Paper short abstract:

The paper focusses on a marginal Viennese neighborhood called “Kreta”. It shows how in this specific location resident migrants could become key players in real estate development through the link of two features: The knowledge of their neighborhood and their integration into transnational networks.

Paper long abstract:

The paper looks at the role of migrants in processes of urban renewal, without taking one predefined migrant group or one city as point of departure. The entry point will be the transformation of a marginal urban location, namely of a Viennese neighborhood called "Kreta" (Island of Crete). There are several explanations for its denomination but most of them refer to two aspects: The traditionally isolated position inside the city and the low-income, predominantly migrant population. Today, one third of the residents are migrants from Southeastern Europe and Turkey. The paper looks at the ongoing remaking of the area which is determined be the reuse of several urban brownfields surrounding the neighborhood. I will show how "Kreta's" migrant residents managed to anticipate these renewal processes through the link of two features: The knowledge of their neighborhood and their integration into transnational networks. Thanks to this juncture, companies owned by resident migrants could anticipate other, larger players in the real estate development of the "Island of Crete". Interestingly, the still peripheral location of the neighborhood offered great security for investments, which facilitated the attraction of capital through transnational networks. The paper, thus, shows how the particular location allowed migrants to become agents of urban development beyond the traditional roles ascribed to them in urban and migration narratives. This dynamic is played out between the "Island of Crete's" marginality in the city and a potential, new centrality in a transnational context.