In the novel of NW by Zadie Smith, the multiethnic and multicultural social
structure in northwest London is narrated through the story of four city dwellers. The
aim of this study is to examine the story of the novel through the lenses of urban
architecture in relation to the psychological, social, and environmental themes of the
plot. For this aim, firstly, a brief introduction of the novel is presented. After the
introduction, the main subject of the story, its main characters, and the relations
between them are explained. In this section, characters of various ethnic backgrounds
living in the economic difficulties brought on by metropolitan life, and the relationship
between the different classes they represent, are examined. Then, the themes that the
author fictionalized through the relations between the main characters by referring to
the field of environmental psychology and sociology are extracted from the story. In
the next section, the main characteristics of the streets, parks, and especially the council
housing of the district that forms the urban architecture of northwest London in the
background of the story, are summarized. Moreover, the main themes that were
presented in the previous section are associated with the spaces and the architecture in
which they pass. This association is made by examining the relationships of the
characters who are in motion in spaces with each other, formed by the occasional
intersection of their paths from place to place, and their experiences with space, place
and institutions. In conclusion, it is determined that the author embodied many social
and psychological themes in urban architecture, including council housing, which
constitute the scenario of the story. These themes correspond to the fields of
environmental psychology and sociology, such as racism, interracial relations, social
class, social pressures, class distinctions, inequality, ethnicity, immigrants, identity,
belonging, privacy, attachment to place, marriage, love, gender roles, violence, crime
and mobility are put forward. Finally, the results show the following: The urban
architecture, including council housing, affects the sense of belonging and identity of
the people living in the area; housing perceptions and expectations of people differ
from each other in accordance with their social class; and housing is considered an
indicator of prestige and social class in the lives of the protagonists.
Keywords: Attachment to place, Belonging, Council housing, Crime, Caldwell district, Ethnicity, Gender roles, Inequalities, Interracial relations, Immigrants, Identity, Mobility, NW London, Parks, Privacy, Racism, Streets, Social class, Social pressures, Urban architecture, Zadie smith.
