Seeking (desperately) for gentrification? Population change, immigration and economic recovery in a Mediterranean city

Abstract

Urban dynamics in European Mediterranean countries reflect a mosaic of responses to different economic impulses. Suspended between suburbanisation and reurbanisation, socio‐economic development in Southern Europe outlines a possible ‘Mediterranean’ path to gentrification that deserves further investigation. By considering together population, housing, business dynamics and specific aspects of life quality, we developed a quali‐quantitative analysis of urban dynamics and gentrification processes in postcrisis Athens, Greece. The political side of gentrification, informal planning and the difficulty to stabilise a nexus with inner city rehabilitation accounts for the heterogeneous outcomes of urban transformations in Southern Europe. In such contexts, inner city gentrification was interpreted as an informal process consolidating a social mix similar to the most advanced cities in Western Europe. Our study delineates a Mediterranean perspective to inner city gentrification, reconnecting these processes with more general socio‐economic conditions, and demonstrates the intrinsic advantage of quali‐quantitative assessments of gentrification patterns and processes in urban Europe. A refined knowledge of these processes—also in light of more recent urban crises (e.g., driven by the pandemic challenge)—finally provides an interpretative key for a better management of inner city gentrification, not only in advanced economies but also in emerging (or peripheral) contexts.