When 'good neighbors' go bad: territorial geographies of neighborhood associations

This paper examines the discourses, practices, and spatialities surrounding neighbors and neighborhoods as mobilized by a particular neighborhood association in Seattle, Washington. By examining how this group enacts and encourages territoriality, I provide an analysis of how exclusionary social relations work on the ground through three distinct case studies: the implementation of Good Neighbor Agreements in conjunction with Seattle's newly expanded Alcohol Impact Areas, the Crime Prevention though Environmental Design program, and a community gathering cosponsored by the Mayor's Office and the Seattle Police Department. The effect of these events was the exclusion of those who are seen as outsiders and the reification of narrowly defined ideas of neighbors and neighborhoods.