This research introduces the concept of visibility as a useful tool to assess the democratic features of public spaces. It understands democratic public spaces as open spaces, which are accessible to all and allow different cultural expressions for individuals and groups. The concept of visibility refers to the visual perception of the observable features of distinctive urban groups in public space, which give evidence of how these groups engage with, shape, and construct public space. The research argues that the visibility of distinctive urban groups on the street manifests the rights of these groups to participate in public life, a key feature of socially inclusive cities. Consequently, the presence and change in visibility of urban groups in public space is highly political, raising issues in relation to just and unjust urban conditions. This research uses the visibility of Turkish amenities in Amsterdam as a proxy for the presence and appropriation of public spaces by Turkish immigrants in the context of urban transformation processes in the period between 2007 and 2016. It concludes by presenting the implications of the findings of empirical analysis for urban design and planning practice and research.

Immigrant amenities contribute to the public life of the street by supporting its diversity and vitality, which is crucial for the socio-cultural inclusion of immigrants into mainstream society. However, immigrant amenities change within urban transformation processes, many times in the context of urban renewal. These changes influence their contribution to the public life of the street. How do these changes in immigrant amenities relate to the socio-cultural inclusion of immigrants? This study focuses on the changes of Turkish amenities in Amsterdam at street and city levels. It concludes that the decline of immigrant amenities contradicts policy aimed at supporting the socio-cultural inclusion of immigrants.

This study investigates transformation processes in the streets of immigrant neighbourhoods in Amsterdam. It approaches the issue through the visibility of immigrant amenities – such as shops, restaurants, places of worship – with distinctive cultural signs and practices, that are recognizable in public spaces. The study analyses cultural visibility on two streets with a concentration of immigrant amenities, in 2007 and 2016. It approaches cultural visibility from two aspects: the physical setting and the people's activities in these streets. The findings reveal that the different architectural types and location of the neighbourhoods, and their different processes of urban renewal, have produced varied outcomes in terms of cultural visibility.