An island of civilization in a sea of delay? Indifference and fragmentation along the rugged shorelines of Kiev’s newbuild archipelago

《An island of civilization in a sea of delay? Indifference and fragmentation along the rugged shorelines of Kiev’s newbuild archipelago》

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作者: Kostyantyn Mezentsev;Michael Gentile;Nataliia Mezentseva;Iuliia Stebletska

来源: JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS,Vol.41,Issue5,P.654-678

语言: 英文

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作者单位: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

摘要: Some of the literature on newbuild gentrification (NBG) suggests that residents of neighborhoods exposed to NBG gradually become alienated from their surroundings because it erodes the sense of place, producing, as one influential scholar noted, “colonized and unfamiliar” environments. The degree to which such feelings prevail relates to the extent and nature of the social contacts and connections between newbuild gentrifiers and “locals,” yet the current state of the art is inconclusive and, above all, geographically skewed toward the experience of a few Western cities. This article addresses both problems. Thus, based on a case study conducted in Kiev, the least studied of Europe’s great cities, this article explores how the social environment evolves in areas that experience NBG. In-depth interviews with newbuild gentrifiers and locals and the analysis of contributions to relevant web-based fora are used to investigate how and to what extent the “newcomers” interact with their “indigenous” neighbors, the two groups’ mutual perceptions of one another, and the locals’ assessment of the impact of the newbuilds on the living conditions in the neighborhood.Additional informationAuthor informationKostyantyn MezentsevKostyantyn Mezentsev is Professor and Head of the Department of Economic and Social Geography at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Head of the Kyiv Department of Ukrainian Geographical Society. His recent research examines the transformation of post-Soviet urban regions and cities, participatory and effective urban planning, and migration issues in Central and Eastern Europe. He is co-editor of the book Urban Ukraine: In the Epicenter of the Spatial Changes (2017). Mezentsev teaches courses in human geography and quantitative and qualitative methods in regional and urban studies.Michael GentileMichael Gentile is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oslo and associate editor of Eurasian Geography and Economics. He is an urban geographer specialized on cities in Central and Eastern Europe and has published extensively on this topic. Recent publications include articles in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, and Urban Geography.Nataliia MezentsevaNataliia Mezentseva is Associate Professor in the Department of Economic and Social Geography at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Her recent research and teaching interests include urban social transformations, public spaces, gender issues, and migration and (in)security in Ukraine. She is co-editor of Urban Ukraine: In the Epicenter of the Spatial Changes (2017).Iuliia StebletskaIuliia Stebletska is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Economic and Social Geography at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Her ongoing dissertation work focuses on Kiev’s spatial development and city planning, particularly in relation to gentrification and brownfield regeneration.AcknowledgmentsThis article was first presented at the conference “Redefining Cities in Post-Soviet Space” (Leipzig, November 24–26, 2016) and at the 7th CAT-ference (Kiev/Dnipro, September 26–29, 2017). The authors thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on this article.Interviews cited in textK1: M, 30, single, no children, higher ed, interviewed by Gentile, Mezentsev, and Mezentseva.K2: F, 34, one child, higher ed, married, interviewed by Mezentseva.K3: F, 25, higher ed, two small children, married, interviewed by Mezentseva and Stebletska.K4: M, 36, higher ed, one small child, divorced, interviewed by Mezentseva and Stebletska.K5: M, 40, higher ed, two children, divorced, interviewed by Stebletska.S1: M, 30, higher ed, married, no kids, interviewed by Mezentseava.S2: F, 57, higher ed, married, three grown-up children, has lived in curent dwelling since 1962, interviewed by Mezentseva and Stebletska.S3: M, 25, incomplete higher ed, single, no children, interviewed by Stebletska.