The politics of living-with-difference: Local perception of diversity and coexistence around participatory place-making in a multiethnic neighbourhood

Abstract

While much has been said about the structural and spatial dimensions of living-with-difference in the city’s diverse places, existing research has seldom addressed its situatedness within a wider institutional context of place-making that shapes the everyday conditions of our encounters and experiences with ‘others’. As a result, little attention has been paid to the political dynamics of the governance process that engender a context-specific definition and meaning of urban diversity at the local scale. In this light, this article delves into the contextual embeddedness of urban diversity in regenerating a multiethnic neighbourhood, around which residents build their new social relations and belonging. It uses Vienna’s urban renewal model as a research window, through which to explore the political dimension of state-led urban renewal, including institutional and stakeholder arrangements, and its social implications for both old and new residents in everyday spaces. Building on the empirical evidence obtained through field observation and interviewing, it demonstrates how a ‘bottom-linked’ renewal process and its resultant outcome shape a place-specific mode of living-with-difference in the daily life. It concludes highlighting the need for greater attention to the enabling role of the city’s institutional arrangements and policy designs in current research on urban diversity and coexistence.