The Importance of Thinking In-Place with ‘Vulnerable’ Neighbourhoods for Policy Making

Big data are increasingly being used to understand complex social and economic challenges. While there is much to be learned from such approaches, in-place data remain necessary for a multidimensional understanding of neighbourhoods, and for sustainable and socially just policies. Rather than reinforcing methodological divides, the argument we set forth in this paper is that multiple forms and strands of inquiry illuminate complexities of space, place and community. Decision makers should consider how and why they may privilege certain forms of data, and instead tap into diversified ways of knowing. We reflect on the challenges and opportunities of crafting in-place data as a relational process integral for decision makers and policymaking. To do so, we discuss two case studies in Sweden and The Netherlands that demonstrate the importance of widening the scope of knowledge, and a willingness to decentre singularity and homogenous definitions of community and place.