Gentrification and Urban Transformation

These flashcards cover key concepts, definitions, and explanations related to gentrification, urban transformation, and the socio-economic dynamics involved in these processes.

Gentrification

A process of neighborhood change involving economic and demographic shifts in historically disinvested areas, often characterized by higher-income residents moving in.

Rent Gap

The disparity between the current rental income and the potential rental income of a property, often driving gentrification.

Consumption-Driven Explanations

Theories that argue demographic shifts and post-industrial cultural preferences fuel gentrification as a desire for urban diversity grows.

Production-Driven Explanations

Theories viewing gentrification as a return of capital to urban areas influenced by financial investment and the exploitation of the rent gap.

Sweat Equity

The investment of labor into property renovation, typically by individuals rehabilitating their own housing.

Hard Lofts

Refurbished spaces originally designed for commercial or industrial purposes, transformed into residential spaces.

Soft Lofts

New constructions designed to resemble hard lofts, often lacking original features such as exposed piping and created as residential spaces.

Studentification

The process where purpose-built student accommodations disrupt local housing markets, leading to high turnover and economic pressures.

Urban Entrepreneurialism

The approach of municipal governments engaging in public-private partnerships to stimulate urban growth and development.

Hostile Architecture

Design features intended to deter certain behaviors in public spaces, often affecting marginalized individuals.

Displacement

The forced relocation of existing residents due to rising housing costs or changes in neighborhood character during gentrification.

Inclusionary Zoning

Municipal and local government ordinances that require a given share of new construction to be affordable for people with low to moderate incomes.

Affordable Housing

Housing that is deemed affordable to those with a median household income, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index.

Redlining

The discriminatory practice of denying services (such as banking, insurance, access to health care, or even supermarkets) to residents of certain areas based on their race or ethnicity.

Neoliberal Urbanism

An approach to urban governance that prioritizes market-led development, private sector investment, and reduced state intervention in urban planning.

Urban Renewal

A program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high-density urban land use, often involving demolition of existing structures and relocation of residents, typically to revitalize or transform cities.

Community Land Trust (CLT)

A nonprofit organization that acquires and holds land permanently to ensure long-term affordability for housing and other community assets.

Right to the City

A concept asserting the right of all inhabitants to appropriate and use urban space, challenging capitalist and state control over urban development.

Social Mix

A planning goal to create neighborhoods with a diverse range of income levels, ethnicities, and social groups, often cited as a benefit or goal of gentrification.

Global Capital Circuits

The movement of financial investment across national borders, often playing a role in funding large-scale urban development projects that contribute to gentrification.

Super-Gentrification

An intensified form of gentrification occurring in already gentrified areas, attracting even wealthier residents and businesses, often within global cities.

Green Gentrification

Environmental improvements (e.g., parks, green spaces) leading to increased property values and displacement of low-income residents.

Creative Class

A demographic group (often highly educated professionals in creative fields) identified as a key driver of urban revitalization and gentrification due to their consumption patterns and desire for specific urban amenities.

Heritage Overlay

A planning control applied to areas or individual properties to protect and conserve their historical and cultural significance, which can sometimes influence gentrification processes.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)

Collaborative ventures between government agencies and private sector companies for the purpose of financing, building, and operating projects, often central to urban entrepreneurialism and gentrification.

Zoning

The practice of dividing land in a municipality into various zones (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial) to regulate land use and development, which can impact gentrification patterns.

Eviction Moratorium

A temporary ban on evictions, often enacted during crises, to protect tenants from displacement.

Speculation

The act of investing in property or other assets with the expectation of a significant rise in price or value. Often exacerbates gentrification.

Brownfield Redevelopment

The process of transforming former industrial or commercial sites that are contaminated by hazardous waste or pollution into new developments, often contributing to urban revitalization.

White Flight

The large-scale migration of people of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. Historically linked to processes preceding gentrification and impacting urban disinvestment.