Transformation of the Social Structure of the Kamenná District

Abstract

The article describes the emergence of emergency and workers’ colonies in Brno from the early 1920s. It also briefly introduces the history of the Kamenná District and its inhabitants from its foundation through the 1970s–1990s to the current times. The main aim of the thesis was to map the educational and occupational representation in the Kamenná District, which was done through a questionnaire survey over the internet and in the field. The newly collected data was compared to the 2019 survey data and to the axioms of history that are known about the Kamenná District. Data from both surveys were also compared with data from the Czech Republic and Brno. The current occupational composition of the workers in the Kamenná District was compared to the nicknames that the Kamenná District was given at the time of its founding (shanty town/worker’s colony) and at the time of population turnover in the 1970s–1990s (artists’ and bohemians’ quarter). The discussion includes topics that local residents are currently addressing. The identification of these topics was based on the aforementioned quantitative research from 2023. The survey of educational and occupational composition was done because of the hypothesis of ongoing gentrification in the Kamenná District. This hypothesis was not refuted by the survey; on the contrary, the survey results point to a possible progression of gentrification. However, further research will be needed to confirm it definitively.