Hi

Having the Spring Break behind us I am full of energy again to continue our journey in urban geography! When I posted last time here we had wealth creation in our plate and we have covered a few topics since then including housing markets, residential preferences and gentrification.

The research teams have also successfully completed the first step of the field research in Antwerp despite the wet and cold weather. The results are slowly appearing in the blogs of each team but what I have heard so far has been very exciting. Research team one has conducted interviews around the Het Eilandje project to understand the social impact of this large scale urban regeneration project in the social composition of the area. Team two was interviewing a local government official who was one of the key persons in the revision of the Antwerp Central Station. Team three went deep into the gentrifying neighborhoods around the 'red light district', Schipperskwartier and interviewed people experiencing gentrification. Team four was in Berchem interviewing ethnic communities and shop owners while team five in the same area tried to understand the participation of immigrant community in the urban matters. And finally team six went to the other side of river Schelde to conduct interviews with people who devoted themselves to urban agriculture. All extremely fascinating and in one dark rainy day! I am absolutely thrilled with the enthusiasm and motivation of each of you and very proud already...

On Monday we'll talk about the social and cultural mosaic of Rotterdam as it is going to be the next step in your field research. Wednesday the 28th of March research teams will be exploring Rotterdam. I hope for us a better weather and a great experience.

Looking forward to seeing you on Monday the 26th of March at 08:45 (watch out for the spring time!).

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tuna Tasan-Kok