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Das Buch The commodification gap ist die Veröffentlichung von Matthias Bernts Habilitationsschrift. Anhand dreier Fallstudien aus Deutschland, Großbritannien und Russland entwickelt der Autor darin einen konzeptionellen Rahmen für eine Erklärung von Gentrifizierung, bei der er Public Policy in den Fokus rückt. In der Gesamtschau erweist sich Bernts Studie als ein bedeutsamer Beitrag für das Feld der international vergleichenden Gentrifizierungsforschung, obgleich sie für Deutschland empirisch wenig Neues bietet. Der Prenzlauer Berg ist (auch durch Bernt selbst) hinreichend erforscht und die für Deutschland beschriebenen Kommodifizierungslücken griffen bereits frühere Veröffentlichungen auf. Besonders hervorzuheben ist Bernts umfassende Aufarbeitung der Rent-Gap-Theorie und deren Einbettung in die Heuristik der Kommodifizierungslücke. Bernts Buch stellt eine wertvolle Ergänzung zur bestehenden Literatur dar. Es fordert seine Leser*innen auf, die Komplexität und Vielschichtigkeit von Gentrifizierungsprozessen aus der Perspektive der Public Policy zu denken und komplementäre Erklärungen zu angebots- und nachfrageseitigen Theorien zu entwickeln. Bernts Beitrag zum internationalen Diskurs ist unbestreitbar und verdient höchste Anerkennung.

Copyright of Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Im Zuge des Protests gegen die Gentrifizierung St. Paulis, und insbesondere aus dem Kampf gegen den Abriss der sog. Esso-Häuser an der Reeperbahn heraus, entstand die PlanBude – ein interdisziplinäres Team, das als GbR für den Beteiligungsprozess zur Neuplanung der Esso-Häuser vom Bezirk Mitte der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg beauftragt wurde. Die PlanBude steht auch für den aus zwei Containern bestehenden Raum am Ort der Auseinandersetzung. In einem von zugespitzten Konflikten, Verhandlungen und Vereinbarungen geprägten Prozess entstand eine Neuplanung, die nicht zuletzt durch die Arbeit der PlanBude auf dem „Wissen der Vielen" basiert. Im forschenden Rückblick lassen sich bestimmte Handlungslogiken hoheitlicher Planung und künstlerischer urbaner Praxis finden, die als grundlegend für den Verlauf des Prozesses und die erreichten Ergebnisse gelten können. Zudem wird herausgearbeitet, wie diese in einem relationalen Raumverständnis wirken und wie im Zusammenspiel die Inhalte normativer Planung verändert werden können. In the course of the protest against the gentrification of St. Pauli and in particular the fight against the demolition of the so-called Esso houses on the Reeperbahn, PlanBude came into being – an interdisciplinary team that was commissioned as a GbR for the participation process for the new planning of the Esso houses by the Mitte district of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. PlanBude also stands for the space consisting of two containers at the site of the event. In a process marked by acute conflicts, negotiations and agreements, a new planning based on the "knowledge of the many" has emerged, not least through the work of PlanBude. In a research-based retrospective, certain logics of action of sovereign planning and artistic urban practice can be identified, which can be seen as fundamental to the course of the process and the results achieved. Furthermore, it is worked out how these operate in a relational understanding of space and how the contents of normative planning can be changed in the interplay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peter Marcuse war ein wichtiger Autor in der internationalen kritischen Stadt- und Wohnforschung. Seine Arbeiten, u. a. zu Gentrifizierung und Wohnungspolitik, boten immer wieder Anknüpfungspunkte auch für soziale städtische Bewegungen in New York, Berlin und anderen Städten. Anlässlich seines Todes im März 2022 diskutieren vier renommierte Wissenschaftler:innen über sein Werk und dessen Bedeutung für ihr eigenes Schaffen und für aktuelle Kämpfe für ein Recht auf Stadt und ein Recht auf Wohnen. Peter Marcuse was an important author in international critical urban and housing research. His works, among others on gentrification and housing policy, repeatedly offered points of departure for social urban movements in New York, Berlin and other cities. On the occasion of his death in March 2022, four renowned scholars discuss his work and its significance for their own thinking and for current struggles for a right to the city and a right to housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mit der Sommerschule „Kritische Wohnungsforschung. Theorie und Praxis einer progressiven Wohnungspolitik“ haben Wissenschaftler*innen des Instituts für Humangeographie der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main ein interaktives und im Zweijahresrhythmus stattfindendes Format etabliert, das progressive Debatten rund um Wohnungsmarktentwicklungen und -politik fördert. Bisher gibt es – trotz der gesellschaftspolitischen Relevanz der Wohnungsfrage – nur wenige Plattformen, über die längerfristig produktive und inspirierende Verbindungen zwischen Wissenschaft, Aktivismus, Verwaltung und Politik gestärkt und neu geknüpft werden können und auf denen sich die jeweiligen Akteur*innen austauschen können. Dementsprechend groß war das Interesse, auf das das Angebot der Sommerschule gestoßen ist. Daher wurde das Programm der ersten, digital stattfindenden Sommerschule bei der zweiten Ausrichtung für einen anderen Personenkreis mit einem inhaltlich ähnlichen Fokus wiederholt. Zum zweiten Mal fand die Sommerschule im September 2022 statt. Dieser Kurzbericht spiegelt wider, was die Sommerschule ausmacht, und dokumentiert schlaglichtartig, welche inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte bisher gesetzt wurden.

The article retraces a struggle for the symbolic appropriation of a gentrifying neighbourhood in Belfast. This struggle has crystallized around the erection of unionist flags, symbols of the will to maintain Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. Since the mid-2010s, a group of homeowners has been mobilizing to demand the removal of these flags in public spaces in the name of "shared space" and "social mix". These discourses are often mobilised to legitimize gentrification of attractive inner cities. However, we explain that the endorsement of "mixing" by these homeowners is not limited to a willingness to justify gentrification. The homeowners’ mobilization against the flags can be analysed in terms of the transformation of class relations, but also the transformation of ethnic relations. We show that these group members, who belong to the upper middle class and declare themselves mainly "catholics", struggle to control the presence of the flags in a neighbourhood in which individuals assigned as "catholics" used to be discriminated. The homeowners face the opposition of unionist politicians who wish to perpetuate their domination in the neighbourhood. They nonetheless ignore the contestations brought by organizations on housing inequalities in a context of gentrification and privatization of social housing.

This article highlights the issues of urban renewal in major Algerian cities, through a case study in the precarious district of El M'Haffeur in Annaba, a city in eastern Algeria. This paper confronts the search for territorial equity, through requalification of marginalized spaces, with the realities of a gentrification process that occurs on pericentral spaces according to market opportunities. The article demonstrates that the device for the reduction of precarious housing looks like a legitimizing tool to free up land coveted by private real estate developers who are the main actors in this gentrification. The evicted inhabitants, whose words are recorded and analyzed in this article, express a strong feeling of injustice finding themselves forced to give up for their right to housing and against their right to the city.

Copyright of Soziologische Revue is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract In the summer of 2016, the Havana’s Historian Office and the Cultural Heritage Management research group of the Complutense University of Madrid carried out a field study and survey of the inhabitants of Old Havana. The objective was to identify the problems and necessities of the respected people, but in relation to their Cultural Heritage. Havana’s heritage management plan has been a paradigm of community involvement and participation for decades. The locals living in the city are aware of the importance of their heritage, they value it and it is part of their lives. However, there is also a growing scepticism among World Heritage Status of the city, the increasing mass tourism and the priorities on the restauration of buildings. A survey was carried out among different neighbours in the city that faced different realities and paradigms when it came to the nature of their heritage and the management of it. The survey focused on the perception of the people on the situation, not only their opinion on how the heritage was being managed, but also on how it influenced their lives. The views on the World Heritage defined basically two very different realities: the proud Havana, the one where the development is bringing benefits (cultural, economic, aesthetical…) and the sceptic one, the ones that wonder how a mess such as Old Havana could be heritage of humankind, when it is not local heritage.

The article "Gentrification and Displacement. Current theoretical, methodological, and political challenges" is a review of the book with the same title, which addresses the current state of gentrification research in Germany. The book contains 17 thematically focused contributions and provides an overview of the academic development process of this research field. It is pointed out that research on gentrification in Germany has mainly focused on the newcomers and the gentrification itself, while the displacement of those affected has been hardly investigated. It is emphasized that a "bottom-up gentrification research" is urgently needed to understand local displacement conflicts. The question is raised whether a new narrative can be formulated through the collection of these various contributions, which can provide a societal orientation. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Soziale Passagen is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Artistic, cultural, or creative quarters are developing in major cities around the world, especially in China. These areas are often integrated into culture-based urban projects, with the aim of contributing to their renewal, attractiveness, and economic development, and increasing tourism. This article looks at the example of Shanghai's M50 art district to investigate the trajectories and tensions of creative quarters by focusing on three aspects: (i) the dynamics of their formation, (ii) gentrification and the tensions between their artistic and touristic attributes, and (iii) the transformations of cultural scenes embedded within them. Three main findings are discussed. First, M50 stakes its claim as a center for art and tourism in the city through the interplay of the underground (spontaneous artistic creation), the middleground (art galleries), and the upperground (planning by local authorities). This interplay complicates interactions between the parties involved, especially as the authorities have seized control, leaving the role of artists in M50 and the freedom allowed them open questions. Second, M50 presents a unique form of gentrification, whose touristic and commercial character bears witness to both local authorities' strategies focused on urban and economic growth, and the district's transformation from a center of artistic creation to one of cultural consumption. Third, M50 illustrates the mutation that cultural scenes can undergo, progressing from a lived scene, characterized by a dynamic art community; to an experienced scene, whose atmosphere is felt by tourists; a built scene, marked by an institutional strategy of formal recognition and branding; and finally, a publicized scene, with a high media exposure.

The paper deals with the question, which strategy local long-term residents develop to deal with gentrification when they are not negatively "affected" by it, i.e., not exposed to forms of displacement, local social isolation, resistance or conflict. The central argument is that habitual adaptation processes are possible for those living in the gentrified area for a long time and that they themselves are subsequently involved in processes of unconscious -- and thus "hidden" -- gentrification. Theoretically, the practice of hidden gentrification is elaborated on the one hand with the concept of the "metropolitan habitus" and on the other hand with a "spatial" extension of the Bourdieusien types of capital, namely "residential capital". The practices of hidden gentrification are empirically examined with reflexive photography for the gentrified Viennese inner city district of Neubau. Gentrification processes in Vienna provide a special context, where both, new population moves in and long-term residents can stay put through structural measures such as social housing or rent regulations. Habitual adaptation and practices of hidden gentrification within the middle class can be interpreted as a strategy for social reproduction to maintain or improve their positions in social and appropriated physical space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milan is no longer an industrial city. This paper traces the story of a once industrial city that never truly was a place solely made of factories. The paper focuses on the final decades of the 20th-century, when, one by one, all the large factories closed, leaving a scar behind their disappearance, a social trauma that caused the disintegration of the working class, which had been an important component of Milan’s population till then. That event symbolizes the beginning of a drastic urban metamorphosis. This was a process that has left deep marks in the urban fabric itself, marks that the city of Milan only recently started to metabolize. This happened thanks to the development of a modern tertiary sector followed by urban regeneration and gentrification processes, mainly led by the interests of large real estates.

Copyright of Standort: Zeitschrift für Angewandte Geographie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Morocco and Jordan are among those destinations in the Arab world where the complex structures and processes of a neoliberal tourism policy can be examined quasi archetypically: to the extent that the policy largely considers the market as being the ultimate determinant for the exchange of tangible and intangible goods. Based on two case studies – the so-called Master Plan of Marrakesh (Morocco) and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (Jordan) – this paper examines the conflicted effects of neoliberal penetration into tourism policy on these two destinations as well as on key stakeholders. Given the unilateral instrumentalization of individual freedom in terms of productivity, growth, and progress; it is evident that a neoliberal tourism policy does not justly serve those directly involved or the local communities, but instead, furthers the interests of Western industrialized nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neil Smith hat mit seinem Frühwerk „Toward a Theory of Gentrification. A Back to the City Movement by Capital, not People“ die dominante nachfrageorientierte Diskussion der Gentrifizierung herausgefordert. Seine Rent-Gap-Theorie trifft jedoch eher auf amerikanische Wohnungsmarkt- und Planungsbedingungen zu. Empirische Überprüfungen in Europa haben ergeben, dass Rent-Gap- und das Europäische ‚Gegenmodell‘ value gap parallel und sich gegenseitig verstärkend wirken. In der aktuellen Situation kommt das Investitionskapital jedoch nicht mehr aus dem Umland zurück in die Stadt, sondern wird als ‚Betongold‘ im globalen Maßstab gehortet und eingesetzt.

Neil Smith (1954-2012) hat eine ganze Generation von Stadtforscher*innen geprägt, die sich selbst in städtische Konflikte begeben und in den letzten 40 Jahren versucht haben, soziale Mobilisierungen gegen Aufwertung und Verdrängung zu unterstützen. Sein eigenes Schreiben war über viele Jahre mit seinen politischen Aktivitäten verbunden und hat vielen stadtpolitisch Aktiven geholfen, die Analyse städtischer Konflikte vom Kopf auf die Füße zu stellen. Der Text hebt die Bedeutung der Rent-Gap-Theorie für die Gentrification-Forschung hervor und zeigt, dass Gentrification nicht nur im Stadtraum, sondern auch in den wissenschaftlichen und politischen Debatten umkämpft ist.

Kommentar zu Neil Smiths Rent-Gap-Aufsatz

The paper examines the role of urban renewal following the regime change within transformation of urban diversity in the case of Józsefváros. The rising of socio-economic status of local society can be detected based on the quantitative investigation in Józsefváros. The study showed that the rise of socio-economic status has been very unequal on the quarter-level. The increasing spatial segregation between different occupational groups was revealed by dissimilarity analyses at neighbourhood level between 1990 and 2001. Social homogenization took place in this period of time. Later on this trend has turned and the mixing of local society was observed in Józsefváros between 2001 and 2011. These results differ from the outcomes of citywide researches. The heterogeneity of population occurred in Józsefváros, while homogenization was dominant in Budapest. Józsefváros is seen as a rapidly changing part of Budapest, affected by urban renewal programmes and new waves of higher status people. According to the calculation of segregation index, it could be emphasized that the level of residential segregation in Józsefváros in 2011 was below the values measured in 2001. Based on this research it can be stated that urban renewal has a strong impact on urban diversity, it has less impact on social mobility, and somewhat more impact on social cohesion (negative) and economic performance (positive). It can be also concluded that it is necessary to consider the diversification of urban renewal practices carried out in Józsefváros. The investigations showed that different types of urban renewal interventions have different impacts on urban diversity. This paper highlighted that social and community improvements, which contribute in particular to preserving urban diversity, should be an integral part of interventions to counteract the negative social effects of urban renewal activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Am Beispiel der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf untersucht der Beitrag, wie sich soziale Benachteiligung, Verdrängungsdruck und Kriminalität aus der Sicht der Bewohner_innen des Bahnhofsgebiets darstellen und welche Bedeutung allgemeinen sozialen und ökonomischen Ängsten im Hinblick auf diese Frage zukommt. Während die ökonomischen Ängste im gesamten Stadtgebiet relativ gleich verteilt sind, unterliegen die Bewohner_innen des sozial benachteiligten Bahnhofsgebiets zusätzlich dem Verdrängungsdruck, der durch die Folgen der baulichen Aufwertung und immobilienwirtschaftlichen Wertsteigerung entsteht. Die kommunale Verwaltung und die Bewohner_innen des übrigen Stadtgebiets nehmen das Bahnhofsumfeld als besonders kriminalitätsbelastet wahr, reagieren darauf mit Ordnungshandeln und fördern somit den weiteren sozialen und gewerblichen Aufwertungsprozess. Die für viele deutsche Bahnhofsgebiete typische Vermengung von allgemeinen und über das Wohnumfeld vermittelten Unsicherheiten und Konflikten bietet Instrumentalisierungspotenziale für politische Akteur_innen, die sich dieser Ängste annehmen, lokale Konkurrenzverhältnisse kulturalisieren und so eine soziale Spaltung der Stadtgesellschaft vorantreiben.

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Vergammelte Stadtteile und Strassenzüge werden verkehrsberuhigt und begrünt, die Immobilien daraufhin saniert und „aufgewertet“. Die Gentrifizierung kann die Schulklassen recht rasch verändern. Die Frage stellt sich: Wie geht eine Schule damit um, wenn Eltern plötzlich anspruchsvoller werden und auch bildungsgewohnte Kinder besonders gefördert werden sollen? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the megaproject „Santa Cruz Verde 2030“ is to transform the inner-city oil refinery in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, into a mixed-use urban quarter. Based on the assumption that gentrification might be provoked in neighbouring quarters, this paper aims at analysing susceptibilities to such processes. For that reason, a vulnerability approach is applied and broadened by means of a cluster analysis. Based on literature research, eight social and eleven urbanistic variables are compiled in order to assess gentrification ex-ante. Statistical pre-tests show that – contrary to other studies – variables such as “share of immigrants” or “number of children” cannot be interpreted as indicator of vulnerability. Based on census data and the assessment of 3852 buildings, six clusters and a pronounced rise of vulnerability from the centre to the periphery are identified. In this context, particular focus is set on the Los Llanos district. Not only is it considered as particular case when it comes to its quantitative characteristics, but also as a reference point for the upcoming megaproject “Santa Cruz Verde 2030” due to its peculiar development process. Evaluating three expert interviews, the active role of public stakeholders in revaluation and eviction processes is discussed. Based on the experiences of Los Llanos, five assumptions are developed in order to contribute to a more sustainable urbanism for “Santa Cruz Verde 2030”. This includes aspects such as civic participation, transparency in planning processes, social mix and public spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Code / Kodikas is the property of Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH & Co.KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article focuses on the political and social dimensions of urban lighting. It studies the role of public lighting and its importance in urban policy for the transformation of urban spaces. This analysis is based on a study of the urban policy led in Bordeaux over the past two decades. Indeed, the municipality has had an active urban-light policy since the mid-1990s, which has considerably modified its night-time life, landscape and public spaces. The text analyzes the diversity of urban planning tools and the geographical choices made in terms of public lighting, the gap between the geography of urban lighting and the uses of the city during the night, as well as the links between the social composition of spaces in Bordeaux and the lighting policy applied there. It highlights how urban lighting deeply affects the social geography of the city.

The paper looks at the spatial manifestations of violence, aiming to define the category of spatial violence by focusing on the recent urban history of Bucharest; it establishes links with the longer history of natural and inflicted disasters that defined the city, and it explores the spatial, urban, social and symbolical conflicts that occured during the last 25 years, pointing at their consequences on the social and urban substance of the city.

The centrally located Ostend district in Frankfurt am Main had provided space for the lower-rent housing segment in particular since the 1950s and was therefore characterised by below-average rent price and real-estate value trends. Because these trends have reversed starting in the mid-2000s, this paper analyses at first the extent to which the Ostend district is impacted by gentrification. Secondary statistical sources show an exclusionary process of displacement in this former working class neighbourhood, which had led, during the last fifteen years, to a slow but clearly distinguishable change in the social structure favouring higher income groups. In a second step we analyse how the City of Frankfurt was able to upgrade the Ostend district – something that many had considered impossible. Through an analysis of municipal documents and publications we argue that municipal decision makers have used various tools for enabling and supporting the gentrification of this district since the 1980s. The subsequent displacement processes were accelerated by the 2002 decision to relocate the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) to the Ostend district. Using discourse analysis we show that the relocation decision has led to a distinctive symbolic valorization of the district.

Copyright of Standort: Zeitschrift für Angewandte Geographie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the impact of gentrification during the Ireland of the Celtic Tiger as an investment opportunity that sparked construction and development. Topics include the influence of global capitalism resulting to gentrification of space that creates commodities rather than communities, the cultural effects of gentrification and the material and economic damages of the property collapse, as well as the depiction of the effects of gentrification by authors Anne Haverty and Donal Ryan.

Im Anschluss an die globale Finanzkrise von 2008 lässt sich in vielen deutschen Städten eine neue Welle der Gentrifizierung beobachten. Am Beispiel des traditionellen Arbeiterviertels Gallus in Frankfurt am Main zielt der Beitrag darauf ab, die gegenwärtigen Verdrängungsprozesse aus dem spezifischen Zusammenspiel von stadtpolitischen Aufwertungsbestrebungen und immobilienwirtschaftlichen Verwertungsstrategien zu erklären. Vertreten wird dabei die These, dass die Frankfurter Stadtpolitik, entsprechend ihrer neoliberalen Ausrichtung, im Gallus jahrelang Gentrifizierungsprozesse und die Entstehung einer Ertragslücke zwischen gegenwärtiger und potenzieller Verwertung aktiv gefördert hat – letztere aber erst jetzt im Zuge der Krise an Relevanz gewinnt. Nahezu idealtypisch kann man daher anhand des Gallus zeigen, dass Gentrifizierung wesentlich von lokalen politischen Kräfteverhältnissen abhängt, wobei der Rhythmus jedoch von immobilienwirtschaftlichen Verwertungszyklen diktiert wird.

In large cities in the developing world, only a privileged minority of the population has access to land and housing through the commercial market. Mushrooming ‘irregular' settlements are fi lling the gap but are beset by defi ciencies and insecurity. This article argues that the failure of formal markets is systemic and structural, and that attempts to open them up to the poor have fallen short of overcoming these inherent limitations. In order to mitigate the widening gap between gated communities and ghettos, government intervention needs to rediscover the ‘enabling approach' and become much smarter than the present mix of negligent tolerance, brutal eviction, market-fundamentalist privatisation, and populist titling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the concept of social mix(ing), which has gained importance as a key theme in urban planning processes, particularly in the last decade. Following social mixing strategies, segregated and gated communities should be avoided, social cohesion and economic opportunities should develop. Although the term of social mix( ing) is omnipresent in strategic planning documents and seems to be widely studied by urban scientists, the term is still fuzzy and elusive. There aren't any valid parameters to measure socially mixed areas nor any norms to define such areas. This article examines the social dimensions and the contexts behind the leitmotif "social mixing" and how it is used by planning authorities. Moreover, it will deconstruct the concept of social mixing by demonstrating social mixing practices of residents in the 15th Viennese district Rudolfsheim- Fünfhaus. By focusing on the daily interactions of residents with their neighbourhood the concept of social mixing as a leitmotif will be investigated. Furthermore, these daily practices show us where and how people from Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus interact with each other and help to analyse why people don't socially interact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gentrification - a process of replacement of a poorer population in an urban neighborhood with a richer one and the change of the looks of this respective neighborhood - has become a widespread topic of societal debate in recent years. This process is connected to public art and cultural activities, and sometimes triggered by projects of urban revitalization by the respective cities. Public libraries are part of this process, as they are used in the concepts of urban revitalization as institutions of public culture. This puts them in an uneasy position, as they also become part in processes of repulsion of socially vulnerable groups. The text will discuss the position of public libraries in respect to gentrification, using the processes in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, as a case study.

How far do built up areas integrate vegetation? According to income levels, do households live in more or less vegetalised districts? This paper reports a research based upon data on land use, urban fabric and sociodemographic features in the city of Paris. A data base was built, using a GIS. Three sets of paradoxical relationships were found. The first – haussmannian- paradox relies to the concentration of well off households in the least vegetalised districts. In the second paradox, gentrifiers were hypothezised to live in the most vegetalised districts: data analysis does not confirm this hypothesis. The third major findings are also counter-intuitive: retired households are living in the most vegetalized areas in Paris, both rich and poor. These results open up new lines of interpretation and of further research on gentrification processes, and of urban change more generally.

Die Gruppe Kritische Geographie Berlin beschäftigt sich seit Längerem mit Phänomenen, Ursachen, Akteuren und Wirkungsweisen des neuen touristischen Interesses an Berliner ‚Trend-Bezirken’ wie etwa Mitte, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg und den nördlichen Teilen Neuköllns. Nachdem zunächst in mehreren Diskussionen und internen Workshops ein Überblick über das Thema und einzelne Facetten jener ‚Touristifizierung der Stadt’ erarbeitet wurde, folgte in den Jahren 2012/13 eine öffentliche Workshop-Reihe. Hier wurde der Versuch unternommen, in einer strukturierten Annäherung an unterschiedliche Dimensionen der ‚Touristification’ diese in ihrem komplexen Charakter lesbarer zu machen und sich über Fragen der Analyse und Bewertung, aber auch zu möglichen Interventionen und Initiativen auszutauschen.