Gentrification

Question 1

Definition

Answer 1

• The process by which working class residential neighbourhoods are rehabilitated by middle class home buyers, landlords and professional developers. (Smith,N.1982)
• A back to the city movement (Smith,N.1982)

Question 2

Effects (benefits)

Answer 2

• Gentrification has the potential to reverse the historic decline of the central and inner city (Smith,N.1982)
• Long term residents reap the benefits of reduced crime and better services (The economist.2018)
• Diffusion of poverty, gentrification transforms a neighbourhood however leaves small pockets of poverty which are protected by social housing. (Atkinson,R.2002)
• A resident of a gentrifying neighbourhood bought his home in 1993 for $130,000 and recently sold it for 1.6m shows how long term residents have reaped the benefits of increased house prices. (The Economist.2018)
• Broken windows theory, the mitigation of crime, overt signs of decay through gentrification deters crime (Wilson,J,Q. Kelling,G.1982)
• Overall crime in gentrified neighbourhoods fell by 16%
• Gentrification causes a boost to city tax revenues through having more and more affluent households (Atkinson,R.2002)

Question 3

Effects (problems)

Answer 3

• A process of invasion with inherent class connotations (Smith,N.2005)
• Neil Smith believes that gentrification has led to a class war between the working and middle class, due to the transition from working to middle class (Smith,N.2005)
• An interview by (Wackquant,,L,D. Wilson,W.J.2012) shows how tight knit communities can be unfortunately separated, one member of the neighbourhood said “all your friends have to leave, they are trying to get us all out, they want us all gone”
• An interview by (Wacquant,L,D. Wilson,W,J.2012) shows how there is a loss of social diversity, “they want to put all the blacks in the projects”
• Gentrification also involves clashes of culture. In the typical cases of gentrification, the gentry are white and the displaced victims are people of colour (Drier,P.2017)
• Gentrification causes a transition from open doors and street games to iron bars, guards and high wooden fences (Smith,N.1982)
• The word gentrification is a dirty word, now has a negative stigma around it.