Patchy neighbourhood changes from street micro level: an insight from residents and businesses

ABSTRACT

Despite the rich literature dealing with urban changes in former socialist cities, little attention has been paid to residents’ perceptions of these transformations. This ethnographic study of a street in the centre of Bucharest tells two different stories that do not come together: one has to do with the urban environment, buildings, and local businesses, the other with the residents and their understanding of the street. The empirical evidence reveals surprising and puzzling features for theorizing neighbourhood changes related to Romania’s social and cultural context, which can probably be endorsed in other cities as well.

KEYWORDS:

• Neighbourhood change
• street-level analysis
• marginal gentrification
• subjective perceptions
• local features

Acknowledgement

To my parents, Aricly and Nicolae

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Protected area no 18 of highest importance, https://catalogbucuresti.info.

2. https://www.f-r-o-g.com/vasile-lascar.

3. https://www.facebook.com/pg/BEAT-bar-umanist-1,431,725,723,717,100/about.