Intersecting spaces of superdiversity

Sakura Yamamura

- completed -

Drawing attention to the intersection of multidimensional variables of migrants, the concept of superdiversity is particularly relevant to increasingly diversifying global cities. Currently, since little is known about where and how super-diversity concerns spatial intersections, the core focus of this project is on the socio-spatial dimension of superdiversity in global cities. This project delves into the complexity of multiscalar contexts of socio-spatial diversification in and of urban spaces, and the multidimensional socio-spatial constellation of transnational migrant groups in them. With a mixed-method approach, the project aims to capture the intersection of so-called ‘transnationalism from below’ and ‘transnationalism from above’ in global cities, commencing with Frankfurt as the initial case and including additional cities for a comparative analysis. The project entails a range of methods including: (1) qualitative interviews with migrant professionals of transnational corporations, on the one hand, and with low-skilled labor migrants on the other; (2) ethnographic observation; (3) site surveys; and (4) mapping based on statistical data. Furthermore, it also strives to visualize the data with innovative methods to make the otherwise abstract concept of spatial super-diversification more visible and tangible. Collaborations are planned with the City of Frankfurt’s Office for Multicultural Affairs (AmkA) and its multi-purpose community and administrative center stadtRAUMfrankfurt. [Due to the CoVid19 pandemic, fieldwork in intersectional public spaces of encounters and interactions in Frankfurt, along with the case study of a spatial hotspot for organized encounters in the stadtRAUMfrankfurt, have to be postponed until further notice. In collaboration with AmkA, research accompanying the policy response to the spatial shift from physical to offline and virtual spaces, and assessing the impacts of such spatial dynamics on the practices of diversity and integration policy, will be conducted.].