Narratives of ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ and Urban Transformations in Oslo

This paper discusses the increasing attractiveness of inner-city areas of eastern Oslo as residential areas for middle-class members of the majority population. In previous research, affordability and the preference for urban lifestyles were regarded as the predominant factors explaining such urban transformations. The present paper shows that it is also necessary to look more closely at the impacts of ethnic identification and categorisation on the attractiveness of neighbourhoods. It is argued that the increase in the affluent members of the majority population in this part of the city can be linked to the emerging perception of these areas as becoming ‘less dominated’ by ethnic minority populations (more ‘mixed’).