Gentrification is a highly debated topic in urban planning and political science because it involves the crucial aspect of housing and property in the community. The concept is defined as a process of renovating an old and debilitated neighborhood by the way of entry of new affluent residents who improve the flair and ostentation of the area. The term is also defined as a process of urban development which occurs in a particular neighborhood or a portion of it within a short period of time.[1]
Gentrification is characterized by increased home prices and movement of native populaces out of their original zone. According to Urban Dictionary, gentrification involves urban renewal of a low class district to attract well-to-do tenants, leading to increased rents.[2]
Accordingly, rising costs of housing drive away low income earners from the renewed neighborhood to cheaper places. Gentrification is caused by a steady influx of new residents and retail businesses in a region to take advantage of the low housing prices, leading to positive and negative impacts on the gentrified region.
There are two theories that explain gentrification as an economic process. Neil Smith’s production-side theory suggests that gentrification is an economic process caused by changing relationships between capital investments and urban space production.[3]
Smith defines gentrification as the process of restructuring an urban space as a visual component of the larger economic and social adjustments of the capitalist economy. On the other hand, the consumption-side theory explains gentrification as an aspect of socio-cultural characteristics and motivations. According to this theory, the structural changes of capitalist societies from industrial to service-based cities accompanied by a rising middle class with higher purchasing power led to the rehabilitation of post-industrial cities.[4] The demographics and consumption patterns of the new middle class cause the rehabilitation and gentrification of deteriorated urban neighborhoods.
Gentrification has some notable positive effects on the local community such as increased income; improved standard of living; clean environment; upgraded infrastructure; and increased access to social amenities such as education, health, water and electricity.[5]
The process transforms community resources and infrastructure as the government collects more taxes from the increasing rental income and transaction fees. The government also collects more taxes from incoming businesses and property owners who earn more income, leading to increased revenue. The government revenue can then be spent on providing public goods and services such as roads, water, electricity, education and health.[6]
In the gentrified neighborhood, the new residents also have higher disposable income and purchasing power, leading to increased consumption expenditure. Consequentially, existing businesses generate more revenue and expand, and new ones enter the market. With increased businesses, the neighborhood experiences improved quality of goods and services, and the standard of living improves in general.
One of the negative effects of gentrification is the displacement of residents to less desirable and high-crime neighborhoods. The newcomers make significant changes to the deteriorated neighborhood, leading to rising costs of property and displacement of former residents who can no longer afford the new rates. According to a study carried out on the gentrification of Boston showed a high housing turnover in the neighborhood.[7]
As property prices increase and original inhabitants move in search for cheaper houses, they experience psychological problems such as stress and anxiety.[8] The displaced people may also become homeless in the process of gentrification. However, some researchers have recently disputed the claims of displacement of populations in gentrifying neighborhoods. Poverty reduces from 30% to 12% in a neighborhood within ten years without any displacement.[9]
Furthermore, the probability of household displacement in a gentrified location is 1.3%.[10]
Researchers also argue that gentrification reduces human displacement. For example, a study by Freeman (2009) shows that improvements of neighborhoods such as businesses, waterfronts, and infrastructure may encourage residents to stay in an area due to increased opportunities to earn more income. Therefore, displacements in gentrifying areas are not necessarily caused by the process of gentrification per se, but by other associated factors such as age, selective entry and exit, minority status, and renting.
Gentrification has a significant effect on the demographic and social patterns of the affected locality. The low income earners who move out of a neighborhood due to gentrification are often members of a particular ethnic or racial minority group. Gentrification also has its downside in relation to cultural and social values because it causes the displacement of native inhabitants, leading to loss of cultural and social heritage and identity. The entry of new affluent consumers into gentrified region leads to the destruction of local cultures. The Economist gives an example of a group of sophisticated whites who move to a poor minority neighborhood with new types of cuisine, lifestyles, and consumption patterns.[11]
As a result, the local culture of the original inhabitants loses its grip to the culture of the new entrants. The neighborhood also loses its social diversity as a result of changing social and cultural patterns which cause a shift from disparate to rich societies. Gentrification causes resentment among original members of the community and conflicts with the incoming middle class.
One of the cities where gentrification has altered the community is Boston. The city experienced radical gentrification between 2001 and 2007 with 61% of its homes moving from the bottom half of home price distribution to the top half.[12] The city of Boston has over 50% whites. The city’s gentrification was caused by an increased entry of technology professionals and middle income earners who replaced the Irish-Catholic inhabitants of South Boston. The positive effects of the gentrification of Boston include increased income, improved infrastructure, improved quality of housing, and reduced crime rates. However, the displacement and displeasure of Irish and other non-white racial groups from the region shows the downside of gentrification in the city. The reputation of Boston as a notorious hub for organized criminals has shifted over time to a safe and conducive environment. Despite the improvement in living standards, the original residents of the area feel irritated and invaded by the influx of middle income earners.
Indeed, gentrification has caused positive and negative effects in the areas within which it occurs. On the positive side, gentrification causes increased income, improved infrastructure, better amenities, conducive environment, and enhanced standards of living in the gentrified area. The negative effects of gentrification include displacement of local residents, increased costs of housing, loss of cultural and social identity, and psychological problems for the affected communities. Boston is one of the common cities that have undergone significant gentrification over the past few decades, leading to a shift in social and cultural patterns of the neighborhood, accompanied by reduced crime and improved infrastructure.
References
Cheney-Rice, Zak. “These 7 Cities expose exactly what Gentrification is doing to America.” Mic, October, 22, 2014. https://mic.com/articles/102004/these-7-cities-expose-exactly-what-gentrification-is-doing-to-america.
Florida, Richard. “The Complicated Link between Gentrification and Displacement.” City Lab, Sep 8, 2015. https://www.citylab.com/equity/2015/09/the-complicated-link-between-gentrification-and-displacement/404161/.
Florida, Richard. “This Is What Happens After a Neighborhood Gets Gentrified: Displacement is becoming a larger issue in knowledge hubs and superstar cities.” The Atlantic, September 16, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/this-is-what-happens-after-a-neighborhood-gets-gentrified/432813/.
Freeman, Lance. “Neighborhood Diversity, Metropolitan Segregation and Gentrification: What are the Links in the U.S.?” Urban Studies, Vol. 46, Issue 10 (2009): 2079-2101.
Gerdeman, Dina. “How to know if your neighborhood is being gentrified.” Forbes, May 29, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2018/05/29/how-to-know-if-your-neighborhood-is-being-gentrified/#22c5f54b54fe.
Hamnett, Chris. “The Blind Men and the Elephant: The Explanation of Gentrification.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 16, Issue 2 (1991): 173–189.
Smith, Neil, and Peter Williams. Gentrification of the City. Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1986.
The Economist. “In praise of gentrification: Accusations levelled at gentrification in America lack force, meanwhile its benefits go unsung.” The Economist, Jun 21st 2018. https://www.economist.com/united-states/2018/06/21/in-praise-of-gentrification.
Urban Dictionary. “Gentrification.” Urban Dictionary, n.d. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gentrification.
Vigdor, Jacob L., Douglas S. Massey and Alice M. Rivlin. “Does Gentrification Harm the Poor? [With Comments].” Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, 2002: 133-182.
[1]
Florida, Richard. “This Is What Happens After a Neighborhood Gets Gentrified: Displacement is becoming a larger issue in knowledge hubs and superstar cities.” The Atlantic, September 16, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/this-is-what-happens-after-a-neighborhood-gets-gentrified/432813/.
[2]
Urban Dictionary. “Gentrification.” Urban Dictionary, n.d. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gentrification.
[3]
Neil Smith and Peter Williams. Gentrification of the City (Boston: Allen & Unwin, 1986) 65.
[4]
Chris Hamnett. “The Blind Men and the Elephant: The Explanation of Gentrification.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 16, Issue 2 (1991): 182.
[5]
Dina Gerdeman. “How to know if your neighborhood is being gentrified.” Forbes, May 29, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2018/05/29/how-to-know-if-your-neighborhood-is-being-gentrified/#22c5f54b54fe.
[6]
Ibid 5
[7]
Jacob L. Vigdor, Douglas S. Massey and Alice M. Rivlin. “Does Gentrification Harm the Poor? [With Comments].” Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, 2002: 133-182.
[8]
Richard Florida. “This Is What Happens After a Neighborhood Gets Gentrified: Displacement is becoming a larger issue in knowledge hubs and superstar cities.” The Atlantic, September 16, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/this-is-what-happens-after-a-neighborhood-gets-gentrified/432813/.
[9]
Richard Florida. “The Complicated Link between Gentrification and Displacement.” City Lab, Sep 8, 2015. https://www.citylab.com/equity/2015/09/the-complicated-link-between-gentrification-and-displacement/404161/.
[10]
Lance Freeman. “Neighborhood Diversity, Metropolitan Segregation and Gentrification: What are the Links in the U.S.?” Urban Studies, Vol. 46, Issue, 10 (2009): 2080.
[11]
The Economist. “In praise of gentrification: Accusations levelled at gentrification in America lack force, meanwhile its benefits go unsung.” The Economist, Jun 21st 2018. https://www.economist.com/united-states/2018/06/21/in-praise-of-gentrification.
[12]
Zak Cheney-Rice. “These 7 Cities expose exactly what Gentrification is doing to America.” Mic, October, 22, 2014. https://mic.com/articles/102004/these-7-cities-expose-exactly-what-gentrification-is-doing-to-america.
