What to Make of Gentrification in Older Industrial Cities? Comparing St. Louis (USA) and Dortmund (Germany)

Abstract

Few scholars have studied gentrification in older industrial cities across different national contexts. A review of the literature suggests that gentrification in older industrial cities will look different in systematic ways from gentrification in global, magnet cities that most research has focused on. The literature also suggests that the political and institutional differences in cities located in different national contexts can shape gentrification processes. Our research shows that Dortmund and St. Louis are both undergoing deep processes of economic restructuring with new knowledge workers moving in to neighborhoods adjacent to expanding tech clusters. The speed and magnitude of gentrification, however, is significantly less than reported in strong market cities. Unlike in hot market, global cities, many areas within Dortmund and St. Louis are experiencing little or no gentrification, and the neighborhoods that are experiencing gentrification-like processes vary significantly along important dimensions. Despite important differences in political institutions, the basic pattern of gentrification in St. Louis and Dortmund is similar. In these two older industrial cities, at least, gentrification is a complex and variegated phenomenon that requires more research to be fully understood.