Gentrification, Socioeconomic Change, and the Geography of Displacement

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of continuing gentrification on household displacement in London. The author analyzes the geography and selectivity of migration. She found that long-range displacement from gentrifying areas affects progressively higher status households. Migrations over short distances are characteristic of low status households. This bifurcation is exploreed in relation to the integration of structure-based and agency-based approaches to the explanation of gentrification.

The Social Value of Second Homes in Rural Communities

“…(ibid., 1973, 32) These problems are said to flow from the "displacement" caused by second homes and the consequent transformation of communities assumed to be hitherto vibrant into "ghost towns" (Simms et al 2002;see also Huijbens 2012, 15). Such displacement occurs for three principal reasons: rises in property prices are reflected in private rents, which become unaffordable to those on local wages; social networks become distended or broken because of the incursion of newcomers, with towns and villages becoming "alien" to existing residents; and the overall cost of living increases, as services come to reflect the tastes and incomes of new households (Lyons 1996). The economic disruptions that may underpin social reconfiguration (see Lee and Hodge 1984;Sumka 1979) lead to what many researchers, starting with Ruth Glass (1964), have described as "gentrification".…”

“…The economic disruptions that may underpin social reconfiguration (see Lee and Hodge 1984;Sumka 1979) lead to what many researchers, starting with Ruth Glass (1964), have described as "gentrification". The process of gentrification is then amplified by the alienation identified by Lyons (1996), often manifest in the realignment of services with a new set of consumer preferences (Atkinson 2000;Newman and Wyly 2006).…”

Living through gentrification: subjective experiences of local, non-gentrifying residents in Leith, Edinburgh

“…There is a considerable academic literature on how gentrification affects low-income residents in gentrifying neighbourhoods (Atkinson 2002;Bailey and Robertson 1997;Lyons 1996;Marcuse 1986;Robinson 1995;Vigdor 2002). Atkinson (2002) has provided a thorough review of the empirical literature.…”

“…Most studies focusing on individuals and households have concentrated on the choices, satisfactions and habits of the gentrifiers (Bridge 2007;Butler 2003;Butler and Robson 2003;Hamnett 2003;Ley 1980Ley , 2003Tallon and Bromley 2004). Fewer studies, partly owing to the difficulty in tracking them down, focus on those displaced (Atkinson 2000b;Freeman and Braconi 2004;Lyons 1996;Slater 2006).…”

Analysis of social costs of gentrification in Over-the-Rhine : a qualitative approach.

“…The majority of research points to displacement as the greatest cost of gentrification Hartman, 1981, 1986;Lyons, 1996;Newman and Wyly, 2006). Displacement can be direct (i.e.…”