PhD project In major European cities, ethnoculturally diverse streets oppose neoliberal capitalist high streets and malls by producing alternative pluralities through distinct practices, knowledge, and spaces. The doctoral research aims to investigate - How diverse streets, beyond their role as contested spaces for migrant communities' social and economic survival, actively catalyze urban differences and establish conditions for situated pluralism through their spatial, cultural, and temporal dynamics?
This PhD research explores ethnically diverse European streets as vibrant spaces where multiple cultures co-create urban life. Moving beyond views of migrant areas as marginal, it investigates how these streets foster unique plural urban identities and inclusivity. Grounded in social space and postcolonial theories, the project aims to reveal these streets as models for designing cities embracing diversity as a strength, inspiring more just and cosmopolitan urban futures.
This research investigates the evolving pluralities within Europe's ethnoculturally diverse streets, challenging conventional views of migrant neighborhoods as marginalized spaces. These streets have historically emerged in urban gaps and transformed from isolated ethnic clusters into vibrant, cosmopolitan spaces. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre’s theory of social production of space, the study views these streets as both physical lived environments and conceptual imaginaries, where multiple cultures coexist, contest, and create new social relations. The research argues that these diverse streets foster unique urban typologies that embody and empower plural existence, offering an alternative to neoliberal capitalism’s homogenizing influence on city life.
Grounded in postcolonial theory and the concept of the pluriverse, the project embraces diversity not as a challenge but as a generative force for co-creating inclusive futures. Édouard Glissant’s notion of the right to opacity guides the understanding of cultural differences as textured and complex, rather than transparent and fully knowable. Methodologically, the research combines critical historiography, mapping, and ethnographic fieldwork to capture the layered social and spatial realities of migrant streets. The study will focus on socio-spatial fragments within 2-3 urban contexts to provide trans-local sites of inquiry, highlighting the potential for diverse streets to be understood as an emerging typology within urban futures.
Expected outputs include academic publications, conference presentations, and a monograph articulating the transformative potentials of diverse streets for cities and their futures. This work offers important critical insights for designing more socially and culturally responsive urban environments.
