Gentrification

Gentrification refers to the physical, social, economic, and cultural phenomenon whereby working-class and/or inner-city neighborhoods are converted into more affluent middle or even upper-class communities by remodelling buildings and landscaping, resulting in increased property values and in the outflow of poorer residents, either through displacement or succession.

Related Topics:
Phenomenon - Inner-city - Neighborhood - Affluent - Middle - Upper-class - Communities - Building - Landscaping - Property

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Gentrification is a complex term that is difficult to define: it is a process that has inherent class (and thereby, in the United States, racial) connotations and is an extremely visible process that plays a key role in the physical and social form of contemporary cities. Gentrification is intertwined with change; as the community's buildings undergo renovation and beautification, rents increase, resulting in a displacement of old residents who are replaced by more affluent, (and generally in the United States, whiter) ones (see yuppies).

Related Topics:
Class - Cities - Beautification - Rent - Resident - Yuppies

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Sociologist Ruth Glass coined the term in 1964, which she defined using London districts such as Islington as her example:

Related Topics:
Sociologist - Ruth Glass - 1964 - London - Islington

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:One by one, many of the working class quarters of London have been invaded by the middle-classes—upper and lower. Shabby, modest mews and cottages—two rooms up and two down—have been taken over, when their leases have expired, and have become elegant, expensive residences . Once this process of 'gentrification' starts in a district it goes on rapidly until all or most of the original working-class occupiers are displaced and the whole social character of the district is changed.

Related Topics:
Working class - Middle-classes - Mews - Cottage - Residence - District - Social

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It should be noted that in London a large proportion of gentrified housing was originally built for middle class occupants, and if it was ever occupied by working class people, this mainly came about when the middle classes left for more distant suburbs between the two World Wars. In Islington four storey houses are much more common than two storey cottages.

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Gentrification can be a politically contentious issue. Gentrification highlights the instability of renting, whereby people might be forced to move away from newly-desirable areas because of rent increases. Usually this conflict is limited to the local level; many who live outside urban areas may not be aware of it. In response to gentrification pressure, cities with more renters than owners often pass rent control ordinances. However in many cities rent control ordinances have failed to affect gentrification; the formerly downscale southwestern section of Santa Monica, California and the eastern section of West Hollywood, California became more gentrified after the institution of rent control; in the case of Santa Monica, extreme gentrification took place.

Related Topics:
Politically - Rent control - Ordinance - Santa Monica, California - West Hollywood, California

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Real time or Instant Gentrification is a phrase coined by Larrin Devereaux in attempt to define both the devastation and opportunities presented by manmade or natural disasters affecting a previously less desireable area such as New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina, thus making the redevelopment process almost instantaneous.

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