Interrelations of Social, Physical and Symbolic Space – Assessing Residents’ Spatial Perceptions of Gentrifying Neighbourhoods with Multiple Factor Analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Adopting a Bourdieusian perspective on the trialectic relationship between symbolic, social, and physical space, we assess how perceptions, evaluations, and expectations towards one’s surroundings interrelate and are associated with social status and physical location. We analyse survey data from two German neighbourhoods undergoing gentrification, arguing that in this process, residents of different class backgrounds and with different expectations towards their residential area live side-by-side. To reconstruct residents’ symbolic space of spatial perceptions, we apply multiple factor analysis (MFA) to several sets of variables on neighbourhood perception, and relate these to residents’ location in physical space (different neighbourhoods) and social space (socio-demographics). We find that differences between neighbourhoods in levels of social cohesion and disorder are the most important dimension in symbolic space, emphasizing the crucial role of social bonds in residents’ perception of their surroundings. Expectations towards neighbourhood change, the second dimension, are strongly influenced by socio-demographic characteristics.