Affective dynamics of belonging in a regenerated Dublin suburb

The article is concerned with the affective dynamics of belonging in a working-class Dublin suburb called Ballymun. At the turn of the millennium, Ballymun underwent over a decade-long process of regeneration that thoroughly transformed it physically and socially. On the basis of findings from participatory observation and interviews conducted with residents, I argue that class and residential longevity engender qualitatively different affective bonds between people and place, create different senses of belonging, orient these affective bonds of belonging to a different place (spatiotemporality), and contribute to different practices of appropriating places. I explore belonging as experienced and performed by long-term (pre-regeneration) working-class residents of the neighbourhood and compare it to that of middle-class newcomers, who moved to the suburb during or after regeneration. Through the performance of belonging, I also explore the role of affectivity in communal boundary drawing, inclusions and exclusions. • Residential longevity and class affect ways and dynamics of belonging. • Belonging of long-term residents and of newcomers is oriented to different places (spatiotemporalities). • Affective boundary-making limits access to community to some residents.