Whether Transnational Middle-Class Migrants Perceive Belgrade as an Attractive and Comfortable City Cover Image

Da li transnacionalni migranti srednje klase doživljavaju Beograd kao atraktivan i udoban grad
Whether Transnational Middle-Class Migrants Perceive Belgrade as an Attractive and Comfortable City

Author(s): Mina Petrović
Subject(s): Sociology, Rural and urban sociology
Published by: Sociološko naučno društvo Srbije
Keywords: Belgrade; social production of space; transnational migrants; city; urban policy

Summary/Abstract: The research focus is on whether transnational middle-class migrants perceive Belgrade as a city suitable for their way of life. At the outset, the analytical framework links the social production of contemporary cities to processes of globalization and transnational migration, with a focus on post-socialist cities and Belgrade as the object of empirical research. The second part of the paper contains data analysis based on the 21 semi-structured interviews with middle-class transnational migrants who had lived and worked in Belgrade for at least a year at the time of the interviews, conducted in late 2018 and early 2019. The analysis focuses on the opinions of transnational migrants regarding housing and working conditions in Belgrade in comparison to their previous experiences; on daily routines and practices they can or cannot realize in Belgrade; and on the importance they attach to globally standardized places (such as international cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, etc.) as compared to locally specific equivalents. In the concluding section, seeking to examine whether the Belgrade entrepreneurial urban policy meets the expectations of these transnational actors, the key research findings are summarized in a manner accordant with the inputs they could provide for Belgrade’s urban development.

  • Issue Year: 62/2020
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 549-568
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: English
Toggle Accessibility Mode