Ewa Korcelli-Olejniczak

Neighbouring the different: Social interaction in a Warsaw subarea

Abstract In the paper patterns of social interaction are examined, as shaped by an inflow of new residents to an inner-city subarea characterized by a low socio-economic status and featuring ethnic homogeneity. The empirical material is derived from a set of semi-structured interviews conducted by the authors with the area’s inhabitants, and with representatives of local governance arrangement and initiatives. The analysis is based on the concepts of social hyper-diversity, social networks, the concept of place and the research on gentrification. Sub-categories of residents are distinguished by referring to both functional and emotional types of social relations they enter into. The findings point at the formation of networks of integrative nature, mostly such that are supported by the use of common urban space, across the social categories identified, but also to limits and obstacles to social integration, both general and those specific to the case study area.

Degraded and upgraded? Economic activity in a diversifying inner-city subarea

The paper analyses the relations between economic performance, social diversification and overall systemic transformation in a socially deprived, but dynamic subarea of Warsaw – Praga PA³A‚noc. ‘Old Praga’ is treated here as a specific laboratory of contemporary urban change. Actually, its pre-war tradition of multiculturalism and the transformation into ‘historic slums’ under socialism imprinted on its memory clash with a recent socio-economic diversification, that is generated by an early-stage gentrification, and also by the inflow of ethnic minorities.

Hiperróżnorodność lokalnie: mobilność społeczna i rozwój przedsiębiorczości na Pradze-Północ w Warszawie

The paper discusses the ongoing process of early-stage gentrification in Praga-Polnoc, that leads to the hyper-diversity of this area. Our study shows that diversity can play as well as a positive and negative role in fostering the area’s social mobility. A factor stimulating the process is social integration which should be simultaneously achieved. Hyper-diversity also has an impact on the area’s economic performance. Our findings show that, while generally, the establishment of a business activity is easier in such conditions due for example to low barriers to entry or the presence of a diverse clientele, firms functioning in diverse areas are less economically sustainable.