Elsa Vivant is the author of this article:
Elsa Vivant Naming the locations of the opioid crisis in Boston: a political issue.
EchoGéo, no. 53
https://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/20001#quotation
This article analyzes the different place names of an open drug scene in Boston, located at the intersection of three neighborhoods with contrasting uses and dynamics. The reactions and demands of residents in these different neighborhoods reveal the power relations in the urban space, which are analyzed through the choice of place names: Mass & Cass
refers to the urban, colonial, and racial history of the city and prohibition; Methadone Mile
recalls the stigmatization of users and places of care; Recovery Road
expresses the emergence of new practices of care and risk reduction at work in this sector. Entering this scene through its names allows us to unravel the complexity of the ongoing opioid crisis in the US, its political stakes, and the shifts it is causing in drug policy.
Title: The entrance to the Engagement Center
Caption: A wire mesh corridor monitored by three cameras has been created to separate access between the entrance to the shelter (left) and the parking lot for the sheriff's department and county jail (right). A few wooden tables in front of the entrance to the marquee form a terrace surrounded by portable construction site toilets.
Credit: Source: Elsa Vivant