The Symbolic Transformation of Industrial Space Into an Aspirational Project: The Imaginary of the Middle Class in the Conversion of the Former Carbochim Industrial Platform in Cluj-Napoca

This research investigates how the gentrifying actor Rivus, a real estate project that encompasses the urban regeneration of the former Carbochim industrial platform, reinforces the middle-class imaginary in Cluj-Napoca by manufacturing consent through its communication strategies. The study examines how the urban regeneration project influences public perception of the middle class and legitimizes the middle-class imaginary by exploring the instrumentalization of nature, cultural identity, practicability, unity, work, and innovation in Rivus digital narratives. Through qualitative content analysis, the research examines a series of materials from the Rivus project s social media platforms to identify recurring themes and discursive patterns. The research results illustrate Rivus strategy of helping to construct, strengthen, and reinforce the idea of the middleclass imaginary, capitalizing on the real estate and innovation ideals characteristic of the city of Cluj-Napoca. By doing this, the project not only normalises and complies with the neoliberal views of prosperity and those entitled to it but also undermines the inequality, exclusion, and social costs associated with gentrification. As a consequence, based on the Rivus project case study, the current paper identifies and highlights some of the techniques used by real estate developers in modeling the middle-class imaginary and its public acceptance.