Gentrification as policy – empirical frontiers

This paper essentially argues that contemporary gentrification ought to be conceived of as a prevailing, though place-specific policy strategy. What is at stake is to move beyond common but limited representations of gentrification as a mere process of neighbourhood change through which urban space...

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Main Author: Mathieu Van Criekingen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société Royale Belge de Géographie and the Belgian National Committee of Geography 2011-06-01
Series:Belgeo
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/7091
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author Mathieu Van Criekingen
author_facet Mathieu Van Criekingen
author_sort Mathieu Van Criekingen
collection DOAJ
description This paper essentially argues that contemporary gentrification ought to be conceived of as a prevailing, though place-specific policy strategy. What is at stake is to move beyond common but limited representations of gentrification as a mere process of neighbourhood change through which urban space is dedicated to progressively more affluent users, and to specifically acknowledge the role of state actors in fostering this socio-spatial transformation. The paper mainly builds on findings brought out by selected – and still quite rare – works seeking to empirically document and make sense of the emergence or consolidation of a pro-gentrification coherence across changes in diverse policy fields (e.g. housing, tourism, culture, infrastructures, etc.). Findings brought out of analyses conducted in Paris, Roubaix and Antwerp are particularly scrutinized. They transversally suggest that following a pro-gentrification policy agenda practically means combining actions on demand and supply of gentrifying spaces together with the production of legitimating representations ; moreover, they stress that the arrangement of a pro-gentrification policy agenda is a social construct built on strategic (re-)organisation of urban governance structures. These findings suggest that reinforcing the empirical bases of the multifaceted and place-specific ties between gentrification and urban policy ought to be considered as a priority task for researchers seeking to make sense of contemporary urban change, while sustaining the critical essence of the gentrification concept and further developing its capacity to mobilise around issues of social justice and class domination in cities.
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spelling doaj-art-7ccb2f37e6cd44b5a596e2793d18e4a22025-08-20T02:27:28ZengSociété Royale Belge de Géographie and the Belgian National Committee of GeographyBelgeo1377-23682294-91352011-06-011657410.4000/belgeo.7091Gentrification as policy – empirical frontiersMathieu Van CriekingenThis paper essentially argues that contemporary gentrification ought to be conceived of as a prevailing, though place-specific policy strategy. What is at stake is to move beyond common but limited representations of gentrification as a mere process of neighbourhood change through which urban space is dedicated to progressively more affluent users, and to specifically acknowledge the role of state actors in fostering this socio-spatial transformation. The paper mainly builds on findings brought out by selected – and still quite rare – works seeking to empirically document and make sense of the emergence or consolidation of a pro-gentrification coherence across changes in diverse policy fields (e.g. housing, tourism, culture, infrastructures, etc.). Findings brought out of analyses conducted in Paris, Roubaix and Antwerp are particularly scrutinized. They transversally suggest that following a pro-gentrification policy agenda practically means combining actions on demand and supply of gentrifying spaces together with the production of legitimating representations ; moreover, they stress that the arrangement of a pro-gentrification policy agenda is a social construct built on strategic (re-)organisation of urban governance structures. These findings suggest that reinforcing the empirical bases of the multifaceted and place-specific ties between gentrification and urban policy ought to be considered as a priority task for researchers seeking to make sense of contemporary urban change, while sustaining the critical essence of the gentrification concept and further developing its capacity to mobilise around issues of social justice and class domination in cities.https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/7091gentrificationneighbourhood changeurban policy
spellingShingle Mathieu Van Criekingen
Gentrification as policy – empirical frontiers
Belgeo
gentrification
neighbourhood change
urban policy
title Gentrification as policy – empirical frontiers
title_full Gentrification as policy – empirical frontiers
title_fullStr Gentrification as policy – empirical frontiers
title_full_unstemmed Gentrification as policy – empirical frontiers
title_short Gentrification as policy – empirical frontiers
title_sort gentrification as policy empirical frontiers
topic gentrification
neighbourhood change
urban policy
url https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/7091
work_keys_str_mv AT mathieuvancriekingen gentrificationaspolicyempiricalfrontiers