Middle Class Neighbourhood Attachment in Paris and Milan: Partial Exit and Profound Rootedness

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition that the nature of urban social capital is affected not only by the problems of the urban poor, but also by the strategies of the affluent middle classes. European cities have historically been characterised by greater social integration than found in the US. However, contemporary urban trends in Europe, for instance associated with gentrification, segregation, and more generally ‘the end of urbanism’ may entail significant shifts in the social fabric of European cities. This chapter, based on an exploratory comparative empirical research in France and Italy, examines whether we can detect the partial “exit” of upper middle class both from their national society and from the cities in which they live. We tackle this question from a micro perspective, looking at the experience of the individuals, their narratives and focusing on a specific angle: the social networks of managers and engineers in Paris and Milan