Paper short abstract:

In Helsinki, ethnic retail has been transforming abandoned retail premises into lively places. Everyday intercultural communication faces challenges relating to the politics of identity. As tasty as ethnic cuisine may be to an autochthonous Finn, it doesn't stimulate cosmopolitan practices.

Paper long abstract:

Ethnic retail finds fertile ground in European cities, especially amongst migrants. It provides them with a variety of services as well as impromptu places of belonging. Furthermore, it enables the place-making through the communication between users, and initiates cosmopolitan practices. Yet, socio-spatial exclusion may also occur when places of retail are seen by natives as no-go zones. The Helsinki, the capital of Finland, has been undergoing a transformation of vacant small retail premises that take on new life due to entrepreneurial migrants and their super-diverse industries and services. We present three case studies of ethnic retail that demonstrate the variations that exist according to the intercultural communication they give space to. We first look into a suburban milieu planned upon the high-street concept including many stores operated by migrants. Then, we present a shopping mall erected in the early 1970's that after a period of vacancy and disarray became one of the most lively urban hubs in the capital. Finally, we present a transport node leading to the most popular shopping centre in the city, surrounded by premises of ethnic retail. We conducted field research, collected observations, mapped the spaces and interviewed users, entrepreneurs, and planners. We discuss the intercultural communication potential presented in each case, the representations they embody as places of Otherness, and we ponder on the policy that facilitate cosmopolitan practices in urban space.