Abstract
The neighbourhood, with its own history, identity, traditions, is a very important place for the local community, but the space of life is also a place where it is possible to observe the social conflicts: the distance between international aspirations of a global city and the problems related to poverty, lack of work, and the precariousness of housing. This case study uses a qualitative approach and describes the neighbourhood of Cabanyal in the city of Valencia. It explores over a four-year period the territorial transformation and the process of gentrification involving spatial-structural, social, cultural and linguistic aspects, influencing also the dynamic relationship between the local community, the place, and the sense of community.