Defense of the doctoral dissertation: Sindija Balode

On 21 January 2026 at 12:00, at the University of Latvia Academic Centre for Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technologies, Jelgavas Street 1, Room 702, Riga, at the open meeting of the Joint Promotion Council of the University of Latvia in the fields of Earth Sciences, Physical Geography and Environmental Science, and Social and Economic Geography, Sindija Balode will defend her doctoral thesis “Socio‑Spatial Differentiation in the Neighbourhoods of Central Riga” for the degree of Doctor of Science (Ph.D.) in Social Sciences, in the field of Social and Economic Geography, subfield of Human Geography.

Reviewers:

1. Prof. RNDr. Martin Ouředníček, Charles University, Czech Republic;

2. Assoc. Prof. Dr. geogr. Ženija Krūzmētra, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies;

3. Prof. Māris Kļaviņš, University of Latvia.

ABSTRACT

Cities worldwide are experiencing demographic shifts and increasing socio-spatial differentiation, which exacerbate social inequality and threaten sustainable development. These processes are more complex in post-socialist urban areas shaped by the legacy of centrally planned economies, rapid transition to a market economy, and integration into the European Union. This doctoral thesis assesses patterns of socio-spatial differentiation in Riga’s inner city. Using advanced geospatial analysis and 2021 census data, the results show uneven inner-city development, producing a socially and spatially polarized landscape. This includes fragmented gentrification and an “urban arrival space” for new immigrants characterized by high and scale-dependent segregation. This differentiation results from interacting processes such as national-level demographic polarization, selective suburbanization, and the concentration of new migration flows in the inner city.

Keywords: socio-spatial differentiation, inner city, immigration, multiscale analysis

The doctoral thesis will be available for consultation at the LU Library’s Multidisciplinary Library (19 Raiņa Boulevard) two weeks prior to the defence.