in urban and housing sociology research as housing areas for urban marginalization forms that at the same time seem to be concentrated in isolated and demarcated territories [13–21]. These housing areas are identified to have a high proportion of children and young people with ethnic minority background, especially from non-Western countries [7, 8, 10, 13, 22–25].

Wacquant's [26] urban and housing sociology analyses show how these isolated and demarcated housing areas, which encompass the poor and most vulnerable citizens in society, are characterized by advanced forms of marginalization processes connected to territorial stigmatization, as the central symbolic characteristic. Wacquant points out how the symbolic characteristic of the area includes a vivid

<sup>1</sup> For further elaboration of the theoretical and empirical foundation of the research project reference is made to Petersen [7–10].

<sup>2</sup> The term ethnic minority is not used as a term as a distinction with numerical proportions but rather as a term related to societal power relations ([7–9, 11, 12] in review). When I use this term in the chapter, it refers to ethnic minorities who come from, or are descendants of, non-Western countries.

<sup>3</sup> Non-Western countries include the European countries, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, the Soviet Union, Turkey, and the Ukraine. All countries in Africa, South and Central American, and Asia. All countries in Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) as well as stateless. (For this definition see Statics Denmark).

*Processes of Precarious Living Conditions: Young Men of Ethnic Minority Background Growing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110646*

awareness of being "reduced to a wretched space that collectively disqualifies them" ([26], p. 176).

In Denmark, these housing areas are listed by successive governments on an annual official list under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing, a list that is colloquially called a ghetto list, although different governments often seek to find other official designations for these housing areas, for example, list of vulnerable public housing areas, including a list of particularly vulnerable housing areas or areas characterized by so-called parallel societies, where groups (often with an ethnic minority background from non-Western countries) live outside normal society.4

In accordance with paragraph 61a of the Public Housing Act, the Ministry of the Interior and Housing in Denmark publishes this list of the housing areas on 1 December each year. The list includes social housing areas that have at least 1000 residents and fulfill two of the following four criteria: (1) The proportion of residents between 18 and 64 years of age without connection to the labor market or education surpasses 40% measured as the average for the past 2 years, (2) The number of convicted for violation of the penal code, the gun law or the law about psychedelic drugs are at least three times above the national average measured as the average for the past 2 years, (3) The proportion of residents between 30 and 59 years of age who solely has a basic education surpasses 60% of all residents in the same age group, (4) The average gross income for taxpayers between 15 and 64 years of age in the area, excluding students is less than 55% of the average income of the same group in the region.5

From the first list in 2012 and up to 2018, an additional criterion on the list was "the proportion of immigrants and descendants from non-Western countries." However, this criterion has not been found on the list of socially deprived housing areas since March, 1, 2018, when the government presented the plan "A Denmark without parallel societies—No ghettos in 2030." The plan included, among other things, a number of initiatives targeting the areas in Denmark "where parallel societies are most widespread and where the efforts so far have been insufficient." The government's strategy for a Denmark without ghettos in 2030 focused on four areas of action: "It is the physical demolition of vulnerable housing areas, more firm control of the tenant composition in the housing areas, strengthened efforts by the

<sup>4</sup> In economic analysis no. 30 [27] on parallel society in Denmark, it is pointed out that "Over the last almost 40 years, the ethnic composition of the population has changed significantly. In 1980, there were around 50,000 people with a non-Western background in Denmark. Today, there are around ½ million, corresponding to approx. 8½% of Denmark's population. This show that the breeding ground for parallel societies among people of non-Western background is heavier today than four decades ago. A parallel society is physically or mentally isolated and follows its own norms and rules, without any significant contact with the Danish society and without a desire to become part of Danish society. This challenges the cohesion of Danish society, which has been built up and developed for generations through, among other things, associational life, joint educational and teaching institutions, neighborliness and cooperation with colleagues at work. A large concentration of certain population groups, as is the case with the housing areas on the ghetto list, most likely helps to reinforce the existence of parallel societies." (2018, p. 1). Also see the website: https://im.dk/

<sup>5</sup> For details see the latest report of the housing areas per December, 1, 2022 published on the website of the Ministry of the Interior and Housing.

police and higher penalties, as well as a good start in life for all children and young people."<sup>6</sup>

In particular, the media is periodically filled with stories about some of these socially deprived housing areas, which seem to be connected to young people (often young men) involved in vandalism and crime, and are also connected to gang-related communities, which cause unrest and concern. In some housing areas, for example, ambulances, firefighters, and police cannot drive in without rocks being thrown at them, and it is often said that the crime rate is higher in these housing areas compared to other housing areas in Denmark,7 just as visitation zones are periodically set up by the police in or around some of these housing areas.8

In the three different housing areas in Denmark, where the research project followed children, young people, and pedagogues in the leisure and youth clubs, these stories about the disadvantaged housing areas were also dominant ([7–10] in

<sup>6</sup> An example of legislative measures that must "ensure a good start in life for all children and young people" is, for example, the Danish government's decision that all children from the age of one must attend day care 25 hours per week, if they live with their family in a socially deprived housing area, cf. act to amend the Act on day care and Act of child and youth benefits (mandatory learning provision for children age one in socially deprived housing areas). This act states that all children who live in, or move to, a socially deprived housing area must attend day care 25 hours per week, § 44 b. Children who are enrolled in a compulsory learning offer must be integrated into the children's community day care institution. The compulsory learning offer must be organized in accordance with the substantive requirements according to section II, paragraph 2. The municipal board must decide how the 25 hours are to be placed over the week. The 25 hours must be distributed evenly over the week and, as far as possible, placed at times when the child can actively participate in the children's community and participate in play and activities. Paragraph 3. The municipal board is obligated to ensure that, as part of the compulsory learning offer, at an early stage after admission, targeted courses are launched for the children in preparation for strengthening the children's Danish language skills and general readiness for learning and introducing the children to Danish traditions, norms and values. See further on the Ministry of Children and Education's website, where the entire legal text is presented. In this context, it is important to accentuate that there is no tradition or rules in Denmark for children to attend day care prior to school. This is thus a special amendment to the legal text, aimed at young children in socially deprived housing areas.

<sup>7</sup> These stories often take up in media as well as social housing reports. For example, the Center for Social Housing Development describes in their analyses that: "In some of the most vulnerable housing areas in Denmark, crime among young people is a serious problem, which causes insecurity and contributes to isolate the areas from the surrounding society. The crime rate among residents in vulnerable housing areas is higher than in the rest of the country, the criminals are sentenced to harsher penalties, and they begin their criminal career at an earlier age than elsewhere in the country." The Center for Social Housing Development is an independent institution under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing. The overall purpose of the Center is to examine the effect of social initiatives in disadvantaged housing areas, to collect experiences from national and international social housing initiatives and to provide qualified guidance and process support to key actors within the social housing area—see the website https://www.cfbu.dk/

<sup>8</sup> Related to previous episodes of violent incidents in the same geographical area, it is the police's experience that there may be an escalation in the use of weapons, just as it is the police's assessment that there may be risk of more attacks carried out in connection with the violent attacks already committed. In the light of this, the police assess that a visitation zone can help to avoid future violent assaults. In these visitation zones, the police have the opportunity to search all citizens. Pursuant to the paragraph 6 of the Danish Police Activities Act, the police can introduce visitation zones, in which the police, for a limited period, can carry out random inspections of people's bodies, examination of clothing and other objects as well as vehicles (see the police's website under visitation zones https://politi.dk

### *Processes of Precarious Living Conditions: Young Men of Ethnic Minority Background Growing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110646*

review). During the course of the research project, there were thus reports that this particular housing area suffered from "a lot of problems with gangs," or that this housing area suffered from "a lot of vandalism, for example, because young boys, as young as 12 years old, stand by the roadside and throw rocks at buses and motorists' windows when they drive by," or "this particular housing area especially has a long criminal record." Both heads of leisure and youth clubs and the pedagogical staff who participated in the research project point out that growing up in this housing area (in particular) seems to make everything much more difficult for the children and young people, and especially for many of the boys and young men.

The pedagogical staff also point out—across the three housing areas—that many of the children and young people have had an upbringing marked by difficulties, for example, parents' lack of affiliation to the labor market, parents' lack of education, conflicts at home, many children and very little physical space as well as parents who do not have enough strength to take care of their children in everyday life. Most of the children and young people who are associated with the various leisure and youth club activities are children and young people with an ethnic background other than Danish, and primarily immigrants and descendants of immigrants from non-Western countries.

As one of the heads of leisure and youth clubs says during an interview: "there are many ethnic minority children and young people who manage very well in society, but there is also a group who have severe difficulties and find it difficult to cope in society—and they are often concentrated here with us" (Interview with head of leisure and youth club in the housing area Bluegarden).

These children and young people identified by both management and pedagogical staff in the three housing areas, also seem to be supported by several studies that point to the fact that children and young people with an ethnic minority background make up the group of children and young people who are most at risk in Danish society in relation to school, education, and jobs. Boys and young men, who are descendants9 of immigrants from non-Western countries, seem to be the ones who have difficulties completing primary school, and youth education, as well as a permanent affiliation to the labor market. For example, figures from Statistics Denmark10 show that only 33% of male non-Western immigrants have a primary school education aged 25–64, while this applies to only 7% of western immigrants and 19% of men of Danish origin.

Likewise, among the 22-year-olds, 17% of the men of Danish origin have completed a vocational education, while the corresponding proportion is only 5% among male non-Western descendants. For the 20–24-year-olds, it is almost one in four who have neither an affiliation to the labor market nor the education system. These are primarily boys/young men with an ethnic minority background and who are descendants of immigrants from non-Western countries.

In addition, calculations show that crime in 2019 is 51% higher among male immigrants and 139% higher among male descendants of non-Western backgrounds than among the entire male population. In terms of different types of offenses, it turns out that the index for male descendants from non-Western countries is highest

<sup>9</sup> Children and young people of descendants are defined by Statistics Denmark as having at least one parent who is a descendant and no parent of Danish origin. There are 28,821 children of descendants as per January, 1, 2020—of which 92% have non-Western origin. 65% of the non-Western children of descendants are under 10 years of age.

<sup>10</sup> Statistics Denmark is the central statistics office in Denmark. This office collects all of society's statistical information for use in administration as well as in research and teaching, etc. (See website: https://www. dst.dk/en).

for criminal offenses—and especially for violent offences—as it is almost three and a half times as high as for the average of all males when corrected for the age composition. For male immigrants from non-Western countries, the index for both violent and property crime is almost twice as high as the average for all men.

In a Danish context, Ejernæs [28, 29] has pointed out that as a result of increased immigration and the development of the Danish welfare state, a new growing class appears to be developing, the "precariat," which based on Standing [30] and Wacquant [18–20], points to a contraction of the English words "precarious" and "proletariat." Both Standing's [30–32] and Wacquant's [18–20] and Wacquant et al. [21] analyses show how this growing class mainly consists of immigrants and descendants from non-Western countries, who work in insecure and poorly paid jobs, often without education, and at the same time at risk of being in socially and politically marginalized positions in relation to the rest of society.

With inspiration from Wacquant's thesis on advanced marginality and precarious living conditions [18–21] and Standing's [33], Standing's [31, 32] analyses of the precariat, this chapter explores how we can understand young men's movements into, or struggle not to enter into precarious living conditions, seen from the young people's own perspectives, but also how the pedagogical staff in the disadvantaged housing areas work to support the children and young people to maintain schooling, support for education and leisure jobs, and constantly be aware of helping the children and young people to live a life outside the disadvantaged housing areas.

With this, the ruling question for this chapter is to explore how both the pedagogical staff and the young boys and men experience and act in everyday life, as well as what strategies children, young people, and the pedagogical staff in leisure and youth clubs use to deal with territorial stigmatization processes and the risk of movements into precarious living conditions? The chapter begins with a closer exploration of Wacquant's [18–20, 34–36] understanding of the precariat, which includes territorial stigmatization processes and the sociospatial isolation mechanisms that seem to both create and maintain specific groups of people in precarious situations characterized by uncertainty, vulnerability, and marginalized living conditions. Standing's [37] analyses of the precariat are also used as an analytical category in particular understanding of how children and young people seem to be caught in so-called "precarity traps" at an early age ([37], p. 26). This is followed by an elaborating presentation of the research project's data and from there the analyses of both the pedagogical staff, as well as the experiences of the children and young people framed by the pedagogical work in the leisure and youth clubs that are physically located in the three housing areas. The pedagogical staff in the leisure and youth clubs begin the analyses, with a focus on how the pedagogical work is based on the patterns of urban marginality and ethno-racial inequality, which characterize these housing areas. Then, follows the children and young people's experiences of growing up in these housing areas and contributes to point out the contours of precarious living conditions, which already seem to begin in early childhood and are followed through youth life, through many experiences of difficulties in terms of schooling, leisure jobs, and education, and at the same time prevention of movements into crime.
