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‘DARKENING’ INFORMALIZED WORKERS: Moral Geographies and the In/Visibilization of Transnational Migrants in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Begoña Aramayona

Abstract

In this article I develop the concept of ‘darkening’, understood as a public‐led process characterized by using a dark‐based rhetoric that speaks to the ‘shadow’ or ‘gloomy’ status of certain informalized activities, while evoking neocolonial notions of a racialized Other and often resulting on the increased criminalization and in/visibilization of informalized (migrant) workers. By drawing comparisons between the intersectorial and multiscaled intersection of public policies, public‐led strategies and dominant (institutional and media) narratives affecting three types of de facto informalized labour activities in Spain (sex work, domestic employment and informal street vending) I shed light on the link between the governance of informalized (racialized) work and the reproduction of certain moral geographies in Spanish cities. Particularly, I show how the effect of ‘darkening’ has been to make these informalized workers more clandestine (displacing them ‘into the shadows’), hence criminalizing certain labour activities in public/visible spaces based on moral and legal arguments, while permitting, tolerating or even favouring those same activities in private/less visible spaces. By addressing the underexplored symbolic/discursive dimensions of darkness, and the blurred lines between traditional categories (public/private, urban/rural), this work aims to be a relevant contribution to contemporary debates on urban/night studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Begoña Aramayona, 2025. "‘DARKENING’ INFORMALIZED WORKERS: Moral Geographies and the In/Visibilization of Transnational Migrants in Spain," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(4), pages 892-911, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:49:y:2025:i:4:p:892-911
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.13328
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ilse van Liempt & Irina van Aalst & Tim Schwanen, 2015. "Introduction: Geographies of the urban night," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(3), pages 407-421, February.
    2. Jorge Sequera & Jordi Nofre, 2020. "Touristification, transnational gentrification and urban change in Lisbon: The neighbourhood of Alfama," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(15), pages 3169-3189, November.
    3. Robert Hollands & Paul Chatterton, 2003. "Producing nightlife in the new urban entertainment economy: corporatization, branding and market segmentation," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 361-385, June.
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