Anthropology in the city:

ethnographic approaches and critical perspectives on “neighbourhood”

Abstract

This introductory paper examines the conceptual and methodological approaches to the notion of
the “neighbourhood” within the framework of the anthropological study of urban space. As an
analytical category, the neighbourhood constitutes a site of social action where historical narratives,
social dynamics, and power relations intersect. These processes shape the formation and
continuous renegotiation of its socially and politically constructed boundaries, making evident the
dynamic, relational, and contested nature of this ethnographic field. From this perspective, the
study of the neighbourhood represents an interdisciplinary endeavour that combines ethnographic
research with participatory methodologies and artistic interventions to illuminate the complex processes through which urban life is constituted and transformed. At the same time, the text
serves as a theoretical and conceptual bridge, connecting the experimental and critical ethnographic
approaches of the articles in this issue. It proposes a reading framework that explores the
interrelations between ethnographic observation, critical theory, and urban experience.