The Changes in the Brno’s Zábrdovice District – The Possibilities of Integration in the Process of Gentrification

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explain the process of the current gentrification in this socially excluded urban area in Brno, Czech Republic. The article summarizes the findings of long-term research conducted in the years 2008–2015. The text briefly describes the history of this city locality in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, and the circumstances of its current gentrification. Furthermore, the article analyses the past gentrification processes and their trigger factors. The so-called “actor-centered approach” was chosen as a suitable method of analyzing the current gentrification process. According to this approach, four interest groups active in the development of the area were identified: (1) the original populace of the location, (2) the “gentrifies” – newcomer residents, (3) NGOs active in the area, and finally (4) the authorities of the city of Brno. The social process of gentrification has been analyzed through the goals and strategies of each of the four interest groups, and their respective impacts on the processes of the integration or the exclusion of local socially disadvantaged inhabitants.