The Effects of Gentrification on the Elderly: A Case Study in the City of Cáceres

Lidia Domínguez-Parraga

doi:10.3390/socsci9090154

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the consequences of the gentrification process as a result of tourism on the elderly inhabitants. Firstly, the concept of gentrification is reviewed, a process that is no longer exclusive to large cities but has spread to smaller and lesser-known municipalities. A clear example of this type of new tourist destination is the city of Cáceres, a World Heritage medium-sized city where tourism is the basis of its economy. The research considers gentrification in medium-sized cities and its effect on active aging. Based on a qualitative methodological approach, a total of 32 in-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed to compare two neighborhoods—one gentrified and one not. The results show a remarkable disparity in the residents’ perceptions of their environment and their city. The findings suggest adverse effects on the quality of aging due to the gentrification process, such as family dependency, social-space disconnection, and a generally pessimistic image of the neighborhood. Consequently, the impact of tourism negatively affects the gentrified neighborhood inhabitants’ psychological, social, and emotional well-being.

Highlights

Spain is one of the main tourist destinations in the world, which is evident by its economy.In 2018, according to data from the Tourism Satellite Account in Spain (CSTE) (INE 2019), tourism accounted for more than 12% of GDP and generated 12.7% of total employment in the country.the impact of tourism goes beyond the economic impact, having meaningful effects on society
A different approach is proposed by selecting older people as the research subjects, with the reason being that this population segment is not frequently studied in the currently available literature on the gentrification process (Petrovic 2008)
Several studies show how gentrification processes transform traditional businesses to respond to a new consumer: the tourist or visitor

Summary

Introduction

Spain is one of the main tourist destinations in the world, which is evident by its economy. The impact of tourism goes beyond the economic impact, having meaningful effects on society. The consequences of tourism on the population of a city have been widely studied in recent years, as well as the effects of so-called “gentrification.” most studies on gentrification have been carried out in metropolises. This research aims to mitigate this gap by conducting an investigation on gentrification in a tourist destination of a medium-sized city—Cáceres, Spain. A different approach is proposed by selecting older people as the research subjects, with the reason being that this population segment is not frequently studied in the currently available literature on the gentrification process (Petrovic 2008)

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