Privatising London

One Kensington Gardens: Buy‐to‐Leave Gentrification in the Royal Borough

“…Super‐gentrifiers were found to bring in a higher level of economic investment than previous first and second wave gentrifiers. Minton (2017:xiii–xiv) argues that the “speed of capital flows into places between the 1960s and the early 2000s bears no comparison to what is happening today”. For Minton (2017:xiii), the transformations produced by overseas investment, globalisation, and the role played by the mega‐rich means that the classic notion of gentrification “lost its real meaning long ago”.…”

“…For many scholars (DeVerteuil and Manley 2017; Minton 2017) there has been a reluctance to use the word “gentrification” when describing the empty homes of the mega‐rich because this often non‐residential phenomenon is seen to exceed gentrification. DeVerteuil and Manley (2017) give this process a new word: “pied‐à‐terre urbanism”.…”

“…Minton (2017:xiii–xiv) argues that the “speed of capital flows into places between the 1960s and the early 2000s bears no comparison to what is happening today”. For Minton (2017:xiii), the transformations produced by overseas investment, globalisation, and the role played by the mega‐rich means that the classic notion of gentrification “lost its real meaning long ago”. In Kensington specifically, Minton (2017:xi, xiii) wrote how this “alpha elite” neighbourhood is the perfect place for the foreign investors, oligarchs, and super‐rich who change places “out of all recognition” so “even the wealthy are displaced from Kensington”.…”

“…For Minton (2017:xiii), the transformations produced by overseas investment, globalisation, and the role played by the mega‐rich means that the classic notion of gentrification “lost its real meaning long ago”. In Kensington specifically, Minton (2017:xi, xiii) wrote how this “alpha elite” neighbourhood is the perfect place for the foreign investors, oligarchs, and super‐rich who change places “out of all recognition” so “even the wealthy are displaced from Kensington”. While the scale of capital and investment may be different to that captured by classical gentrification theory, the everyday consequences for lower‐income populations remain largely the same.…”