Residential migration of Luxembourgish citizens within the Greater Region. An inter-urban discourse analysis (REMI)

The project at a glance

Start date:

01 Jan 2013
Duration in months:

48
Funding:

FNR – Luxembourg, AFR PhD Grant
Principal Investigator(s):

Markus HESSE

About

The project aims at assessing the extent of the internationalisation of the housing market within the Greater Region of Luxembourg and its consequences for neighbour cities. The economic development of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the concomitant rise in property prices as well as the extreme housing shortages in Luxembourg lead to an expansion of the housing market into the areas across the border, thus fostering residential cross-border mobility. This has on the one hand an impact on the constitution of the residents living in the border area. On the other hand, the higher purchasing power of the Luxembourgish ’expats‘ may lead to rising ground prices and rents in the target cities as well, thus raising the perception that affordable housing is becoming increasingly critical, fostered by a somehow cross-border gentrification. In order to frame these issues appropriately, the project combines three different research angles: first, the study design connects the housing market in the rather polycentric ‘Greater Region’ with the issue of cross-border migration; second, our analytical lens will be directed to both urban housing in this particular context and the way it is represented within different discourses (e.g. in planning documents, expert opinions, newspapers); due to the importance of image and reputation for locational choices, third, a discourse analysis approach will be pursued, in the context of everyday practices of ‘doing geography’ or ‘regionalisation’. Image caption: © Markus Hesse.