Аннотация:This paper explores the experiences of children living on inner London council estates. Prevalent discourses of social exclusion position such children as both ‘at risk’ and a risk to others. They are portrayed as a mixture of deviant delinquent and passive victim. In contrast, this research study found that children have a reflexive awareness of the places they inhabit which recognises the estates as harsh and restricting, yet the same time encompasses more positive feelings of identification and belonging. Most children shared a sense of feeling ‘at home,’ but one which was infused with both a recognition of the stigma associated with ‘sink’ estates and a fascinated horror with regard to the behaviour of a delinquentminority.
