Space and the City

This CEPA working paper looks at a heterogeneous Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora’s involvement in the production and reproduction of space within an urban context in Colombo, through small-scale investments in condominiums. The analysis of the qualitative data collected for the study highlights how post-war diasporic ‘returns’ play a role in the emergence of a new form of neighbourhood. It also looks at how property developers responding to the demand created by the ‘returning’ Tamil diaspora negotiate the boundaries of the formal and the informal with regards to production of space.