Gentrification

The movement of the middle and upper classes into previously lower- and working-class neighborhoods is termed gentrification. This movement involves the restoration of derelict housing, revitalization of commercial areas, and a geographic displacement of poorer residents. Although the term gentrification is used to describe changes within urban neighborhoods since the 1970s, it has also been applied to the revitalization of small town main streets and older inner-ring suburbs.

Research on gentrification has focused on the role of real estate markets, restructuring of the economy, local politics, and characteristics of the gentrifiers themselves in shaping how, when, and where gentrification occurs. Earlier debates focused on consumption-side versus production-side explanations for gentrification. The consumption-side arguments are that lifestyle, small family size, changing gender roles, high education levels, changes in the workplace, and consumer preferences made city living attractive to a previously suburban middle class. Production-side arguments look to the roles played by changing markets, large institutions, and politics that make it possible for the middle class to live in what were once blighted areas of the city. It is argued that capital investment and revitalization of central business districts (CBDs) and urban waterfront areas could not have succeeded without a significant private subsidy and public government support. The results of revitalized downtowns are areas dedicated to consumption and tourism, a revived business and financial district, and the growth of downtown housing for white-collar workers. Gentrification was such a transformative phenomenon to cities (especially in the United States and Western Europe) during the late 20th century—literally changing the landscape and urban populations—that it is clear that large-scale social processes have helped to shape small-scale residential decisions and neighborhood-level change.

Gentrification is frequently conceptualized as a process. The first wave of gentrifiers to enter a lower-or working-class neighborhood are of the creative class—artists, students, and musicians who are looking for cheap housing and workspace and whose consumer tastes tolerate the grittiness of the area. Urban “pioneers” or “homesteaders” (two popular terms for gentrifiers during the 1970s and 1980s) make investments (sometimes assisted by city subsidies) in older historic areas with the intention of restoring Victorian homes to their original grandeur. After the first wave of in-movers, the city may begin to reinvest in the neighborhood by updating parks, roads, and commercial strips. The real estate market becomes more active, and investors buy property to either rehabilitate or tear down and build again for prospective in-movers. [Page 536]As more housing becomes available and commercial areas are revitalized, more middle-class gentrifiers move into the area. Over time, the physical and social landscape changes significantly and a new population moves in to replace an older one.

Construction in Harlem. A new apartment building was under construction on August 16, 2001, in Harlem, New York City. A small but vocal community in Harlem was upset at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), claiming that the historically Black community's recent gentrification programs had driven out some local businesses and raised real estate prices on many properties. Gentrification refers to the process of the middle and upper classes moving into previously lower- and working-class neighborhoods.

Source: Getty Images.

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