School choices and gentrification in late capitaslistic cities: the neighbourhood as a distinction strategy of the middle class.

The middle class is a leading actor in fostering gentrification dynamics. In terms of the reproduction of life-style habits, preferences, tastes, and choices, the middle class is considered one of the main drivers of urban transformation and socio-spatial inequalities. Nevertheless, much of this process is yet to be understood. This chapter aims to shed light in this direction by focusing on a specific subset of middle-class people: professional, highly educated parents living in gentrified neighborhoods. In particular, I here show the results of a two-year ethnographic study conducted in Affori, a neighborhood of Milan (Italy) that is experiencing gentrification. The research focuses on the reasons and motivations driving parents to select primary schools for their children. The argument of the chapter is twofold. Firstly, the relationship with the neighborhood turns out to be an important distinction-value for selecting the schools, more than others traditionally related to the middle class. Secondly, this pushes the reproduction of school inequalities in a very place-based manner.