Vision och verklighet- En fallstudie över Nya Kvillebäcken och dess invånare

Sammanfattning: Nya Kvillebäcken is a newly built residential area situated on the island of Hisingen in the city of Göteborg. Nya Kvillebäcken was built as part of a project to redefine the urban identity of the area and its status. The project has been criticized for creating new-build gentrification. The objectives of this essay are to study Nya Kvillebäcken and the relationship between ideals of urban planning, new-build gentrification and the residents’ own views on the identity of the area. The study was conducted using the vision document of the development of the future city of Göteborg,Vision Älvstaden, and making an empirical study, interviewing residents in Nya Kvillebäcken. Florida´s theories on urban development were applied for analysing Göteborg´s vision document. Theories about Relational identities and Othering were used to understand how the residents of Nya Kvillebäcken construct their identities. The conclusion of this essay is that the vision behind Nya Kvillebäcken derives from Florida’s theories. In the interviews in the empirical study power relationships within the city are revealed and the status of Nya Kvillebäcken could be seen as a result of the new-build gentrification of the area. The new-build gentrification has influenced how the residents identify their neighbourhood and thus could have contributed to a feeling of alienation towards the neighbouring areas.