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First and foremost, I wish to thank the five institutions and two particular individuals that were crucial for making this work possible. The Alexander von Humboldt foundation granted me a Feodor Lynen Stipend, which allowed me to dedicate my time to this project and to conduct empirical work abroad. This work would have been all but impossible without the patience and encouragement of my employer, the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS), which granted me the time necessary to research and write this book and supported this detour from everyday business. Finally, and most importantly I wish to thank my two hosts in London and St Petersburg. Without the dedicated and continued support from Claire Colomb and the Bartlett School of Planning at the University College of London, the whole project would have never taken place. The same goes for Oleg Pachenkov and both the Centre for Independent Social Research (CISR) and the European University of St Petersburg. More than once, I was deeply impressed by the enthusiasm, reliability and imagination with which these magnificent colleagues supported my work. Both Claire and Oleg provided invaluable intellectual conversations and great company, which helped me along the cliffs of the project.

Numerous people assisted in the data collection and interviews or shaped the book by providing comments, ideas and background information in all three cities researched. I am very grateful to all of them. My debts here are too numerous to be listed in full. I extend thanks, in particular, to Michael Edwards, Michael Hebbert, Loretta Lees, Tim Butler, Chris Hamnett, Peter Williams, Alan Mace, Paul Watt, Duncan Bowie, Mike Raco, Jennifer Robinson, Hyun Bang Shin, Antoine Paccoud and all the other scholars who supported me in London.

My greatest thanks go also to Lilia Voronkova, Thomas Campbell, Dimitri Vorobyev, Irina Shirobokova, Katya Korableva and the other participants of the ‘Research Laboratory’, as well as to Anna Zhelnina and Konstantin Axënov, who all guided my way through St Petersburg. I am also grateful to Oleg Golubchikov for helpful comments on the matter of gentrification in Russia.

Berlin has been the place that has shaped my thinking about gentrification for a very long time. There have been so many people who have provided me with motivation, inspiration and information over the years that I don’t know how to count them all. Pars pro toto, I would like to thank a few people specifically here. First and foremost is Andrej Holm, who has been a friend and a political and intellectual companion for decades. The same goes for Margit Mayer who has crucially influenced my thinking about cities since I was a student. Over the years, a couple of people have been especially important for my studies on Prenzlauer Berg, both by providing information and supporting my work, and also by disagreeing and discussing things with me. These include Carola Handwerg, Michail Nelken, Theo Winters, Ullrich Lautenschläger, Jochen Hucke, Ulf Heitmann, Hartmut Häußermann, Karin Baumert, Wolfgang Kil, and Wilhelm Fehse and Bernd Holtfreter (who both passed way too early).

Grateful appreciation is also due to Talja Blokland, Michael Gentile and Slavomira Ferenčuhová, who read earlier versions of individual chapters. Finally, Willem van der Zwaag, Mary Beth Wilson and Kerstin Wegel have provided superb technical support.

Above all, I thank Anja and Juri for their love, support and patience, which have allowed this book to be written.

Berlin, 23 October 2021