Gentrification Process Research Articles

Violence and precarization of popular housing in Medellín, predatory accumulation as the matrix of urban production

In both North and South, urban renewal and integration policies testify to the growing commodification of popular territories. The scientific literature emphasizes the processes of gentrification and population displacement associated with these dynamics, and questions the violent production of urban space primarily through the actions of the state and private developers. Shedding light on a blind spot in this discussion, this article proposes to study the forms of violence and commodification operating in the informal circuits of urban production and carried out by other actors, by studying an emerging figure in urban production in Latin America: illegal armed groups. In light of the recent capture of the informal land market by criminal organizations in Medellín, the article analyzes how land rights are distributed, legitimized or contested at the local level. We argue that the control of armed groups translates into the violent implementation of land predation that redefines forms of land valorization, access to land, and dwelling in popular neighborhoods, thus establishing predatory accumulation as the matrix of urban production.

“Nothing was solved, only accelerated”: Contemporary Berlin Novels as Gentrifictions

ABSTRACT: As a contribution to the growing scholarly debate on literary representations of gentrification, this article explores a tendency of contemporary, Berlin-set fiction to depict accelerating gentrification processes as an imminent apocalypse. While earlier gentrification fiction frequently centered on the struggles of a male character, this article turns to recent female-authored and female-centered narratives of gentrification, thus highlighting the relevance of gender for literary gentrification studies. Based on readings of four novels by German and US-American authors, the main contribution of the article is the delineation of a new hybrid subgenre of gentrification fiction and dystopian fiction—the accelerated gentrifiction . A further major finding is the identification of a standardized female gentrifier character type as an essential feature of this subgenre. The relative flatness of these protagonists results from their shared lack of action and emotional response when facing the consequences of complex social and ecological issues such as accelerated gentrification.

Digital nomadism and cities: exploring the production of mobility infrastructures in Barcelona

This study explores digital nomadism (DN) from the perspective of local service providers. Anchored in the new mobilities paradigm, it aims to explore the territorial impacts of DN in Barcelona, focusing on coworking and coliving businesses. How do service providers perceive digital nomads? How do they adapt their businesses to digital nomads? Three main findings emerge. Firstly, this article pinpoints the importance of shifting the focus from identity of digital nomads to the practice of working remotely while travelling in order to have a more nuanced discussion over the local impacts of DN. Secondly, it presents six adaptation strategies of local businesses and their broader implications for the city, including the emergence of new services, the reconfiguration of the built environment, and ongoing gentrification processes. Thirdly, the study sheds light on the complex interactions between public and private sectors in adapting urban services to digital nomads, often at the expense of the local communities.

Analysis of Touristification Processes in Historic Town Centers: The City of Seville

Encouraged by the administration, the gen9otrification process has been useful in economic terms for the reactivation of the socio-cultural fabrics of historic urban spaces in decline. What was initially considered an advantage has led to the touristification of historic centers, and in turn to the alteration of their original use. In these settings, the demographic void caused by increasingly shunning local identity has combined with pressure from excessive tourism and the obsolescence of heritage protection bodies in charge of conservation. Given the crisis affecting the definitions of the current system, this study aims to review the environmental agents of heritage value in relation to the processes of touristification and gentrification. Data obtained from different methodologies are analyzed using a multidisciplinary database, a model which enables the analysis of the relevant information from the different interacting fields. This case study focuses on the historic town center of Seville, specifically between 2015 and 2020. Elements are defined as indicators for these processes and the analysis of this case study will comprise the main results of this research.

Airbnb and urban population change: an empirical analysis of the case of Stockholm, Sweden

ABSTRACT Internet platforms enabling the short-term rental of private homes are an increasingly important provider of tourist accommodation and a challenge for urban policy. Airbnb is frequently blamed for encouraging property owners to remove their homes from the permanent housing market, thus contributing to the gentrification and displacement of local residents. Empirical research on this topic has been mostly represented by qualitative or indirect quantitative studies, which focus on changes in housing availability rather than the actual population. In our study, we fill this gap by presenting a study of the city of Stockholm, using two sources of georeferenced data: information on properties offered for rent on the Airbnb platform and micro-data on individuals and properties derived from the national statistical office. We verify whether the high number of apartment rental offers on the Airbnb website contributes to the high number of apartments that became uninhabited during 2012–2016. Using both aspatial and spatial autoregressive models, we find that the platform expansion does have a significant effect on the number of emptied apartments, and thus conclude that the presence of Airbnb contributes to the process of touristification, understood as the replacement of permanent residents with non-permanent populations. This confirms that when analysing urban population change and the gentrification process, mobile populations should be considered. Context-aware multiscalar and relational approaches are needed to understand the interrelation between human mobility, housing markets and regulations, and transnational internet platforms.

Police Violence as Containment of Black Bodies during Urban Renewal: A Spatial Analysis of Civilian Deaths by Police in Florida

abstract: This study presents a geospatial analysis of police killings within two areas in Florida over a twenty-year period. Fatalities were mapped against social and economic characteristics of neighborhoods to ascertain if police violence ending in civilian death was concentrated in areas with high-minority and low-income populations, and those areas in proximity to gentrifying neighborhoods. We evaluated the theory that police violence against minority residents serves as a process of containment and ultimately supports the continued generation of wealth by a specific sector of society through the process of gentrification. The cycle of destruction and renewal in the urban landscape is deeply intertwined with processes of capital accumulation, class differentiation, and racial subordination. Both the West Florida and Southeast Florida areas contained a significantly higher proportion of fatal encounters occurring within tracts that were eligible to gentrify than in tracts that were in the process of gentrifying. Fort Lauderdale in particular had little overlap despite containing concentrated hotspots of incidents in combination with high-minority and low–NSES tracts. This same pattern is apparent in the Lakeland area in west Florida. Our findings are consistent with Laniyonu's observation that police interactions tend to increase in tracts just outside of gentrified areas, but seldom within them.

Characteristics of life space remodelling in tourism-based villages during rural gentrification based on the coupled coordination degree model

Abstract This paper first takes the process of rural gentrification as the main line, selects the village of Annoyed bun in Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Province, as the case area, conducts research on the characteristics of the remodeling of the living space of the village of the annoyed bun, and proposes the theoretical system of rural gentrification, the governance structure and the mechanism. Secondly, the research on tourism-based villages based on the coupling coordination degree model is carried out to determine the evaluation factors in the coupling index system of tourism-based villages according to the needs of tourists and then construct the evaluation index system of the coupling coordination degree model. Then, the entropy value method is used to calculate the weight of each index, and on the result of the weight of each index, the coupling coordination degree formula can be used to derive the comprehensive evaluation index and the fusion coordination degree value, and then analyze the example of the tourism-type village based on the coupling coordination degree model. The results show that on the value of the degree of integration and coordination, in the three years from 2015 to 2017, Hohhot City, Hohhot City, annoying package village ecology and tourism-type villages mainly show the role of mutual promotion, Hohhot City, towards the direction of mutual promotion between the two. This study promotes the revitalization, reconstruction and reorganization of village life, which objectively becomes a new path for constructing new rural areas and rejuvenation in China.

Shaping the healthy subject in gentrified spaces: Two case studies in Barcelona (Spain)

Several studies have analysed the impact of gentrification on health. However, a more in-depth examination of the constitutive role of health discourses in shaping spaces is required. This article explores the links between the gentrification process and the subjectification of healthy subjects through a critical discourse analysis of 35 walking interviews and a visual semiotic analysis of 140 shopfronts. Health is put forth as a super value to justify market interference in the configuration of urban space and class privilege based on the health products and healthy practices that have undergone a process of elitisation.

Association of bike-sharing service with gentrification in a transit-rich city: A catalyst or an outcome?

This research aims to clarify the relationships between bike infrastructure changes and the gentrification processes by considering the pre-existing mass rapid transit (MRT) system and using gentrifiable neighborhood data from 2011 to 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan. Empirical evidence suggests that gentrifying neighborhoods accorded further accessibility to bike-sharing service (BSS), and increasing MRT service accessibility raised gentrification and BSS accessibility. However, the evidence does not support the hypothesis that equipping bike infrastructure catalyzes gentrification. Instead, an MRT system has a more significant effect on gentrification than bike infrastructure in a city where BSS acts as a last-mile mode of public transport. The results of this research not only clarify relationships between bike infrastructure and gentrification but also offer policy directions to develop inclusive bike-friendly cities.

Why live anywhere else? A hyperlocal reflection on displacement, dislocation and ‘aversive racism’

In displacement beyond dislocation: Aversive racism in gentrification studies, Stefano Bloch and Dugan Meyers analyse how displacement in gentrification studies has been conceptualised. Following a critical examination of the literature, they argue for a more theoretically nuanced concept of how racism takes place. In doing so, they suggest that the role of racism has been under-acknowledged in studies on the processes of gentrification, making the point that geographers have been reluctant to talk about race. Outlining a concept of aversive racism – ‘an insidious mode of affective spatial practice’, they illustrate how place-making, and place-taking function through ambivalent racial encounters. I want to think through these important points, using my work on gentrification in Newham as a starting point.

Apprehending Land Value Through Tourism in Indonesia: Commodification of Rural Landscapes Through Geoparks

AbstractThis article will examine rent gap production and negotiations through the establishment of two UNESCO Geoparks for tourism in Indonesia. The commodification of different geological landscapes was analysed through processes of rural gentrification as ‘build‐to‐let’ homestays and villas emerged under the auspices of local‐regional governance brokering private sector interests under the aegis of post‐reformation Indonesian decentralization politics. The consequent rent‐gap brings about negotiated displacements that varies between actors, but form a crucial component in unravelling the process of rent‐gap creation. Based on 32 interviews with a range of stakeholders in Gunungsewu and Ciletuh UNESCO Geoparks, we show how finances and local‐regional governance power mesh in the production of these tourism destinations against state power. This production of tourism destinations signifies locally specific governance as the determining factors in rent gap production. This paper unmasks the powers at play opening rent gaps in commodifying landscape intertwining with national political regime.

Counter-urbanisation and a politics of place: A coastal community in Cornwall and rural gentrification

This paper uses a case study of Cornwall to address the question of what new politics of place that counter-urbanisation brings about. Counter-urbanisation to Cornwall in the SW of the UK has been popular for decades. Initially it was perceived as a way to repopulate this remote rural region, and challenge its sparse population distribution. Later it became a neo-endogenous growth tool to attract a creative class of dynamic entrepreneurs, and the population has steadily grown since the 1960s. However, Cornwall remains one of the poorest parts of the UK, and poverty and homelessness are endemic. This paper uses ethnographic data to explore the social and economic impact that this has had on a coastal village, the ways that newer residents are socialized into the community, and how the village has responded to challenges maintaining a vibrant village life. The paper will use the concept of the affective assemblage to explore the different imaginaries that participants hold about Cornwall in general and in the village in particular, as it tries to maintain a cohesive community during processes of rural gentrification. The paper uses the concept of the complex adaptive assemblage to show that although the village will remain over time, the question is about whether the community will be liveable for existing inhabitants, and for those who find themselves vulnerable. Furthermore, although it has raised some economic indicators such as the cost of housing, there has been no subsequent improvement in the economy of Cornwall as a whole, and many of the participants in this study discussed how their move was facilitated by their ability to work remotely, generating productivity elsewhere rather than locally.

Rethinking housing inequality and justice in a settler colonial city

This paper brings the housing studies literature into conversation with scholarship on settler colonialism to consider questions of housing justice in settler colonial societies. It begins from an understanding of Indigenous dispossession as not simply an historical context but an ongoing process in which housing is deeply implicated through its embeddedness in colonial land and property regimes. Furthermore, processes of exclusion, neoliberalisation, financialisation and gentrification have made housing central to the production of racial inequality in (and beyond) settler colonies. Liberal notions of inequality that dominate most housing policy and some scholarship are, therefore, inadequate; what is required is research and intervention oriented towards housing justice – the meaning of which is best understood through intellectual and practical engagement with movements struggling for it. In this spirit, the paper presents the story of a prolonged struggle in so-called Sydney, which suggests how housing initiatives and campaigns led by Indigenous people are iteratively reconstructing existing political and economic structures in ways that address commodification, dispossession, exclusion, and displacement. This story points to a need for housing justice scholarship to engage with concepts of reparations – an engagement towards which this paper, in its final section, makes some small but hopefully helpful steps.

Change in Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Adherence to the Cancer Prevention Lifestyle Guidelines in Hispanic/Latino Adults: Results from the HCHS/SOL Study.

This study provides new evidence on the link between neighborhood gentrification, changing income inequality and adoption and maintenance of cancer preventive behaviors in an understudied population in cancer research. We observed that while neighborhood deprivation may deter from healthy lifestyle behaviors, positive changes in neighborhood SES via the process of gentrification, may not influence lifestyle guideline adherence among Hispanic/Latino adults.

A double-edged sword: Residents’ views on the health consequences of gentrification in Porto, Portugal

Gentrification is currently shaping the urban environment in important ways. It also contributes to shaping the health of the inhabitants of gentrifying cities, although it is still unclear how. Gentrification processes are often linked to different drivers and have specific local translations, further complicating the study of the relationship between gentrification and health. We investigated this relationship in Porto, Portugal, a southern European city undergoing rampant transnational gentrification. In order to study how gentrification impacts health from the point of view of that city's residents, we conducted a study using photovoice with a sample of participants recruited from a population-based cohort, which was divided into three different groups: one from gentrifying areas of Porto, another from deprived non-gentrifying areas, and the other from affluent areas. The thematic analysis of data generated six themes, each referring to a change, or a set of connected changes, related to gentrification: increasing floating population, lack of housing access and displacement, construction and rehabilitation, changing local commerce, loss of place, and broader socioeconomic change. According to the accounts from participants, these changes affect health in different ways, both beneficial and harmful. Participants also reflected on how to act on this issue. This research adds to the knowledge about the relationship between gentrification and health by providing detailed and nuanced views about this relationship considering its city-wide impacts.

Tourism gentrification and P2P accommodation: The case of Airbnb in Bandung City

In the accommodation sector, the sharing economy has caused a change of lifestyle that has led to gentrification. This paper chose Bandung City as a case study as the city is one of Indonesia's creative centres and tourism destinations. This study identifies the increasing number of Airbnb listings and how it relates to gentrification. Two sources of data are used: Airbnb and the economic and demographic data in Bandung City. We construct the gentrification index and present the non-parametric tests on the impact of Airbnb on gentrification. The analysis demonstrates the gentrification process in the fringe area near tourist attractions and residential areas, which differs from cities in developed countries. Our findings suggest that Airbnb listings may lead to tourism gentrification in peripheral and residential areas. This study proposes the importance of identification and policies on gentrification development to hinder over-tourism in peripheral and second-tier cities in developing countries.

Gentrification and its association with health inequalities in Barcelona (2011–2017)

BackgroundPrior studies have reported conflicting findings on the impact of gentrification of neighborhood residents. While some suggest it could worsen mental health, others indicate improved self-perceived health, although this effect may vary among social groups. This study aimed to determine health inequities, according to socioeconomic position, among residents of different neighborhoods of Barcelona between 2011 and 2017, considering the intensity of the gentrification process.MethodsObservational study with two transversal cuts (2011 and 2017). Neighborhoods were categorized into three groups based on the intensity of gentrification: intensive, moderate-mild, and no gentrification processes. We fitted Poisson robust models to estimate the prevalence ratio (PR) of poor self-reported and poor mental health according to socioeconomic position (social class III vs. I). We then calculated relative differences between 2011 and 2017 through the interaction between the year and socioeconomic position (PRi). The calculations were adjusted for age and household disposable income in the neighborhood and were stratified by sex.ResultsIn neighborhoods undergoing moderate or mild gentrification during the study period, we found widening inequities in mental health between the most disadvantaged social class and the most privileged social class. Between 2011 and 2017, relative differences in poor mental health increased in moderate-low gentrification neighborhoods [women: PRi: 2.51 (1.52–4.17); men: PRi: 1.99 (1.09–3.61)], equivalent to an increase of 12.9 and 11.5 percentage points, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found in the other neighborhoods.DiscussionThe increase in mental health inequalities observed among residents of transitional neighborhoods could be explained by factors such as residential insecurity, eviction from the neighborhood, and rising housing prices.

Regulating Sustainable Production

Zoning that supports urban manufacturing may offer new opportunities to promote sustainability benefits ranging from improved job accessibility to reduced waste and resource use. However, industrial uses in urban areas face displacement from competing and conflicting uses. While the process of industrial gentrification is well documented, little work has examined how planning strategies and regulations affect urban manufacturing and its potential contribution to sustainable economic development. Drawing on a review of planning documents and interviews with food and beverage manufacturers, we examine how planning regulates the sustainability potential of manufacturing enterprises in Melbourne, Australia. In doing so, we contribute a deeper understanding of the ways that zoning affects urban manufacturing and the obstacles, tensions, and trade-offs urban planners face in creating a more sustainable local manufacturing base.

Gentrification as a Factor in the Incidence of Firearm Injuries

Firearm injuries are an epidemic in the US; more than 45 000 fatal injuries were recorded in 2020 alone. Gaining a deeper understanding of socioeconomic factors that may contribute to increasing firearm injury rates is critical to prevent future injuries. To explore whether neighborhood gentrification is associated with firearm injury incidence rates over time. This cross-sectional study used nationwide, urban US Census tract-level data on gentrification between 2010 and 2019 and firearm injuries data collected between 2014 and 2019. All urban Census tracts, as defined by Rural Urban Commuting Area codes 1 to 3, were included in the analysis, for a total of 59 379 tracts examined from 2014 through 2019. Data were analyzed from January 2022 through April 2023. Gentrification, defined to be an area in a central city neighborhood with median housing prices appreciating over the median regional value and a median household income at or below the 40th percentile of the median regional household income and continuing for at least 2 consecutive years. The number of firearm injuries, controlling for Census tract population characteristics. A total of 59 379 urban Census tracts were evaluated for gentrification; of these tracts, 14 125 (23.8%) were identified as gentrifying, involving approximately 57 million residents annually. The firearm injury incidence rate for gentrifying neighborhoods was 62% higher than the incidence rate in nongentrifying neighborhoods with similar sociodemographic characteristics (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.62; 95% CI, 1.56-1.69). In a multivariable analysis, firearm injury incidence rates increased by 57% per year for low-income Census tracts that did not gentrify (IRR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.56-1.58), 42% per year for high-income tracts that did not gentrify (IRR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.41-1.43), and 49% per year for gentrifying tracts (IRR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.48-1.50). Neighborhoods undergoing the gentrification process experienced an additional 26% increase in firearm injury incidence above baseline increase experienced in neighborhoods not undergoing gentrification (IRR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.23-1.30). Results of this study suggest that gentrification is associated with an increase in the incidence of firearm injuries within gentrifying neighborhoods. Social disruption and residential displacement associated with gentrification may help explain this finding, although future research is needed to evaluate the underlying mechanisms. These findings support use of targeted firearm prevention interventions in communities experiencing gentrification.

How common is greening in gentrifying areas?

ABSTRACT Green gentrification occurs when urban greening/sustainability interventions become implicated in neighbourhood upgrading and displacement of existing residents. However, current emphasis on urban sustainability in planning/policy agendas, coupled with political-economic factors producing uneven development, lead us to ask whether all gentrifying areas experience greening. Our descriptive analysis identified gentrifying areas in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto (Canada), from 1996–2006 and 2006–2016, and determined the extent to which various greening interventions (parks, cycle lanes, community gardens, LEED-certified buildings, and rapid-rail transit) were introduced before, during, and after gentrification. Greening frequently occurred before and/or during, and after, gentrification. Our results indicate greening is common in gentrifying areas throughout the gentrification process, suggesting the need for a broader understanding of the relationship(s) between urban greening and gentrification. We outline a future research agenda to examine greening across gentrifying areas and further understand how these two processes shape each other in the remaking of neighborhoods/cities.