tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/gentrification-8659/articlesGentrification – La Conversation2024-01-26T17:57:58Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220332024-01-26T17:57:58Z2024-01-26T17:57:58ZThe Kitchen: Daniel Kaluuya and Kano’s dystopian film portrays a gentrified future uncomfortably close to home<p>For his directorial debut, British actor Daniel Kaluuya has teamed up with filmmaker and architect Kibwe Tavares and the musician and actor, Kano AKA Kane Robinson, in The Kitchen, a dystopian tale of community bonds and inequality, now out on Netflix. The story is set in 2044. The gap between rich and poor it portrays has never loomed larger. It has also never felt closer to home. </p>
<p>The titular Kitchen is a brutalist former <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038026118777451">sink estate</a> in south London. Surrounded by sparkling private apartment complexes, the people have been parked here in temporary housing by a government now bent on recuperating the real estate and kicking them out. </p>
<p>Here, Izi (Robinson), a worker at the Life after Life scam funeral company, is biding his time through gritted teeth. He cannot wait to get out, having almost saved enough to afford a new apartment in the Buena Vida development. The story hinges on the relationship he forges with recently orphaned Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman). </p>
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<p>With no vestige of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/austerity-gutted-the-welfare-state-preserving-benefits-now-cant-make-up-for-that-193360">welfare state</a>, those who are too poor to live in the city can’t even afford to die there. Grieving families fall back on Life after Life, which promises to save burial costs by growing trees, supposedly for “ecological restoration projects” from composted bodies. </p>
<p>In a future where death is too expensive, it is not surprising that social housing no longer exists. Life on the Kitchen is hard. Essential infrastructure regularly fails. Residents queue for one shower cubicle when the water goes off across the blocks. </p>
<p>These breakdowns are deliberate. Staples (Hope Ikpoku Jr), a local Robin Hood, musters his troupe of bikers to secure supermarket delivery vans’ contents in order to feed the estate’s residents. “They cuttin’ water, they blockin’ deliveries, they takin’ people,” Staples tells Benji. </p>
<h2>When the community pushes back</h2>
<p>“They” refers to the authorities behind the gentrification project that threatens the Kitchen’s existence. Police raids, violent and brutal, are increasing in regularity to clear the remaining residents out. “I can’t breathe,” Benji gasps at one point, a clear reference to the events that sparked the 2020 <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-pandemic-changed-social-media-and-george-floyds-death-created-a-collective-conscience-140104">#BlackLivesMatter protests</a>. </p>
<p>Residents warn each other the police are coming by <a href="https://theconversation.com/voices-hearts-and-hands-how-the-powerful-sounds-of-protest-have-changed-over-time-140192">banging pots and pans</a> against the railings, giving the Kitchen its name. There may be echoes of the pandemic’s clap for carers in this act, but its roots lie much further back.</p>
<p>It recalls the <em>cacerolazo</em> women’s protests across <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14791420701821773?casa_token=DEw1By77KAcAAAAA:CAk3bR2DNK5RjNWnlKNMOl30A27QGKK4rgSju2z5Q9E3Y9TeMFruP8tVmxtcGPBEUE_JAFACq-1t">South America</a> in the early 2000s over the impact of globalisation on their impoverished communities. The Kitchen’s inhabitants are pushing back against the forces marginalising them, with the basic materials they have to hand.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/daniel-kaluuya-kibwe-tavares-the-kitchen-kano-netflix-3568525">a recent interview</a>, Kaluuya described what happened to his Kings Cross neighbourhood, in London, after the Eurostar terminal opened in 2007. Gentrification reduced crime rates associated with drugs and prostitution. It also ripped out stable residential communities. </p>
<p>An unflinching belief in the potential of community strength runs through the film. “We gotta look out for each other,” Lord Kitchener (Ian Wright), the estate’s resident radio DJ and unofficial leader, reminds his listeners. “They can’t stop We.” </p>
<p>The radio shows hosted by the Lord, as he’s known, reflect and reinforce the Kitchen’s cohesion. There is daily news of weddings and birthdays, where to find food, where there’s no water. Everyone living there is “family”, “a team”. </p>
<p>Amid its sprawling, blocky concrete structures (created in part through Tavares’ architectural nous), the estate’s residents create their own world. Hollowed out spaces beneath the flats become a vibrant market supplied through raids on shops beyond the estate. Residents constantly come together to eat and drink, to roller skate. One joyful scene sees the whole club doing the Candy dance. Everyone knows all the moves. </p>
<p>The Kitchen’s community defending itself reflects real events observed in urban Britain from the 1960s onwards. Local residents in poor districts –- often led by women –- have been organising themselves for decades to defend their spaces from the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03071022.2017.1290366?casa_token=z-VYxLWy6lEAAAAA:eDIISxGhryJz21MK57pT4hBDr8GDXIfJgFUbGc38xgOKnR7VeWj8ahRAEtlUuGRMf8BFMlQqSFBF">dangers of car ownership</a>, from the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article/83/1/79/3862507">impact of housing shortages</a> and from the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/urban-lab/sites/urban-lab/files/case-study-5-lambeth-council.pdf">negative consequences</a> of gentrification. </p>
<p>Just as people in the Kitchen do not necessarily see their communal parties as an explicit form of resistance, researchers have described innumerable incidences of <a href="https://jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/jspp/article/view/5081/5081.html">“implicit activism”</a> where local people work to improve their surroundings without seeing themselves and their families displaced in the process. </p>
<p>As one mother on an estate in the East Midlands <a href="https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Small_acts_kind_words_and_not_too_much_fuss_Implicit_activisms/10108445">put it</a>, when her local Sure Start centre was threatened with closure in the early 2000s, “If there was a big issue, I think most of the mums here would be up for it. We stick together like that.” </p>
<p>Such communal activities, The Kitchen suggests, offer a more genuine reality than that manufactured by government-led “community improvement”. This point is forcibly brought home when we see that the breathtaking views over the city from Izi’s new apartment are in fact a series of projected images. The flat has no real window. </p>
<p>The question the film poses is whether community action is enough. The real danger is that by 2044, the gap between rich and poor in the UK will be so great as to be unbroachable. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2024-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk">Poverty rates</a> are rising steeply, especially among children. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/21/gordon-brown-urges-overhaul-benefits-system-study-crisis">Benefits</a> no longer cover the most basic costs to eat healthily and stay warm. <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-awaab-ishaks-death-says-about-the-state-of-social-housing-in-the-uk-expert-qanda-19374">State housing stock</a> continues to decline. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-private-rental-sector-created-a-homelessness-crisis-in-ireland-and-england-201734">Private sector rents</a> are soaring. Local authorities are going <a href="https://theconversation.com/birminghams-bankruptcy-is-only-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-local-authorities-across-england-are-at-risk-212912">bankrupt</a> and the basic services people need – from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/25/warehouse-disabled-people-bristol-city-council">in-home social care</a> to special needs education and waste collection – are <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-67577142">dwindling</a>. </p>
<p>The future The Kitchen depicts is not quite where we are, but familiar enough to feel realistic. Those watching it in this general election year would do well to consider whether this is the future that we wish to see.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222033/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krista Cowman receives funding from AHRC; European Science Foundation and is a member of the Labour Party</span></em></p>The film is run through with an unflinching belief in the power communities wield and the tangible limits they face.Krista Cowman, Head of School of History Politics and International Relations, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2168872023-11-22T13:17:20Z2023-11-22T13:17:20ZAre rents rising in your Philly neighborhood? Don’t blame the baristas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559130/original/file-20231113-26-z577xu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sociology researchers at Temple University interviewed 61 Philadelphia baristas who work in gentrifying neighborhoods. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/female-barista-using-coffee-filter-at-cafe-royalty-free-image/991180452">Maskot/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Baristas who work in specialty coffee shops, along with hipsters more generally, have been referred to as the “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/30/nyregion/on-a-wall-in-the-west-bronx-a-gentrification-battle-rages.html">shock troops</a>” of urban gentrification – and it’s no different in Philadelphia. These servers of artisanal coffee contribute to economic and demographic changes in neighborhoods in two ways.</p>
<p>First, they work in coffee shops that appeal to a new wave of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6040.2009.01269.x">middle-class residents</a> who can afford higher rents – while at the same time alienating longtime and less economically advantaged residents. </p>
<p>Second, these baristas almost invariably live in gentrifying neighborhoods. They don’t have much money, but they tend to exude a cool, white middle-class presence. The appearance of specialty coffee shops and baristas signifies that a neighborhood is becoming trendy and more expensive.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://liberalarts.temple.edu/academics/faculty/moss-geoff">professor of sociology</a> at Temple University who is fascinated with urban artistic subcultures, I recently published a book called “<a href="https://www.routledge.com/Barista-in-the-City-Subcultural-Lives-Paid-Employment-and-the-Urban-Context/Moss-McIntosh-Protasiuk/p/book/9781032272030">Barista in the City</a>” with co-authors <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=944Dq8MAAAAJ&hl=en">Keith McIntosh</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bBhibN8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Ewa Protasiuk</a>. In 2019, we interviewed 61 baristas in a variety of gentrifying neighborhoods in Philadelphia, including Fishtown, Kensington, Point Breeze and West Philadelphia. </p>
<p>We wanted to understand why baristas become gentrifiers and how they view their role as agents of change. </p>
<h2>Privileged but low-wage workers</h2>
<p>A few baristas whom we interviewed were managers or assistant managers. Some were employed by Starbucks, but the vast majority worked in specialty coffee shops that strive to outdo Starbucks by offering coffee that is slightly more expensive and relatively high in quality, sustainability and fairness to coffee farmers. </p>
<p>We classified most of the baristas we interviewed as either artistic baristas or coffee careerists. </p>
<p>Artistic baristas work in coffee shops primarily because they offer flexible employment that allows time for low-paid artistic activities, or enables them to finance their undergraduate education at art schools or other academic institutions.</p>
<p>Coffee careerists, on the other hand, have a strong interest in artisanal coffee. They aspire to become coffee shop managers, coffee roasters or coffee buyers who travel to other countries in search of the best beans. </p>
<p>Both types of baristas were attracted to the relatively relaxed coffee shop environment. They enjoy chatting with their co-workers and favorite customers. Many stated that they have nothing against those who do corporate work but wouldn’t feel comfortable in that environment. “I would probably like lose my mind in a 9-to-5 kind of thing,” an artistic barista explained. “I just am not that type of person. I don’t like paperwork. I also don’t like the feeling of not being able to be myself. … I just know I would end up hating it.”</p>
<p>Most come from middle-class families and have attended, if not graduated, from college. As such, they have rejected relatively well-paid, middle-class positions in favor of an occupation suited to the lifestyle they wish to lead.</p>
<p>Living in a gentrifying neighborhood not only enables them to be near their job, but also to be near emerging art and music scenes, thrift shops or vegan eateries. It also provides relatively low-cost housing that is compatible with their budgets. The average barista in our sample earned $23,000 per year in 2019 and typically worked 32 hours per week. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560195/original/file-20231117-23-u4oo72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rowhomes with Philadelphia skyline in background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560195/original/file-20231117-23-u4oo72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560195/original/file-20231117-23-u4oo72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560195/original/file-20231117-23-u4oo72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560195/original/file-20231117-23-u4oo72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560195/original/file-20231117-23-u4oo72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560195/original/file-20231117-23-u4oo72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560195/original/file-20231117-23-u4oo72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A view from Fishtown, a former working-class Philadelphia neighborhood that’s been heavily gentrified.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/fishtown-district-in-philadelphia-pennsylvania-royalty-free-image/641120274">peeterv/iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<h2>On being a gentrifier</h2>
<p>The baristas we interviewed tended to view gentrification as a process that is harmful to lower socioeconomic class and mostly minority populations. A barista who observed affluent university students move into a low-income West Philadelphia neighborhood and displace working-class Black residents stated: “Obviously, it’s terrible.”</p>
<p>They felt a degree of guilt about being part of this process. But their low-wage employment and need for affordable urban space that is compatible with their lifestyle caused them to feel they have little recourse to make other residential decisions. </p>
<p>“I understand that I’m also part of the problem when it comes to gentrifying an area,” one of the baristas said. “My boyfriend tends to disagree with me on that. He’s like, ‘Well, where are we going to move, then?’ And it’s true. Like, I don’t know, we can’t afford to live in Rittenhouse Square. I can just barely afford to live in Fishtown at this point. I thought this would be a good area for meeting other creatives. And I don’t want to live in the suburbs.”</p>
<p>Many baristas, however, were ignorant of the role that their coffee shop plays in commercial gentrification. They tend to believe that such shops open only after a neighborhood has already gentrified. As one barista put it: “I think coffee shops are a symptom rather than a cause of gentrification. They spring up in neighborhoods that have already been taken over by gentrifiers.” </p>
<p>Urban scholarship suggests that the relationship is more complicated, with coffee shops being both a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/04/coffee-shops-hipsters-gentrification-communities">cause and effect</a> of neighborhood gentrification.</p>
<p>While specialty coffee shops generally present themselves as progressive and inclusive, longtime residents often view them as expensive, culturally alienating and what American sociologist Elijah Anderson referred to as “<a href="https://news.yale.edu/2022/03/24/elijah-anderson-burden-being-black-white-spaces">white spaces</a>.” Furthermore, these cafes often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6040.2009.01269.x">displace other retail businesses</a> that long-term residents relied on.</p>
<p>There are, of course, some specialty coffee shops in Philadelphia that have designed their prices, programming and decor to <a href="https://billypenn.com/2019/01/28/these-philly-coffee-shops-do-the-opposite-of-gentrification">attract customers and residents that often feel excluded</a> from such shops. These include <a href="https://www.unclebobbies.com/">Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee & Books</a> in Germantown and <a href="https://www.kayuhcafe.com/">Kayuh Bicycles & Cafe</a> in Francisville. Some, like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/quakercitycoffee/">Quaker City Coffee</a> and <a href="https://www.themonkeyandtheelephant.org/#home-page-test-section">The Monkey & the Elephant</a> in Brewerytown, employ vulnerable populations such as <a href="https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/meet-the-disruptor-quaker-city-coffee/">formerly incarcerated people</a> and <a href="https://themonkeyandtheelephant.squarespace.com/program-overview">former foster youth</a>. But specialty coffee shops designed to appeal to those that often feel excluded are rare, and they employ only a handful of baristas. </p>
<h2>Blame the barista?</h2>
<p>The coffee shops that the baristas we interviewed work for are not the main drivers of urban gentrification. Such gentrification is pushed mainly by real estate developers and by local governments seeking to <a href="https://www.constructiondive.com/news/the-gentrification-effect-what-new-development-means-for-communities/445529/">enhance their tax base</a>.</p>
<p>Gentrification, furthermore, is fundamentally a result of <a href="https://www.planetizen.com/news/2022/07/117708-whos-blame-gentrification">larger structural forces</a> such as zoning rules that prohibit multi-unit and mixed-use construction, and government acquiescence to <a href="https://citylimits.org/2023/07/19/opinion-can-a-science-based-approach-break-the-nimby-yimby-divide-on-housing/">NIMBY resistance</a> to high-rise buildings. These forces limit the supply of housing in walkable urban neighborhoods. In Philadelphia, such neighborhoods include, but are not limited to, <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/venice-island-construction-philadelphia-infill-development-20221019.html#loaded">Chestnut Hill, Germantown, Society Hill, Mount Airy, Strawberry Mansion and Point Breeze</a>.</p>
<p>To ease residential gentrification, baristas could relocate. But they are low-wage service workers, and their housing options are limited by affordability issues and the <a href="https://cityobservatory.org/everything-that-causes-gentrification-from-a-to-z/">shortage of urban neighborhoods</a> – issues that zoning boards, community groups and political leaders have <a href="https://cityobservatory.org/everything-that-causes-gentrification-from-a-to-z/">failed to address</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216887/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Moss does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When it comes to gentrification, Philadelphia baristas say they’re ‘part of the problem.’ But as low-wage workers, where else should they live and work?Geoff Moss, Professor of Sociology, Temple UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160342023-11-21T16:54:06Z2023-11-21T16:54:06ZHigh-street regeneration has to start with community trust and care<p>When British discount retailer Wilko shut its remaining 68 stores in October 2023, people <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/08/wilko-staff-mourn-final-weekend">mourned</a> what they took these closures to signal: the demise of the high street. </p>
<p>The potential or actual <a href="https://theconversation.com/high-street-strategy-recovery-will-take-more-than-street-parties-and-more-bins-164729#:%7E:text=The%20markers%20the%20government%20has,and%20activities%20%E2%80%93%20are%20not%20new.">decline</a> of England’s town and city centres has <a href="https://www.retailresearch.org/retail-crisis.html">long</a> preoccupied community groups, government officials and even <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/08/how-the-uks-dying-high-streets-are-being-given-new-life-by-pop-up-shops-and-galleries">artist collectives</a>.</p>
<p>In the 1970s and 1980s, traditional high streets were seen to be struggling to compete with out-of-town shopping centres. More recently, <a href="https://theconversation.com/future-of-high-streets-how-to-prevent-our-city-centres-from-turning-into-ghost-towns-154108">online retail</a> has been blamed. One quarter of UK retail spending <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/timeseries/j4mc/drsi">now happens online</a>. </p>
<p>The government has devised several policies in response – from the “vital and viable town centres” <a href="https://trid.trb.org/view/405499">initiative</a> of 1994 to the “future of our high streets” <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-portas-review-the-future-of-our-high-streets">Portas review</a> of 2011 and, more recently, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-high-streets-fund">Future High Streets Fund</a>, launched in 2018.</p>
<p>The Power to Change charity exists to distribute a £150 million endowment from the National Lottery Community Fund. In 2020, it proposed to fund <a href="https://www.powertochange.org.uk/research/community-improvement-districts-discussion-paper/">community improvement districts</a>. These high-street regeneration plans involve community representatives – voluntary organisations, local residents, high street traders and businesses, and public services. </p>
<p>Between 2022 and 2023, we tracked the progress of the first seven community improvement projects. We facilitated eventsand interviewed project leaders and key partners in their local areas. Our report <a href="https://www.powertochange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/FINAL-PTC-CID-report092023.pdf">shows</a> trust-building is crucial and that too often, communities feel that regeneration projects are imposed on them, for the benefit of councils and developers. </p>
<h2>England’s first seven community improvement districts</h2>
<p>Five of the pilots we studied were in Skelmersdale, Lancashire; Hendon, Sunderland; Stretford, Greater Manchester; Wolverton, Milton Keynes, and Ipswich. They each received £20,000 from Power to Change. Two further projects in Kilburn High Road and Wood Green High Road, two busy thoroughfares in North London received an additional £20,000 each from the Greater London Authority. </p>
<p>Some projects, including those in Skelmersdale and Kilburn, were new initiatives. Others, such as Hendon and Wolverton, built on decades of previous activity. The idea was that each would be undertaken with some form of local partnership and that local people would be consulted, through events and meetings, to find out what they wanted in their local high street. </p>
<p>We found that the pilot projects worked best when they managed to encourage this kind of conversation. Members of the public, community-based organisations such as charities and faith groups, local traders and property owners talked to each other and found common ground.</p>
<p>In Kilburn, the London Borough of Camden, which was coordinating the <a href="https://onekilburn.commonplace.is">One Kilburn</a> project, employed local residents as so-called “community activators”, to bring local people together. Through these informal conversations, the project team discovered that a particular local concern was the lack of public toilets on Kilburn High Road. They organised a “toilet hackathon”, involving local residents and landowners, including Transport for London, discussing potential solutions.</p>
<p>In Milton Keynes, the project organiser, Future Wolverton (a well established community benefit society), aims to revitalise the town centre alongside a separate scheme to redevelop the site of a demolished 1970s shopping mall. When it had the opportunity to take over the premises of a former charity shop, it used the space to ask residents what they wanted for the town. It also offered opportunities to businesses which couldn’t afford commercial space. </p>
<p>One of the most popular activities it implemented was a repair cafe, where residents could get things fixed and learn how to mend clothes or electrical items. This would not have happened without local people being trusted to come up with ideas.</p>
<p>In Sunderland, meanwhile, the <a href="https://backonthemap.org">Back on the Map</a> charity – what is known as a “community anchor organisation” with a 20-year track record of local grassroots activity – worked with the council. The charity proposed to arrange for vouchers issued by the council to support people suffering hardship to be valid in local shops. This, it argued, would support local traders who were also struggling because of the cost-of-living crisis. </p>
<p>Here, the project focused on Villette Road, in Hendon: a neighbourhood high street that had a reputation for crime and was blighted with shuttered shops. One of the initiatives, that wasn’t expensive but sent a strong signal to the community, was to installation the street’s first Christmas tree for almost a century. The charity also put up signs branding the street as the “<a href="https://backonthemap.org/heart-of-hendon/">heart of Hendon</a>”. As one member of the project team* put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Having the street branded and have somebody care about the street again, it made the traders come together as a collective with a shared vision rather than just having individual conversations where it was just moaning about things, it turned it around to a more positive conversation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Research <a href="https://www.shu.ac.uk/news/all-articles/latest-news/community-ownership-levelling-up-high-streets-research">shows</a> regeneration needs to respect and build on people’s attachments to the places they live and work in. Local people need to have the sense that decision-makers are listening to their concerns.</p>
<p>Expensive capital and real estate-led projects often fail to do this. Instead, they tend to rely on private developers, who invest in places in return for profit and do not yield the regeneration they promise. This has been demonstrated by the <a href="https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/hackney-walk-how-david-adjayes-fashion-mecca-ended-up-a-ghost-town">reported</a> debacle of the Hackney Walk fashion hub in east London. Here, the £100m luxury redevelopment of a suite of railway arches saw local businesses evicted to make way for big-name fashion brands, which, in the absence of the promised footfall that brought them there, have all since closed down. </p>
<p>Hackney Walk is, as journalist Simon Usborne <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/11/hackney-walk-east-london-regeneration-ghost-town">puts it</a>, an example of exactly “what not to do”. It is too early to know whether the seven projects we’ve worked on will yield better long-term economic and social impacts. What is clear, however, is that in involving communities on an equal basis, they are starting from a better place. People need to have their say in decisions made about where they live.</p>
<p>*<em>All our interviewees’ names are withheld for anonymity</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216034/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheffield Hallam University was funded by Power to Change to conduct the research on which this article is based. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara González receives funding from the United Kingdom Research Innovation and the European Commission and sits in the Steering Group of Foodwise, the Leeds Food Partnership</span></em></p>Capital-driven regeneration projects rarely deliver because they focus on profit, not local people’s needs.Julian Dobson, Senior Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam UniversitySara González, Professor in Human Critical Geography, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2078782023-09-06T19:11:24Z2023-09-06T19:11:24ZHalifax’s new development projects must not repeat the wrongs done to racialized communities<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/halifaxs-new-development-projects-must-not-repeat-the-wrongs-done-to-racialized-communities" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The African Nova Scotian community has long struggled with displacement and erasure when it comes to urban planning. In Halifax, <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487522728/displacing-blackness/">racism has influenced planning and civic governance</a> decisions. The <a href="https://humanrights.ca/story/story-africville">demolition of Africville</a> in the 1960s and subsequent expropriation without compensation are well-documented examples of injustices. </p>
<p>The Halifax Regional Municipality issued a formal <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/diversity-inclusion/african-nova-scotian-affairs/africville/apology">apology</a> in 2015, yet <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/9781442686274">racism persists</a>. In the years since, there has been little substantial action to emplace African Nova Scotian residents in Downtown Halifax. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/regional-community-planning/construction-projects/cogswell-district-redevelopment">Cogswell District Project</a> is a new opportunity to heal historic divides. The project is a mixed-use residential district planned on the site of the former Cogswell highway interchange in downtown Halifax.</p>
<p>The elevated interchange was at the epicentre of a <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/municipal-archives/exhibits/cogswell-interchange">1960s-era urban renewal project</a> to construct a highway system through downtown Halifax. Construction of the infrastructure, including modernist commercial centres and high rises, led to the demolition of entire residential streets and displacement of thousands of vulnerable residents, including many of the city’s poorest citizens. </p>
<p><a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781442674073/the-drama-of-democracy/">As urban planner Jill Grant wrote</a>, “Most Haligonians seemed to view the project as obliterating an obnoxious and embarrassing slum. Neither politicians nor planners took account of the people who lived in the area.” </p>
<p>Even as the Cogswell Interchange was being constructed, some Halifax residents <a href="https://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/blogs/post/halifax-municipal-archives-the-cogswell-interchange-and-the-road-to-nowhere/">began to protest</a> against the destruction of the city’s fabric. In 1970, the highway project was halted, before it destroyed what remained of Halifax’s now beloved harbourfront. It took another half century for civic leaders to unwind this mid-century highway investment and order the deconstruction of the interchange now known as the “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/ns/features/cogswell-interchange/?section=notalone">Road to Nowhere</a>.”</p>
<p>New urban designs for public space, road layouts and development blocks aim to knit physical separations between north and south in this Downtown Halifax area. These are promising, but the project must also seize the opportunity to heal other, more serious divisions with housing, class inequities and racial schisms.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/ehq-production-canada/documents/attachments/245493b156651d492cba4862093e8c5775263e8d/000/014/224/original/90_percent_construction_design_-_Regional_Council_-_Feb_26_2019.pdf?1551271386">vision put forth by urban designers</a> depicts a diverse community, but fostering that diversity in the future Cogswell District requires more than a false nod to inclusion.</p>
<h2>Gentrification and erasure</h2>
<p>Currently, construction of expensive housing developments on sites that were once affordable apartments in the North End is pushing residents out of the city in search of affordable housing, far from their roots and their established communities. This more recent wave of gentrification has been referred to as “<a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-africville-20-in-halifaxs-north-end-black-residents-fear-development/">Africville 2.0</a>.”</p>
<p>Thus far, <a href="https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/no-affordable-housing-for-new-cogswell-district-18129011#:%7E:text=Even%20as%20the%20need%20for,is%20now%2060%20percent%20complete.">city officials have sidestepped important questions</a> about future land divestment, affordable housing and zoning. Without action, this profound chance for housing and community building will be missed.</p>
<p>Halifax Regional Municipality has promised to include some form of affordable housing in the future Cogswell District, but it is unclear what is meant by affordable.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/housing/densely-calculated-density/">density bonusing program</a> has been established to encourage the creation of public benefits including affordable housing by the private sector. But when given the choice, developers often choose to pay fees or provide amenities such as public art rather than build low-income housing. </p>
<p>The municipal government is currently discussing <a href="https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/regional-council/230509rc1518.pdf">new Inclusionary Zoning policies</a>. However, even if implemented, they will not address particular emplacement goals such as housing for racialized people. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jka-X7Pqfaw?wmode=transparent&start=52" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A video explaining the issue of affordable housing in Downtown Halifax’s Cogswell area.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>“Blight Removal” in Halifax’s past</h2>
<p>Exploring the connection between historic displacement in the Cogswell neighborhood and the prospects of emplacement for low-income residents today was a focus for a recent <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/620149492896177/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2252%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%22invite_link_id%5C%22%3A181488704731651%7D%7D%5D%22%7D">Jane’s Walk</a>, hosted by myself and local resident Treno Morton, in celebration of renowned urbanist Jane Jacobs.</p>
<p>Urban renewal goals in 1960s Halifax were twofold: the creation of a brand new harbourfront highway system and the removal of problematic housing. Cogswell presents a prime example of similar renewal programs criticized by Jacobs in her influential 1961 book, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/86058/the-death-and-life-of-great-american-cities-by-jane-jacobs/9780679644330"><em>The Death and Life of Great American Cities</em></a>.</p>
<p>Our walk toured the original targets of “<a href="https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/cogswell-district-redesign-need-to-know-29848549">blight removal</a>” initiated by architect <a href="https://halifaxbloggers.ca/builthalifax/2015/08/gordon-stephenson-and-the-1957-redevelopment-study-of-halifax/">Gordon Stephenson</a>, who was hired in 1957 to create a strategy for slum clearance in Halifax. </p>
<p>Having trained under Swiss-French architect and revolutionary city planner <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Le-Corbusier">Le Corbusier</a> in the early 1930s, <a href="https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/about-the-city/archives/AboutTheCity_MunicipalArchives_SearchToolsAfricvilleResources_PDF2.pdf">Stephenson brought a modernist’s zeal to his work</a>. He produced maps with oversized dots representing perceived social ills such as households on welfare or children appearing in juvenile court. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://spacing.ca/atlantic/2010/02/22/representing-halifax-4-making-the-case-for-urban-renewal/">skewed mapping exercise</a> led to a sweeping program of erasure. Backed with federal, provincial and civic funds, homes were removed throughout the 1960s. Some people were relocated to new housing projects in the city’s North End. However, rehousing efforts were inadequate and thousands of residents were forced to move away from the district.</p>
<h2>Bridging Divides</h2>
<p>Halifax Regional Municipality’s council opted to redevelop the district in 2013. In the decade since, the municipality has conducted extensive public consultation as a <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/regional-community-planning/construction-projects/cogswell-district-redevelopment-1">“cornerstone”</a> of the planning process. </p>
<p>Thus far, the planning and design efforts have focused on street shapes and public space design, right down to fountains, bike lanes and benches. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/cogswell-district-redesign-need-to-know-29848549">However, meaningful dialogue about housing affordability and inclusion has been sidestepped</a> and land divestment remains a sensitive issue that planners and council members say they will address at some point in the future. Funds from the sale of development blocks will be used to pay for the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3027918/plans-to-demolish-cogswell-interchange-after-decades-of-talk/">cost of the project</a>, but maximizing sale revenues will not create affordable housing.</p>
<p>If the historic displacement of the African Nova Scotian community in Halifax is to be addressed in a genuine way, more substantial measures must be taken with land divestment in Cogswell District.</p>
<p>A targeted housing strategy is needed and must be supported by all orders of government responsible for the interchange debacle in the first place. Without a sincere commitment to these actions, lower-income African Nova Scotian families will continue to struggle with displacement in their city.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207878/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Hempel received funding from MITACS to conduct research on affordable housing. Hempel received funding from Halifax Public Libraries through their Artist-and-Innovator in Residence program to initiate and host community dialogue sessions on a variety of sustainability topics (including the Jane's Walk).</span></em></p>African Nova Scotians have historically suffered the negative consequences of urban redevelopment. New projects in Halifax must involve genuine engagement with racialized communities.Christine Hempel, Post-doctoral researcher, School of Urban and Regional Planning, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2098322023-08-13T13:34:33Z2023-08-13T13:34:33ZHow Airbnb may be fuelling gentrification: A case study in Toronto<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541098/original/file-20230803-27-7ead3f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3610%2C2399&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new study sheds light on how short-term rentals like Airbnb make housing less affordable.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The average asking price for a rental unit in Canada <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/average-asking-price-for-canadian-rental-unit-hits-record-high-in-june-rentals-ca-1.6478222">reached $2,042 in June</a>, marking a 7.5 per cent increase from 2022. Metropolitan districts are particularly affected by rising rental costs, with some local families forced to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/single-dad-affordable-housing-vancouver-1.6899715">relocate due to a lack of affordable housing</a>.</p>
<p>While several factors may contribute to this, some have pointed to <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/04/research-when-airbnb-listings-in-a-city-increase-so-do-rent-prices">Airbnb as one of the reasons</a> for the rental crisis. Airbnb <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9758708/airbnb-short-term-rentals-affordable-housing/">says it is not the cause of the housing affordability crisis</a>.</p>
<p>Despite the significant public interest in how short-term rentals like Airbnb might make housing less affordable, empirical evidence of exactly how, and to what extent this is happening, is sparse.</p>
<p>Our preliminary study of Toronto’s rental market (which will be submitted later this summer to the <a href="https://www.ssrn.com/index.cfm/en/">Social Science Research Network</a>, an open-access repository of academic research papers), used data from Toronto Regional Real Estate Board and <a href="http://insideairbnb.com/get-the-data/">Airbnb listings from 2015 to 2020</a>, and suggested there were two ways Airbnb was affecting the rental market during this period: reducing the number of available rentals and contributing to the gentrification of neighbourhoods.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/airbnbs-adverse-impact-on-urban-housing-markets-109772">Airbnb's adverse impact on urban housing markets</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How Airbnb may lead to gentrification</h2>
<p>Short-term rentals, like those offered by Airbnb, bring in outsiders, often with little regard for local community norms, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-an-airbnb-guest-trashed-a-penthouse-2014-3">leading to conflicts and complaints</a>.</p>
<p>While dealing with these temporary disturbances is usually possible with <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/airbnb-anti-party-crackdown-tip-line/">traditional policing and communication</a>, such short-term rentals can have lasting impacts on neighbourhoods.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A map displaying a number of available rental properties at various prices" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541099/original/file-20230803-27-km6l0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541099/original/file-20230803-27-km6l0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541099/original/file-20230803-27-km6l0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541099/original/file-20230803-27-km6l0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541099/original/file-20230803-27-km6l0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541099/original/file-20230803-27-km6l0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541099/original/file-20230803-27-km6l0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Airbnb affects the rental market by reducing the number of available rentals and contributing to the gentrification of neighbourhoods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When homeowners convert their properties into Airbnb rentals, it may reduce the long-term rental supply in their neighbourhoods. This could increase rental prices, <a href="https://www.acto.ca/a-new-poll-shows-the-majority-of-ontario-renters-are-having-to-choose-between-food-and-paying-their-rents-when-it-comes-to-housing-affordability-this-province-is-on-fire/">stretching the budget</a> of lower-income families.</p>
<p>The lucrative short-term market may also attract new housing <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308518X18778038?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.2">investments targeted at Airbnb rentals</a>. This could further squeeze local families, who may find themselves in bidding wars. Eventually, the economic pressure could force these families out of their neighbourhoods, leaving only the wealthier population in place.</p>
<p>Property values could increase as vacated homes are filled by wealthier families moving in from outside, who can afford the high prices. Over time, the neighbourhood could change to comprise mostly relatively wealthier citizens in a process called <a href="https://theconversation.com/centring-race-why-we-need-to-think-about-gentrification-differently-199168">gentrification</a>.</p>
<h2>Is Airbnb driving up prices in Toronto?</h2>
<p>With <a href="https://news.airbnb.com/about-us/">6.6 million active listings spanning over 220 countries and 100,000 cities</a>, Airbnb offers three types of accommodations: entire homes or apartments, private rooms and shared rooms.</p>
<p>Our analysis focused on the entire homes or apartments category. In the time period of the study, owners of these accommodations were able to choose between the long-term and short-term rental markets, but those who only rented out a portion of their residence were less likely to be part of the long-term market.</p>
<p>We found that Airbnb rentals can squeeze out long-term rentals in neighbourhoods. As the number of Airbnb rentals in a neighbourhood increased, the availability of long-term rentals decreased and vice versa.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph illustrating that long-term rental supply decreases when new Airbnb listings increase" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540203/original/file-20230731-24-u4e3ln.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540203/original/file-20230731-24-u4e3ln.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540203/original/file-20230731-24-u4e3ln.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540203/original/file-20230731-24-u4e3ln.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540203/original/file-20230731-24-u4e3ln.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540203/original/file-20230731-24-u4e3ln.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540203/original/file-20230731-24-u4e3ln.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A graph comparing a) excess supply in the long-term rental market to b) the ratio of new Airbnb listings relative to the supply of long-term rentals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Iman Sadeghi and Sourav Ray)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On average, we estimate that an increase of one per cent in Airbnb listings per square kilometre in a district, is associated with a 0.09 per cent increase in long-term rental rates. A <a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mksc.2020.1227">similar study</a> conducted in the United States, estimated an average increase of 0.018 per cent. While the numbers may not be easily comparable since one is for a metropolitan area and another is for the whole country, they are indicative of the potential impact.</p>
<p>We found evidence that Airbnb may be leading to higher potential rent income for property owners. This difference in income between the potential short-term rentals and traditional long-term rentals, known as the rent gap, draws investors to properties that can be used for short-term rentals.</p>
<p>The reduced availability of long-term rentals can lead to bidding wars for housing, which can lead to even higher rents. As telltale evidence we found that a 10 per cent increase in this rent gap is associated with a 3.1 per cent surge in long-term rental prices. This is equivalent to a $80 monthly rent hike for the average one-bedroom property in Toronto. </p>
<p>These results offer tentative evidence of the potential impact of Airbnb on long-term rental rates during the time period of the study.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph showing the rent gap in Toronto increasing from 2015 to 2020" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540204/original/file-20230731-21-vlfbz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540204/original/file-20230731-21-vlfbz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540204/original/file-20230731-21-vlfbz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540204/original/file-20230731-21-vlfbz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540204/original/file-20230731-21-vlfbz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540204/original/file-20230731-21-vlfbz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540204/original/file-20230731-21-vlfbz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The average rent gap in Toronto from 2015 to 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Iman Sadeghi and Sourav Ray)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mixed social impact</h2>
<p>Despite evidence that Airbnb may be associated with rising rents, its <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/the-economic-costs-and-benefits-of-airbnb-no-reason-for-local-policymakers-to-let-airbnb-bypass-tax-or-regulatory-obligations/">broader social impact</a> remains <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/airbnb-study-vancouver-1.3830803">controversial</a>.</p>
<p>For homeowners, Airbnb offers a new income source. Travellers can boost local employment opportunities as retailers, restaurants and other businesses cater to their needs. A flow of young people can energize neighbourhoods with their joie de vivre and creativity.</p>
<p>Yet affordable housing is a basic need for our society. With almost 40,000 total listings in <a href="http://insideairbnb.com/toronto/">Toronto</a>, <a href="http://insideairbnb.com/vancouver/">Vancouver</a> and <a href="http://insideairbnb.com/montreal/">Montréal</a>, Airbnb is a big player in the economy, but is only one part of the larger picture affecting the availability of affordable housing.</p>
<p>Attempts to mitigate Airbnb’s effect on housing affordability have had <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/canadians-are-being-crushed-by-a-housing-crisis-are-short-term-rentals-to-blame-1.6911344">challenges</a>. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-airbnb-ruling-1.5364775">Toronto’s short-term rental bylaw</a>, which was upheld in 2019, limits Airbnb stays in principal residences to a maximum of 180 days per year. The city subsequently began <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-163225.pdf">enforcing the licensing and registration of short-term rentals in 2021</a>.</p>
<p>Narrowly focused policy interventions may not only be ineffective, but may have unexpected negative impacts. In fact, there is also evidence that <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/11/research-restricting-airbnb-rentals-reduces-development">restricting Airbnb rentals reduces the development of new housing units</a>, leading to less housing availability. These factors illustrate how Airbnb is part of a bigger picture and addressing this complex issue will require more studies and creative policy measures.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of a story originally published on Aug. 13, 2023. The updated version makes clear the context of the research cited in the article is for the period 2015-20 only and does not analyze the rental market since then.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iman Sadeghi received funding from MacData, an institute affiliated with McMaster University, in 2020. The current project, while related, is distinct from the aforementioned MacData-funded initiative.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sourav Ray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Do you ever worry about how Airbnb rentals might be affecting your neighbourhood? Your concerns might not be misplaced.Iman Sadeghi, PhD Candidate, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster UniversitySourav Ray, Lang Chair and Professor of Marketing, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1969952023-06-20T12:28:30Z2023-06-20T12:28:30ZGraffiti has undergone a massive shift in a few quick decades as street art gains social acceptance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519120/original/file-20230403-166-1bmapg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C22%2C3058%2C2014&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tagging, once considered vandalism, has gained cachet and economic value in the art world. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/E0r_BGagxRg">Ashim D’Silva for Unsplash.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Graffiti has become so mainstream in recent years that <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/press/sothebys-presents-first-of-its-kind-online-auction-celebrating-first-generation-of-new-york-graffiti-and-street-artists">auction houses</a>, <a href="https://museumofgraffiti.com">museums</a> and entire <a href="https://www.moca.org/exhibition/art-in-the-streets">art shows</a> cater to street art connoisseurs and collectors around the world. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPJIYfAMgHw">Images in the news</a> of young vandals responsible for marking walls have been replaced by sleek websites belonging to <a href="https://www.banksy.co.uk">global phenoms such as Banksy</a> and <a href="https://obeygiant.com">Shepard Fairey</a>. </p>
<p>In cities around the world, graffiti is now associated with “street artists” rather than violent street gangs. Today, many cities, from Pittsburgh to Pretoria, invite street artists to help brand neighborhoods that are being revitalized and gentrified as legitimately hip destinations for business owners, home buyers and influencers. Some up-and-coming neighborhoods in cities like <a href="https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/dakar-graffiti-festival-connects-artists-cultures-and-ideas/243591/">Dakar, Senegal</a>; <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/a-street-art-tour-of-mexico-city/">Mexico City</a>; <a href="https://bsafest.com.au">Brisbane, Australia</a>; and <a href="https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220929000685">Seoul, South Korea</a> offer <a href="https://www.barcelonastreetstyletour.com">street art tours</a> and host <a href="https://streetartgoods.com/blogs/news/2022-travel-guide">graffiti festivals</a>. </p>
<p>The vibrantly colored walls in such places attract travelers to parts of town once deemed “sketchy.” These same neighborhoods are home to bookstores that carry graffiti coffee table books and universities that offer courses on graffiti art. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=o1BDAykAAAAJ">I have taught</a> such courses myself. But it hasn’t always been this way. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519123/original/file-20230403-1324-zqz518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An oversized mural painted on the side of a building and on the ground of a person at a desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519123/original/file-20230403-1324-zqz518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519123/original/file-20230403-1324-zqz518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519123/original/file-20230403-1324-zqz518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519123/original/file-20230403-1324-zqz518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519123/original/file-20230403-1324-zqz518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519123/original/file-20230403-1324-zqz518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519123/original/file-20230403-1324-zqz518.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">5Pointz was a curated mural space for graffiti artists in Queens, New York. When the walls were unexpectedly painted over, the artists sued, resulting in a $6.7M judgment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Urt2tOrxSV8">Julie Ricard for Unsplash.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The history of tagging</h2>
<p>Before becoming an academic who teaches and <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo26835013.html">writes about graffiti</a>, I was a graffiti writer. I started tagging, or illegally writing my name — Cisco CBS — on surfaces across Los Angeles in the early 1990s. </p>
<p>At the time, local governments were cracking down on wall writers with anti-gang legislation, such as California’s 1988 <a href="https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2007/pen/186.20-186.33.html">Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention</a> Act, and a variety of “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/03/broken-windows/304465/">broken windows theory</a>” policing initiatives. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-019-09444-w">Law enforcement</a> didn’t seem to understand what the writing on walls meant or who was behind those cryptic images and personal monikers. Many residents couldn’t read or understand it either. Graffiti was interpreted as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-019-09444-w">gang-related</a> and, therefore, territorial and violent. Vandals were targeted with well-funded <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-019-09444-w">anti-graffiti task forces</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1386/vi_00011_1">police crackdowns</a> on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/opinion/los-angeles-gang-database.html">taggers like me</a>.</p>
<p>It was not enough, it seemed, to rightfully charge graffiti writers with vandalism. Rather, police and district attorneys, backed by a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1386/vi_00011_1">morally panicked</a> public, were making an example of graffiti writers, charging them with felonies, giving them <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-15-me-48864-story.html">six-figure fines</a> and sending them to prison for illicitly marking walls.</p>
<p>By the end of the 1990s, as the violent crime rate in cities across the U.S. <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/crime-trends-1990-2016">declined</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0263775819832315">gentrification</a> increased, new residents felt they could safely move into lower cost, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.13.080187.001021">“up-and-coming”</a> neighborhoods.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519124/original/file-20230403-22-okgs5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A mosaic of Our Lady of Guadelupe, a virgin saint. She wears a long coral robe and blue starry hooded cape, hands clasped in prayer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519124/original/file-20230403-22-okgs5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519124/original/file-20230403-22-okgs5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519124/original/file-20230403-22-okgs5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519124/original/file-20230403-22-okgs5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519124/original/file-20230403-22-okgs5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1210&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519124/original/file-20230403-22-okgs5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1210&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519124/original/file-20230403-22-okgs5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1210&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our Lady of Guadalupe symbolizes protection for those who lack power in society.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/9CiOeQQ7m9Y">Grant Whitty for Unsplash.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Local governments turned to <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/police-power-and-the-production-of-racial-boundaries/9780813569758">gang injunctions</a>, a restraining order targeting alleged gang members, to help <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0263775819832315">rid neighborhoods</a> of the remaining taggers and wall writers who were labeled <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/opinion/los-angeles-gang-database.html">gang members</a> and were painting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/01636545-1504930">political wall murals</a>. </p>
<p>The Guadalupe, or La Virgen, was used to signal the Chicano community’s <a href="https://www.interfaithamerica.org/los-angeles-virgin-guadalupe-street-art/">faith in God’s protection</a>, delivering them from the violence of the streets at the hands of gangs and police alike. But such murals, often done by local graffiti artists who were themselves deeply rooted in the Chicano community, were forced to make room for “street art” in the context of neighborhood change and urban redevelopment. </p>
<p>As real estate prices went up, <a href="https://boyleheightsbeat.com/la-virgen-de-guadalupe-powerful-throughout-generations/">the Guadalupe murals came down</a>, symbolizing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2021.1985952">local displacement</a> by gentrification. While physical displacement was being experienced firsthand by long-standing residents, the transformation of the walls in these communities symbolized a broader cultural change. By the early 2000s, politically neutral <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/arts/design/02fair.html">street art images</a> replaced depictions of <a href="https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/inclusive-public-art-and-racial-justice">social struggle</a>, <a href="https://www.themcla.org/murals/read-between-lines">Chicano/a history</a>, and <a href="https://boyleheightsbeat.com/disappearing-murals-erase-boyle-heights-history/">community life</a>.</p>
<h2>Graffiti made legit</h2>
<p>By 2011, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles hosted the first-ever museum survey of street art and graffiti. At this time, I was finishing my dissertation on the “<a href="https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/179789">Changing Face of Wall Space</a>,” which explored graffiti in the nearby neighborhoods of Echo Park and Silver Lake. In it, I analyzed how graffiti writers such as <a href="https://eyelost.com">Eyeone</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/mearonehd">Mear</a> and <a href="http://www.cachickenart.com/about-cache">Cache</a> were navigating the legal, social, economic and cultural shift taking place in Los Angeles. In the midst of this struggle over wall space and aesthetics, many of my friends were invited inside to tag the walls of the <a href="https://artinthestreets.org/about">Art in the Streets</a> exhibition. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519130/original/file-20230403-1249-b0f4c4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two young people talk together next to giant black and white drawings pinned on the walls behind them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519130/original/file-20230403-1249-b0f4c4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519130/original/file-20230403-1249-b0f4c4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519130/original/file-20230403-1249-b0f4c4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519130/original/file-20230403-1249-b0f4c4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519130/original/file-20230403-1249-b0f4c4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519130/original/file-20230403-1249-b0f4c4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519130/original/file-20230403-1249-b0f4c4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As graffiti goes mainstream, it appears to legitimize spaces where it is found – museums, galleries and up-and-coming neighborhoods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/niIDjV2uSuk">Casio 1179 for Unsplash.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just outside the museum gallery, the newly branded Arts District soon welcomed muralists and graffiti writers from around the world. These were the same streets where many of us had been chased, beaten and arrested by police for doing what was now fashionable and profitable. Los Angeles, like many cities in the U.S., had the <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/Uneasy-Peace/">lowest homicide rate</a> in more than a generation. In this new context, it became more difficult to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480606065908">connect graffiti to the gangs</a>: Gang violence just wasn’t there. Graffiti had made a <a href="https://lataco.com/whitewashing-murals-graffiti">comeback</a>, arriving inside the Trojan Horse of legitimate street art.</p>
<h2>Urban blight or community history</h2>
<p>Self-described <a href="https://www.latimes.com/projects/chicano-moratorium/chicano-moratorium-catalytic-moment-la-art/">critical Chicana muralists</a>, such as <a href="http://www.judybaca.com/artist/">Judith Baca,</a> and <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/pachucos">pachuco</a> graffiti writers such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_%22Chaz%22_Boj%C3%B3rquez">Chaz Bojórquez</a>, had been painting on walls around Los Angeles as early as the 1970s. These wall artists’ styles were often maligned by city leaders, business owners and wealthy Anglos. But something changed when these inner city aesthetics became the mainstream backdrop for arts communities. </p>
<p>No longer does the writing on the walls signal blight and disorder. Rather, graffiti increasingly tells the story of urban change. It took seeing it as “safe” in the form of “street art” for people to start paying attention to its visual power.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196995/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefano Bloch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the last decade, some graffiti writers have moved from outlaw taggers to sought-after artists.Stefano Bloch, Associate Professor of Geography, Development & Environment, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2022302023-06-06T12:29:50Z2023-06-06T12:29:50ZA community can gentrify without losing its identity – examples from Pittsburgh, Boston and Newark of what works<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526633/original/file-20230516-23757-xm3dyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C16%2C3567%2C2549&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A street mural by Manuel Acevedo at Halsey Place in Newark, N.J.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.fourcornerspublicarts.org/projects#/the-gantalism-dedication-2019/ ">Anthony Alvarez</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How can neighborhoods gentrify without erasing their heart and voice?</p>
<p>It’s an important question to ask now, I’d suggest, since many communities across the U.S. are at risk of losing their historical identities as new people and businesses move in, displacing residents and affecting the fabric of the community. This <a href="https://www.pps.org/article/gentrification">process is known as gentrification</a>, and while a neighborhood “upgrade” can bring new vitality, diversity and opportunity, that is a win only if existing residents and businesses are not forced or priced out.</p>
<p>How to have the positive effects without the negatives isn’t obvious. President Joe Biden’s 2023 budget proposes a US$195 million increase in the Community Development Block Grant program that targets development in 100 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2022/03/30/president-bidens-fy-2023-budget-advances-equity/">underserved communities</a>. By creating infrastructure that attracts new development, some of these projects will likely support gentrification.</p>
<p>I’m an <a href="https://sasn.rutgers.edu/about-us/faculty-staff/anthony-alvarez">educator</a>, arts administrator and public policy fellow who has worked with Fortune 500 companies and exhibited my own photography nationally. I teach fine arts classes at Rutgers in Newark, New Jersey, where I was raised.</p>
<p>As an artist, I believe that it is important to preserve diverse communities with unique characteristics. Public art is one way to highlight and honor our shared spaces <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0309-1317.2003.00492.x">even as we reshape them</a>. Art can help present the values that communities want to project and protect as a way of maintaining and creating great places to live.</p>
<h2>Defining spaces</h2>
<p>What makes a great place to live? </p>
<p>Or, as urban planner <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/artv.2017.0009">Maria Rosario Jackson</a> – now serving as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts – asks: What makes “a just place where people can thrive”? </p>
<p>The answer is, many elements working together. Accessible transportation, diverse housing stock, good schools and jobs, to name a few. Places and spaces in which visitors and residents can convene and connect, be entertained, engage creatively, and find experiences that expand and challenge imaginations. </p>
<p>Public art projects are at the center of many revitalization projects, and they are crucial to the fabric and vitality of their communities. Consider as just one example <a href="https://undergroundinkblock.com/about-2">Underground at Ink Block</a> in Boston, a project that transformed an ordinary underpass into a place where neighbors come together to honor shared histories and play, connect and create community surrounded by outstanding street art. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1425846544700518406"}"></div></p>
<p>Successful projects like this one don’t just happen. Rather, urban planners and community leaders rely on proven techniques that bring them together with community members to practice what urban planners call placemaking, creative placemaking and placekeeping.</p>
<h2>First came placemaking</h2>
<p>Placemaking entered into the urban planning vocabulary in a <a href="https://www.arts.gov/about/publications/creative-placemaking">2010 white paper</a> by Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa for The Mayors’ Institute on City Design. </p>
<p>More recently, the Project for Public Spaces published a <a href="https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5810e16fbe876cec6bcbd86e/6335ddc88fbf7f29ec537d49_2022%20placemaking%20booklet.pdf">Primer on Placemaking</a> in 2022 titled “What if we build our cities around places?”</p>
<p>The paper argues that successful cities need destinations: strong communities with distinct identities to help attract new residents, businesses and investment. </p>
<p>Walkable, safe, comfortable and dynamic public spaces and buildings are key components to the creation of spaces where “people want to live, work, play and learn,” as Michigan State University <a href="https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/lpis_mark_wyckoff_authors_article_on_four_different_types_of_placemaking">urban planner Mark Wyckoff argues</a>.</p>
<p>Placemaking began as an economic development strategy focusing on “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/why-we-need-to-invest-in-transformative-placemaking/">economic districts</a>,” but recent shifts also call for thoughtful and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/about-the-bass-center/">sensitive social impact</a> focusing on what residents and commuters want, like cultural activities, accessible parks, and healthy and sustainable food sold at farmers markets.</p>
<h2>Harnessing creativity</h2>
<p>Creative placemaking connects traditional economic placemaking with arts and cultural strategies. Markusen and Gadwa explain that creative placemaking involves partnering with the community to re-imagine a neighborhood while maintaining its social and cultural character. </p>
<p>Movements such as <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/socially-engaged-practice">Socially Engaged Art</a> allow artists and community to come together in a public space that encourages conversation around a common goal. Rick Lowe’s <a href="https://projectrowhouses.org/">Project Row Houses</a> in Houston and the <a href="https://www.theastergates.com/project-items/dorchester-art-and-housing-collaborative-dahc">Dorchester Art and Housing Collaborative</a>’s Theaster Gates in Chicago are just two of many examples of this blurring of the lines between art, activism and economic development.</p>
<h2>Placekeeping</h2>
<p>More recently, the idea of placekeeping expands on these earlier concepts by recognizing that having communities at the table when revitalization projects are being planned is key to growing urban environments that have a good chance of keeping displacement at bay. Placekeeping emphasizes learning what is important to the fabric of the community and how to weave that into revitalization projects.</p>
<p>A former mayor of Oakland, California, Libby Schaaf, said <a href="https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2019/11/12/toward-placekeeping-how-design-dialogue-can-make-cities-better-everyone">in 2019</a>: “Placekeeping is about engaging the residents who already live in a space and allowing them to preserve the stories and culture of where they live.” </p>
<p>Oakland was one of the participants of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ <a href="https://www.bloomberg.org/press/bloomberg-philanthropies-launches-asphalt-art-initiative-providing-cities-how-to-guidance-to-transform-streets-and-public-spaces-with-artwork/">Asphalt Art Initiative</a>. This <a href="https://asphaltart.bloomberg.org/projects/">64-city program</a> has the goal of assisting “cities looking to use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces, and engage their communities.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1393271880157630464"}"></div></p>
<p>Here in Newark, New Jersey, <a href="https://www.audible.com/about">Audible</a>, an audiobook and podcasting subsidiary of Amazon, has led a dynamic partnership with local leaders, elected officials, stakeholders, residents and artists called the <a href="https://www.archpaper.com/2022/06/newark-artist-collaboration-honors-the-citys-history-and-residents-through-13-just-unveiled-art-installations/">Newark Arts Collaboration</a>. The installation takes the form of 13 murals reflecting the vibrancy and histories of the city’s neighborhoods and the people within them. </p>
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<h2>Avoiding gentrification</h2>
<p>The best way of knowing what a community values is to ask the people who live there. </p>
<p><a href="https://nlihc.org/resource/gentrification-and-neighborhood-revitalization-whats-difference">Community benefits agreements</a> are contracts that bring community groups and stakeholders to a shared planning table. These agreements provide negotiated, binding contracts that help leverage tools such as <a href="https://www.ura.org/pages/lower-hill-lerta-greater-hill-district-neighborhood-reinvestment-fund">tax assistance programs and reinvestment funds</a> with concrete community investment plans. </p>
<p>For example, in Pittsburgh, community benefits agreements provided an opportunity for the community and developers to co-shape major revitalization projects beginning with the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9qqXHa3Gs0&list=PL45AA4AF0740EF212&index=1">PPG arena 2008</a> and expanding with the renovation of <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/hill-district-ura-concert-venue-lower-hill-district/">the historic New Granda Theater in 2023</a>.</p>
<p>Any anti-gentrification effort begins with an inclusive process. Under Mayor Michelle Wu, the city of Boston <a href="https://www.boston.gov/departments/arts-and-culture/allston-brighton-arts-culture-and-placekeeping">provides another example</a> of placekeeping by promising to learn “what exists, what is treasured and what contributes to the unique characteristics of Allston-Brighton,” a quickly developing neighborhood within the city.</p>
<p>Embracing the heart of the community, honoring its artistic expression, and creating access for the community was key in the development of <a href="https://www.evartscollective.com/frogtown-artwalk">Frogtown Arts Walk</a> in Los Angeles. And keeping this regeneration equitable is center to Newark’s <a href="https://newarkarts.org/newark-creates/">cultural plan</a>. </p>
<p>To quote Newark Mayor Ras Baraka: “Newark should be the place to be for artists. And, I want Newarkers to benefit from their presence.”</p>
<p><em>This story was updated to correct the number of Asphalt Initiative grants.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202230/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Alvarez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Art can help anchor places even as they are reshaped.Anthony Alvarez, Lecturer of Arts, Culture & Media, Rutgers University - NewarkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2062912023-06-06T01:00:02Z2023-06-06T01:00:02ZHousing and heritage aren’t mutually exclusive – a few basic rules can help get the balance right<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529686/original/file-20230601-21-805z3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C17%2C5672%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Anyone trying to follow the latest political debate over housing, urban intensification and development can be forgiven for feeling confused.</p>
<p>The National Party’s newly announced housing policy would allow local councils to opt out of the <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/publications/medium-density-residential-standards-a-guide-for-territorial-authorities/">Medium Density Residential Standards</a> the party originally supported. The Labour government calls it a “flip flop”, the Greens call it “confused”, but National says its policy is in fact “<a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/05/29/nats-housing-policy-backdown-a-massive-flip-flop-sepuloni/">more ambitious</a>”.</p>
<p>What does seem clear, however, is that some form of urban intensification will still play a role in New Zealand’s future planning. And that, of course, comes with its own layers of confusion and conflict – particularly between advocates of more medium-density housing and defenders of urban heritage.</p>
<p>For a long time, this clash of values and visions created mainly local and regional challenges. But since the <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2021/0059/latest/LMS566049.html">Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act</a> pushed old regional zoning laws aside, the problem has only grown. </p>
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<h2>Defining ‘heritage’</h2>
<p>Many urban communities are now having to balance the urgent need for more housing and the perceived dangers of what can appear like a tidal wave of sometimes inappropriate development.</p>
<p>This is partly due to the vague definitions of what constitutes urban heritage in the first place. Essentially, it refers to the layers of history within a community, from iconic monuments and buildings to housing and green spaces.</p>
<p>Often in New Zealand it is assumed “heritage” refers to the leafy suburbs of renovated colonial villas and bungalows. But it can also be ordinary, informal, unspectacular and utilitarian – what is known as “<a href="https://www.icomos.org/en/participer/179-articles-en-francais/ressources/charters-and-standards/164-charter-of-the-built-vernacular-heritage">vernacular</a>” – and still have deep significance. This kind of heritage also maintains connections with previous generations.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nationals-housing-u-turn-promotes-urban-sprawl-cities-and-ratepayers-will-pick-up-the-bill-206762">National’s housing u-turn promotes urban sprawl – cities and ratepayers will pick up the bill</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>It’s hardly surprising, though, that the impact of development and regeneration can threaten urban heritage. Jackhammers or simply changes in planning law can fragment these valuable urban histories.</p>
<p>New Zealand has a particularly poor record of conserving its past, having <a href="https://www.heritage.org.nz/places/lost-heritage">failed to protect</a> countless examples of its significant and vernacular built heritage. For every <a href="https://www.sayitnapier.nz/assets/District-Plan/DDP-Design-Guidelines/Draft-Art-Deco-Design-Guide.pdf">art deco treasure</a> in Napier, there are many lost links to the past.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/DLM231907.html">resource management laws</a> to protect historic heritage from inappropriate use and development, wider appreciation of heritage values has been slow to take hold.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529687/original/file-20230602-25-qjp53f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529687/original/file-20230602-25-qjp53f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529687/original/file-20230602-25-qjp53f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529687/original/file-20230602-25-qjp53f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529687/original/file-20230602-25-qjp53f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529687/original/file-20230602-25-qjp53f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529687/original/file-20230602-25-qjp53f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A poor record of maintaining links to the past: modern office towers overshadow Auckland’s ferry building.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Rules for progress</h2>
<p>One way to see progress – and to avoid a perpetual standoff between vested interests – might be through greater appreciation of international best practice. The principles of the International Council on Sites and Monuments (<a href="https://www.icomos.org/en/home-wh">ICOMOS</a>) provide a useful guide.</p>
<p>ICOMOS is the only global non-governmental organisation of its kind dedicated to promoting the conservation of architectural and archaeological heritage. It has national committees in 107 countries, including New Zealand, and provides expert advice to bodies such as the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention/">World Heritage Convention</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wellingtons-older-houses-dont-deserve-blanket-protection-but-6-storey-buildings-arent-always-the-answer-146302">Wellington’s older houses don’t deserve blanket protection — but 6-storey buildings aren’t always the answer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Since 1964 it has set standards for safeguarding and conserving historic cities, towns and urban areas. These standards are based on its <a href="https://www.icomos.org/images/DOCUMENTS/Charters/towns_e.pdf">original</a>
principles, which were further <a href="https://civvih.icomos.org/valletta-principles-english-french/">updated</a> in 2011. </p>
<p>As tension in New Zealand between urban intensification and preserving urban heritage seems likely to increase, these principles inform four broad themes that will be worth keeping in mind.</p>
<p><strong>1. Local communities come first</strong></p>
<p>Local people and communities should sit at the heart of any conservation efforts, not out-of-town developers or remote government departments. The desire to protect local heritage should be encouraged and supported. The relevant ICOMOS rule states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The participation and the involvement of the residents are essential for the success of the conservation programme and should be encouraged. The conservation of historic towns and urban areas concerns their residents first of all.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>2. Heritage areas must be credible</strong></p>
<p>Planning for the conservation of historic towns and urban areas should be preceded by multidisciplinary studies that address not only architecture, but also the history, sociology and contexts of the places under review. </p>
<p>These plans should determine what must be preserved, what should be preserved under certain circumstances, and what may be expendable. But they should not be used as a tactic simply to deflect urban intensification. Once the authenticity and integrity of heritage areas is established, however, the presumption should be that conservation is a priority. </p>
<p><strong>3. Protection requires a wide lens</strong></p>
<p>Urban heritage protection needs to be about more than just buildings. It is about managing the relationship of the built environment to its surroundings, both natural and constructed.</p>
<p>This involves ensuring infrastructure is adequate and potential nuisances (such as traffic and parking) accounted for. Planners should also avoid sharp divisions between protected and unprotected areas by creating buffer zones. </p>
<p>These intermediate areas help enhance what is protected, rather than allow inappropriate bordering developments that can directly overshadow the conserved areas.</p>
<p><strong>4. Improving housing is a priority</strong> </p>
<p>Urban heritage is not about preserving history in a glass case. Historic urban areas should be allowed to evolve. Change and development should be welcomed if they facilitate and improve housing, and are compatible with the character of a historic area, the existing spatial layout, scale and section size. ICOMOS is very clear on this point: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The improvement of housing should be one of the basic objectives of conservation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The risk, of course, is that gentrification can price original communities out of their own neighbourhoods, and ultimately alter the character of a place to the extent its heritage value has changed too. As ICOMOS states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Retention of the traditional cultural and economic diversity of each place is essential, especially when it is characteristic of the place.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>None of these balancing acts is easy. But we need to avoid the perception of a binary choice between housing people and saving traditional urban areas. It is possible to do both – but this requires a degree of finesse currently missing from aspects of the local debate.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206291/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Gillespie is a former rapporteur for the World Heritage Convention, where he worked with ICOMOS. He has submitted to the Hamilton City Council about the importance of international principles in urban heritage management regarding proposed changes in heritage areas.</span></em></p>Pressure for more housing often runs up against a desire to preserve urban heritage areas. International best practice offers ways to navigate the impasse.Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1991682023-03-22T19:58:14Z2023-03-22T19:58:14ZCentring race: Why we need to think about gentrification differently<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515348/original/file-20230314-6490-w1cjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C51%2C4896%2C3202&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A poster highlighting rising rental costs due to gentrification in Hackney, London. Gentrification often results in the dislocation of marginalized communities who can no longer afford to live in their communities. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/centring-race--why-we-need-to-think-about-gentrification-differently" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>When we think of <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Gentrification/Lees-Slater-Wyly/p/book/9780415950374">gentrification</a>, we often think of how a neighbourhood’s demographics and landscape are transformed. Luxury apartment blocks replace single family homes. Trendy cafes replace independent businesses. Affluent families and businesses move in, often pushing out longstanding residents who can’t afford to stay.</p>
<p>Over the decades, gentrification has had a significant impact on cities across the world. <a href="https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/new-york-neighborhood-gentrification-new-report">One 2016 study</a> by New York University on the city’s gentrifying neighborhoods estimated that some of them had seen an average rent increase of 78.7 per cent between 1990 and 2014, compared to 22.1 per cent citywide. New York consistently ranks among <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/12/world-most-expensive-cities/">the most expensive cities in the world</a>, along with Singapore, Zurich and Hong Kong.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/urban-lab/news/2015/jan/how-ruth-glass-shaped-way-we-approach-our-cities">When gentrification was first introduced into our vocabulary a few decades ago</a>, it was used to describe the economic dimensions of neighbourhood changes. But more recently, it has become clear that gentrification has dramatic effects on racialized communities in particular.</p>
<p>From <a href="https://www.bcnuej.org/2020/03/24/how-one-of-montreals-poorest-neighborhoods-became-ripe-for-green-gentrification/">Montréal</a> to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/realestate/black-homeowners-gentrification.html">New York</a>, <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/black-women-leaving-london">London</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/remembering-hogan-s-alley-hub-of-vancouver-s-black-community-1.3448080">Vancouver</a>, and elsewhere, racialized people continue to disproportionately feel the detrimental impacts of urban development and gentrification.</p>
<p>In the context of <a href="https://inequality.org/facts/inequality-and-covid-19/">growing inequalities prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic</a>, skyrocketing housing prices and racial unrest, the process of gentrification and its sociocultural effects on communities of colour is especially pertinent right now.</p>
<h2>Montréal’s Chinatown</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Chinese style red and gold gateway above a road." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the paifangs that mark the entrance to Montréal’s Chinatown.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once a refuge where Chinese immigrants could celebrate their culture and enjoy a sense of belonging, Montréal’s Chinatown has faced a number of <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/chinese-canadian-history/montreal_chinatown_en.html">threats from gentrification over the past 50 years</a>. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the neighborhood was downsized to make space for developments like the Complexe Guy Favreau, Complexe Desjardins and the Place du Quartier.</p>
<p>Construction of the Complexe Guy Favreau led to the demolition of several buildings used by the Chinese community including churches and grocery stores. These major urban projects eventually propelled <a href="https://www.mcgilldaily.com/2021/11/the-struggle-to-save-quebecs-last-chinatown/">the displacement of Chinese families</a>. In their stead, whiter and wealthier people and businesses moved in.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.canvasjournal.ca/read/the-aestheticization-of-chinatown-a-sociopolitical-account-of-montreals-paifangs">The construction of four paifangs</a> — a type of traditional Chinese gateway — in 1999 marked the beginning of Chinatown’s estheticization. Signaling a desire to create marketable authenticity, <a href="https://mcgilltribune.com/constructing-chinatown/">the arches grew out of orientalist representations of Chinese culture</a> and a wish to promote the area’s fantasized “Chineseness” to tourists.</p>
<p>In addition, the municipality installed the paifangs following expropriations and redevelopments responsible for <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8590373/montreal-chinatown-future-at-risk/">the erasure of the Parc de la Pagode, three Chinese churches, many local businesses and an entire residential area</a>. Through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-013-0297-1">the marketization of Chinese exoticized “otherness,”</a> the arches have become symbolic of the redevelopment that has turned Montréal’s Chinatown into a tourist destination where Chinese culture is reduced to a spectacle for Western consumption.</p>
<h2>Brooklyn’s Crown Heights</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The top of a row of buildings in New York." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Buildings along Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights, New York. The neighbourhood’s gentrification has led to many racialized long-time residents being priced out of their homes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Located in the east of Brooklyn, New York, <a href="https://wp.nyu.edu/crownheights/history-and-geography/crown-heights-from-the-1950s-to-today/">Crown Heights has been historically home to a large West Indian, Caribbean and Hasidic Jewish working-class population</a>. For more than two decades, the neighborhood has witnessed the arrival of high-income, predominantly white renters. Over the last decade, <a href="https://patch.com/new-york/prospectheights/northern-crown-heights-doubled-its-white-population-decade">while the neighborhood’s Black population dropped, its white population has doubled</a>. That has led to many racialized long-time residents <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/nyregion/gentrification-in-a-brooklyn-neighborhood-forces-residents-to-move-on.html">being priced out</a> of their homes and businesses.</p>
<p>Particularly noteworthy are the changes that came to Crown Heights’ dining scene, with the establishment of new and sometimes controversial restaurants. One such establishment, Summerhill, opened in 2017. The restaurant, <a href="https://gothamist.com/food/new-crown-heights-restaurant-proudly-advertises-cocktail-next-to-bullet-hole-ridden-wall">branded as a “boozy sandwich shop,”</a> was owned by Becca Brennan, a white newcomer from Canada. Soon after opening, the restaurant faced backlash after <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brooklyn-bullet-hole-walls-racism-becca-brennan-1.4217971">Brennan advertised her cocktails next to a “bullet hole-ridden wall”</a> — remnants of a rumoured backroom illegal gun shop, Brennan claimed. She was accused by long-term residents of downplaying poverty and racism while fetishizing the area’s violent history.</p>
<p>New restaurants and businesses — owned by and catering to wealthier outsiders who are indifferent to the local history — often act as a renewed form of violence and exclusion for local communities. Following intense resistance, Summerhill eventually closed its doors.</p>
<h2>Gentrification is about more than housing</h2>
<p>Ethnic enclaves, such as Chinatown and Crown Heights, have long served as safe spaces for marginalized immigrants and racialized communities. But many are now disappearing as cities look to maximize their profit and attractiveness. With gentrification, those areas are turned into an environment that caters to upper-middle-class white norms, tastes and sensibilities. </p>
<p>At the same time, what’s perceived as “authentic” or “ethnic” often acts as a gentrification booster. By turning local cultures into commodities for consumers, gentrification manifests a broader effort to rebrand our cities. </p>
<p>It is an effort that denies racialized people cultural ownership over their own spaces. As such, gentrification is about much more than housing or physical displacement: it is also about <a href="https://shelterforce.org/2017/08/23/cultural-ramifications-gentrification-new-orleans/">cultural appropriation</a> and racial exclusion.</p>
<p>Gentrification is a complex, multi-faceted and multi-layered phenomenon. As gentrification expands and intensifies, it is essential that we develop definitions that accurately reflect such complexity and address the ways race and racism inform the process. We need to think about how white privilege and gentrification configure one another.</p>
<p>We also have to consider the role played by corporate and institutional forces in the cultural displacement and social dislocation of racialized communities. Last but not least, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/15356841211054790">we need to place gentrification in a broader and ongoing history of racial violence</a>. In order to stop gentrification from perpetuating racial segregation within cities, its racial dynamics need to be discussed and addressed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199168/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mieko Tarrius receives funding from Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQSC). Mieko Tarrius is a Policy Researcher Fellow at the Office of the Manhattan Borough President.</span></em></p>Gentrification is often used to describe the economic impacts of urban development. However, racialized communities in particular disproportionately feel its detrimental impacts.Mieko Tarrius, Ph.D. Candidate in Geography and Urban Studies, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1992242023-02-13T06:16:09Z2023-02-13T06:16:09ZThe fight between Tate Modern and its wealthy neighbours reveals the gentrification of the skies<p>In the UK, legal cases resolving alleged neighbour nuisances are ten-a-penny. Some – about <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-57598101">overhanging trees</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/07/leylandii-neighbours-dispute">leylandii hedges</a> that block out the sun – reach the local press. Few, however, have ever taken up the column inches devoted to <a href="https://www.supremecourt.uk/press-summary/uksc-2020-0056.html">Fearn v Tate</a>. </p>
<p>After a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/feb/01/tate-modern-viewing-platform-invades-privacy-of-flats-supreme-court-rules">six-year legal battle</a>, the UK supreme court has now <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fearn-v-tate-judgment.pdf">ruled</a> in favour of the five neighbouring residents who sued London’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-re-use-and-recycling-work-for-heritage-buildings-and-places-too-83975">Tate Modern</a>, for infringing on their privacy with its viewing gallery that looks directly into their homes. </p>
<p>The trustees of the Tate now face the possibility of closing or screening off the viewing gallery. This is despite the fact that, in the same ruling, the supreme court deems it to be a perfectly “reasonable use” of the land, and that allowing visitors 360-degree views of the capital is of “public benefit”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A view over London from the roof of a building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Developers are increasingly capitalising on the value of a view.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/v5ouCZkAcwc">Matthew Waring | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Breach of privacy claim</h2>
<p>In 2017, five residents of the neighbouring Neo-Bankside development sued the Tate for invasion of privacy. Marketed as a “world-class” development, Neo-Bankside features floor-to-ceiling windows, designed to maximise light and take advantage of the views towards the Thames. The gallery’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-new-tate-modern-tells-us-about-the-museum-of-the-future-61041">Blavatnik extension</a>, meanwhile, included an observatory deck. The residents said they were being subjected to close and oppressive scrutiny by museum goers armed with phones, cameras, and sometimes, binoculars. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="HIgh-rise buildings against a pale blue sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Fearne v Tate case could lead to further privatisation of London’s skies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/F3GiR_IM9w8">Toa Heftiba | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Previous <a href="https://www.wilberforce.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ARTICLE-A-room-with-a-view-BF-Feb-2010.pdf">cases</a> had established that you could sue for invasion of the airspace near to your property on the basis of trespass and nuisance law. Planning law similarly regards overlooking and loss of privacy as the basis for <a href="http://planningobjectionletters.co.uk/articles/private-matters">refusal of planning permission</a>.</p>
<p>In his 2019 ruling, however, High Court Justice Anthony Mann <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/draw-the-blinds-flat-owners-lose-privacy-case-against-tates-viewing-platform-11635442">pointed out</a> that the Tate had been given planning permission for the viewing platform before Neo-Bankside was completed. In other words, the residents would have been aware of it before they moved in. He recommended they <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/glass-tower-residents-lose-legal-fight-over-tate-balcony-kmk82qmvz">install net curtains</a>.</p>
<p>This ruling implied that wealthy residents <a href="https://www.elgaronline.com/display/edcoll/9781788977197/9781788977197.00031.xml">colonising urban skies</a> need to recognise that they are not just in the city, but of it. It did not necessarily set a precedent. But it did suggest that the property rights enjoyed by the owners of glass-fronted flats do not necessarily extend to “lower strata” air rights, or the right to exclude others from viewing in. </p>
<p>Mann has now been overruled, the law once again aligning with the rich and powerful. The supreme court’s judgment confirms that being overlooked by a spectator gallery in fact does constitute a form of visual intrusion. And it rejects Mann’s judgment that the owners of the flats bore some responsibility for mitigating the nuisance themselves.</p>
<p>In theory, this could lead to a series of private nuisance lawsuits. Those living in high-rise properties could now claim they need to be protected from the nuisance of people looking in, and use this as a means to screen off existing development. Equally, planning officers might be minded to put more weight on overlooking as a material consideration. </p>
<p>Currently, drone flights at a “reasonable height” enjoy a <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003028031-12/personal-injury-property-damage-trespass-nuisance-anthony-tarr-julie-anne-tarr">statutory defence</a> against claims of nuisance and trespass, under the terms of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1982/16/contents">1982 Civil Aviation Act</a>. But if concerns about overlooking are extended to the disembodied gaze of the unmanned drone camera, we might easily imagine a future city characterised by <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2020.1842125?casa_token=yJMU2hz9sxAAAAAA%3A40-Uy1UKD-icc6DmKaHtrPr0Vit8hWGB3s9It0FJwfkUsHXe8JdJDd4VJRoxHeb7P9FUtiGkwn6D">no-fly zones</a> around the towers of the super-rich.</p>
<h2>Gentrification of the skies</h2>
<p>In the 1950s and 1960s, tower blocks were reserved for social housing tenants. Such <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jul/20/streets-in-the-sky-the-sheffield-high-rises-that-were-home-sweet-home-love-among-ruins">“streets in the sky”</a> were subsequently vilified as <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429427046-2/council-estate-renewal-london-phil-hubbard-loretta-lees">sites of social malaise</a>. </p>
<p>By contrast, today’s high-rises are built for rich investors. Social housing, if at all present, is restricted to the lower levels, sometimes behind what has become known as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/25/poor-doors-segregation-london-flats">“poor door”</a>.</p>
<p>Spectacular views are the big draw. Developers carefully price each flat according to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13604813.2018.1549832">height, size and aspect</a>. This “luxification” of the skies is, perversely, accompanying the emergence of <a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/tpr.2020.46">shrinking homes</a> for the working poor, often literally <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02723638.2020.1850001">overshadowed</a> by these prestigious towers. </p>
<p>The Fearn v Tate judgment has confirmed that inner-city residents must expect to live cheek by jowl with their neighbours, while suggesting that there are different types of overlooking. Inviting people to look out, and photograph, from a property’s observation deck is qualitatively different than one property simply overlooking another. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person on a balcony with a phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The law now appears to recognise different types of overlooking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bankside-london-se1-9tg-united-kingdom-1479666761">Lara Ra</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The supreme court judgment references an obscure case from <a href="https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol10/pp85-98">1341</a> where a London fishmonger had to remove a tower on his property because neighbours felt it constituted a nuisance. It argues that the intensity of interference is now magnified by the fact that people have smartphones with cameras. </p>
<p>Some have concluded the ruling is not simply about being overlooked but the invasion of privacy associated with <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b2c3f312-fec2-4005-b7fe-52988e489cba">photographs</a> being shared on social media. However, given any neighbour could take photos of others’ property, should the precautionary principle now reign? </p>
<p>This could lead to those who can afford to take private action invoking visual intrusion to prevent others from even having the possibility of taking photos. It could lead to further privatisation of air space, of particular concern in cities like London where the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/29/underfunded-rusting-fenced-off-britains-parks-public-spaces-government">urban commons</a> are increasingly privatised. </p>
<p>A city where “air people” are able to escape surveillance while “street people” have to live with the constant scrutiny enacted by drones, CCTV and facial recognition systems may sound dystopian. Given the rampant <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-corporate-landlords-how-they-are-swallowing-city-centres-like-manchester-one-block-of-flats-at-a-time-198804">financialisation and corporatisation</a> of our cities, though, who is to say what lengths property-owners will go to protect the value of their asset?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199224/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Hubbard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The supreme court’s ruling that the Tate’s viewing gallery intrudes on nearby luxury flats suggests that the law is once again aligning with the rich and powerful.Philip Hubbard, Professor of Urban Studies, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1932042023-01-25T13:24:55Z2023-01-25T13:24:55ZAtlanta’s BeltLine shows how urban parks can drive ‘green gentrification’ if cities don’t think about affordable housing at the start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505972/original/file-20230123-3880-1m5d4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5409%2C3187&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A pedestrian walking along the BeltLine in Atlanta on Feb. 17, 2016, passes townhomes under construction. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MortgageRates/85b0bf9c6bc94185a45205a672d7e70c/photo">AP Photo/David Goldman</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Is Atlanta a good place to live? Recent rankings certainly say so. In September 2022, Money magazine rated Atlanta the <a href="https://money.com/atlanta-georgia-best-places-to-live-2022/">best place to live in the U.S.</a>, based on its strong labor market and job growth. The National Association of Realtors calls it the <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/10-housing-markets-expected-to-lead-the-nation-in-2023">top housing market to watch in 2023</a>, noting that Atlanta’s housing prices are lower than those in comparable cities and that it has a rapidly growing population. </p>
<p>But this is only part of the story. My new book, “<a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520387645/red-hot-city">Red Hot City: Housing, Race, and Exclusion in Twenty-First Century Atlanta</a>,” takes a deep dive into the last three decades of housing, race and development in metropolitan Atlanta. As it shows, planning and policy decisions here have promoted a heavily racialized version of gentrification that has excluded lower-income, predominantly Black residents from sharing in the city’s growth.</p>
<p>One key driver of this division is the <a href="https://beltline.org/">Atlanta BeltLine</a>, a 22-mile (35-kilometer) loop of multiuse trails with nearby apartments, restaurants and retail stores, built on a former railway corridor around Atlanta’s core. Although the BeltLine was designed to connect Atlantans and improve their quality of life, it has driven up housing costs on nearby land and pushed low-income households out to suburbs with fewer services than downtown neighborhoods. </p>
<p>The BeltLine has become a prime example of what urban scholars call “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31572-1">green gentrification</a>” – a process in which restoring degraded urban areas by adding green features drives up housing prices and pushes out working-class residents. If cities fail to prepare for these effects, gentrification and displacement can transform lower-income neighborhoods into areas of concentrated affluence rather than thriving, diverse communities. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aT3tizUXQsY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This promotional video from Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. describes the project’s emphasis on increasing Atlantans’ access to green spaces.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The U.S. currently faces a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/30/realestate/housing-market-prices-interest-rates.html">nationwide housing affordabilty crisis</a>. Many factors have contributed to it, but as an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YpAWsOMAAAAJ&hl=en">urban studies scholar</a>, I believe it is important to learn from Atlanta’s experience. </p>
<h2>No more Black majority</h2>
<p>U.S. cities generally are diverse places, and many of them are becoming more so. But the city of Atlanta is going <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/articles/2020-01-22/measuring-racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-americas-cities">in the opposite direction</a>: It’s becoming wealthier and more white. </p>
<p>In 1990, 67% of the city’s residents were Black; by 2019, that share had fallen to 48%. At the same time, the share of adults with a college degree rose from 27% to more than 56%. Median income in the city increased from 60% of the median income of the <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/population-in-atlanta-how-large-is-metro-atlanta/DMC7A3RM7JCPRK57GBTOI5RBII/">much larger Atlanta metropolitan area</a> to 110%. Median family income in the city in 2021 dollars nearly doubled, rising from approximately $50,000 to $96,000. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506140/original/file-20230124-24-b9m9ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing the BeltLine's position within the City of Atlanta." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506140/original/file-20230124-24-b9m9ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506140/original/file-20230124-24-b9m9ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506140/original/file-20230124-24-b9m9ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506140/original/file-20230124-24-b9m9ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506140/original/file-20230124-24-b9m9ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506140/original/file-20230124-24-b9m9ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506140/original/file-20230124-24-b9m9ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=885&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Atlanta’s BeltLine surrounds the city’s downtown.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Immergluck</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most rapid gentrification occurred from 2011 onward, after the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/foreclosure-crisis.asp">2008-2010 foreclosure crisis</a>. Globally, urban scholars call this period one of “<a href="https://www.american.edu/spa/metro-policy/upload/contextualizing-gentrification-chaos.pdf">fifth-wave” gentrification</a>, in which a large increase in rental demand triggered speculation in rental real estate that drove up housing costs. </p>
<p>In Atlanta, this was when the BeltLine really hit its stride after being proposed in the early 2000s and formally adopted as a <a href="https://beltline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Redevelopment-Area-and-Tax-Allocation-District-Creation-Legislation.pdf">tax increment financing district</a>, or TIF, in 2005. In these districts, anticipated increases in property tax revenues are used to front-fund development projects. No urban development project in metro Atlanta – and perhaps in the entire country – has been more transformative.</p>
<h2>Driving gentrification and displacement</h2>
<p>Even before the BeltLine TIF district was adopted, boosters, developers, consultants and many city officials began touting the benefits of a proposed public-private partnership that could remake large parts of the city. Shortly after the special taxing district for the project was formally adopted, the city of Atlanta created an affiliated nonprofit, <a href="https://beltline.org/organizer/atlanta-beltline-inc/">Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.</a>, to implement and manage the BeltLine. </p>
<p>In 2004, Yale architect <a href="https://www.architecture.yale.edu/about-the-school/news/in-memoriam-alexander-garvin">Alexander Garvin</a> published a report called “<a href="https://beltline.org/wp-content/uploads/2004/12/The-BeltLine-Emerald-Necklace-Study_Alex-Garvin-Associates-Inc..pdf">The BeltLine Emerald Necklace: Atlanta’s New Public Realm</a>.” “The BeltLine’s future users are an attractive market,” Garvin wrote. “Early word of the project has already accelerated real estate values.” In 2005, one developer called the BeltLine the “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2O19EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=the+%E2%80%9Cmost+exciting+real+estate+project+since+Sherman+burned+Atlanta.%E2%80%9D">most exciting real estate project since Sherman burned Atlanta</a>.” </p>
<p>Many neighborhoods that the BeltLine runs through, especially on the south and west sides of the city, had experienced decades of disinvestment and were predominantly Black and lower-income. But boosters weren’t worried about investors and speculators buying up land near the BeltLine, and didn’t prepare for displacement and exclusion. Garvin’s report did not mention the terms “affordable,” “gentrification,” “lower-income” or “low-income.” </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://saportakinsta.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/immergluck-2007.pdf">2007 study</a> for the community group <a href="https://www.georgiastandup.org/">Georgia Stand-Up</a>, I found that property values were increasing much faster near the BeltLine than in areas farther from it. This meant that property taxes rose for many lower-income homeowners, and landlords of rental properties were likely to raise rents in response. This process directly displaced lower-income families and made many areas around the BeltLine unaffordable for them.</p>
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<p>The BeltLine TIF ordinance included some provisions for funding affordable housing, but as I show in my book, they were fundamentally insufficient and flawed. The BeltLine was the work of a coalition, including core members of Atlanta’s traditional “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bEITAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Stone+Atlanta+Urban+Regime&ots=mg2iyVlGu4&sig=vICy3M8GI88SfGLDUCQgSZH82u4#v=onepage&q=Stone%20Atlanta%20Urban%20Regime&f=false">urban regime</a>” – elected officials and the downtown business elite. Their vision produced a wealthier, whiter city population. </p>
<h2>Noninclusive growth</h2>
<p>Rather than focusing on securing land for affordable housing when values were low, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. prioritized building trails and parks. These features helped boost property values, accelerating gentrification and displacement.</p>
<p>After the <a href="https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/subprime-mortgage-crisis">subprime mortgage crisis</a> in 2007-2010, foreclosures put pressure on housing markets. Atlanta lost about 7,000 low-cost rental units from 2010 to 2019. Meanwhile, construction of new, pricier apartments boomed: Permits were issued for more than 37,000 units over roughly the same period. </p>
<p>By my calculation, Atlanta’s job market exploded from 330,000 jobs in 2011 to over 437,000 jobs by 2019. Companies like Google, Honeywell and Microsoft moved in, often with city and state subsidies. Many new jobs paid over $100,000 per year and went to young, highly skilled workers, driving up housing demand. </p>
<p>In 2017 the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a high-profile <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local/how-the-atlanta-beltline-broke-its-promise-affordable-housing/0VXnu1BlYC0IbA9U4u2CEM/">investigative series</a> documenting that the BeltLine had produced just 600 units of affordable housing in 11 years – far off the pace required to meet its target of 5,600 by 2030. Some of these units had been resold to high-income households. Soon afterward, <a href="https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2017/08/23/atlanta-beltline-ceo-stepping/">the CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. resigned</a>. </p>
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<p>That year, a student and I redid my 2007 study on home values around the BeltLine. Once again, we found that during the years we examined – this time, from 2011 to 2015 – home prices near the BeltLine <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2017.1360041">rose much faster than in areas farther from it</a>. The BeltLine was certainly not the only cause of gentrification and racial exclusion in Atlanta, but it was a key contributor. </p>
<p>Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. has increased its affordable housing activity in recent years, and in late 2020, it initiated a program to pay the increased property taxes of legacy residents. However, by this point in the BeltLine’s existence, displacement prevention efforts may be too little, too late. By May 2021, only 128 homeowners had applied for the program. <a href="https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/the-atlanta-beltline-wants-to-prevent-displacement-of-longtime-residents">Just 21 had received assistance</a>.</p>
<h2>Putting affordability first</h2>
<p>What can other cities learn from Atlanta’s experience? In my view, the most important takeaway is the importance of <a href="https://shelterforce.org/2017/09/01/sustainable-large-scale-sustainable-urban-development-projects-environmental-gentrification/">front-loading affordable housing efforts</a> in connection with major redevelopment projects.</p>
<p>This means assembling and banking nearby land as early as possible to be used later for affordable housing. Cities also should limit property tax increases for low-income homeowners and for property owners who agree to keep a substantial portion of their rental units affordable. They might offer low-cost, long-term financing to existing lower-cost rental properties – again, in exchange for keeping rent affordable. </p>
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<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/09/headway/anacostia-bridge.html">Some large-scale urban redevelopment projects</a>, such as the 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, seem to be making serious efforts to <a href="https://create.umn.edu/toolkit/">anticipate and mitigate gentrification and displacement</a>. I hope that more cities will follow this lead before undertaking “transformative” projects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Immergluck does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A longtime critic of Atlanta’s BeltLine explains how the popular network of parks has increased inequality in the city and driven out lower-income residents.Dan Immergluck, Professor of Urban Studies, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1917372022-12-06T13:33:55Z2022-12-06T13:33:55ZWhat’s really driving ‘climate gentrification’ in Miami? It isn’t fear of sea-level rise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498578/original/file-20221201-16851-81jshh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C118%2C5270%2C3550&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Residents of Miami’s Little Haiti have been fighting plans for a luxury development for several years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/HousingProtestLittleHaiti/53e68bb02b8f410b89000e997d87e0cb/photo">AP Photo/Lynne Sladky</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Miami’s Little Haiti has been an immigrant community for decades. Its streets are lined with small homes and colorful shops that cater to the neighborhood, a predominantly Afro-Caribbean population with a median household income <a href="https://www.floridahealth.gov/_media/miami-dade/community-reports/miamidade-cha.pdf">well below Miami’s</a>. </p>
<p>But Little Haiti’s character may be changing.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://magiccitydistrict.com/masterplan/">$1 billion real estate development</a> called the Magic City Innovation District is planned in the neighborhood, with luxury <a href="https://magiccitydistrict.com/news/magic-city-innovation-district-gets-utilities-will-include-2598-apartments/">high-rise apartments</a>, high-end shops and glass office towers.</p>
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<img alt="Two women walk past Cafe Creole, with vibrant paintings on the side, including one wall reading 'Stand up lil Haiti' with a raised fist." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498577/original/file-20221201-20-fidq7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Little Haiti’s streets have been lined with murals and mom-and-pop shops for generations, but that’s changing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/women-walk-past-a-mural-in-the-little-haiti-neighborhood-on-news-photo/684275454">Joe Raedle/Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The developers <a href="https://magiccitydistrict.com/press/magic-city-innovation-district-little-haiti-creates-leasing-ethos-committing-to-sustainability-and-social-responsibility/">emphasize their commitment to sustainability</a>. But high-end real estate investments like this raise property values, pushing up property taxes and the cost of living for surrounding neighborhoods. </p>
<p>The potential effect on shops and homeowners and on the culture of the community has <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/561dcdc6e4b039470e9afc00/t/5d02759f1e38b30001a4c9d4/1560442275234/CJP-LittleHaiti_FactSheet_0619-2.pdf">stoked controversy</a> and protests. Nearby <a href="https://therealdeal.com/miami/2022/07/29/crunch-fitness-founder-beefs-up-retail-portfolio-with-18m-purchase-in-little-haiti/">strip malls</a> have been bought up for new development, leaving long-time businesses with fewer affordable options. <a href="https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/little-haiti-hemmed-in-by-big-development-projects-15509997">Other big developments</a> are now being planned. </p>
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<p>Some <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/11/us/miami-little-haiti-climate-gentrification-weir-wxc/index.html">media</a> and urban scholars have labeled what’s happening here “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabb32">climate gentrification</a>.”</p>
<p>It’s the idea that investors and homebuyers are changing their behavior and moving from coastal areas into poorer, higher-elevation neighborhoods like Little Haiti, which sits on a ridge less than a mile from the bay, in anticipation of worsening climate change risks, such as sea-level rise. Miami is often held up as an example.</p>
<p>But are Miami’s investors and homebuyers really motivated by climate change?</p>
<h2>A different kind of gentrification</h2>
<p>The story goes that Miami homebuyers are abandoning the coasts – where high tides can already bring street flooding in some areas – and are looking for higher-elevation areas because they want to escape climate change.</p>
<p>That isn’t what we’re finding, though.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us/">Yale’s Climate Opinion Survey</a> of Miami-Dade County in 2021, only half of Miami residents said they believe global warming will harm them personally – far lower than the 70% who said that in Delaware and the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2728">90% in Canada, Western Europe and Japan</a>. Another survey <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article163066413.ece/binary/Miami_Dade_Real_%20Estate_Study_2017.pdf">found 40%</a> of Miami-Dade residents weren’t concerned about the impact climate change might have on the market. </p>
<p>In a new study, our team at the University of Miami found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104025">a more nuanced picture</a> of what is actually pushing homeowners to higher ground.</p>
<p>For the most part, we found that the shift away from the coasts is fueled by costs. Flood risk plays a role through the rising cost of flood insurance, but much of the shift is plain old gentrification – developers looking for cheaper land and spinning it as a more sustainable choice to win over public officials and future residents.</p>
<p>Rather than bottom-up pressure built on residents’ alarm about sea-level rise, we found a continuation of the usual rational investment decisions.</p>
<h2>Developers are driving the process</h2>
<p>Present-day “climate gentrification” in Miami is largely determined and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104025">driven by capitalist investment opportunities</a> – relatively lower prices and greater expected returns – which are the characteristics of the traditional gentrification process.</p>
<p>We found that neither homebuyers nor real estate agents are driving this process today in Miami. Rather, developers are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104025">using the concept of climate risk to market properties</a> in more elevated areas and are working in tandem with policymakers to facilitate urban redevelopment.</p>
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<p>Miami is very different from other global cities, in that its wealthy homebuyers and second-home buyers exhibit fewer concerns about rising sea levels and climate change. A large percentage of Miami homebuyers – <a href="https://www.miamirealtors.com/2021/11/02/88230/">about 13% in 2021</a> – don’t live in the U.S. and <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520297111/the-global-edge">may evaluate risk differently</a>, seeing Miami properties as safer investments than they have at home or as future second homes. </p>
<p>Miami’s gentrification also isn’t limited to higher-elevation neighborhoods. In coastal areas such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification_of_Miami">Miami Beach</a>, taxes and housing and rental prices are rising, and poorer people are being pushed out of neighborhoods. Miami’s average rent is now <a href="https://business.fau.edu/executive-education/overvalued-rental-markets/">over $2,800 a month</a>, up 16% from October 2021 to October 2022. That’s about $800 higher than the U.S. average, and it rose at nearly twice the national rate over the past year.</p>
<h2>Coastal homebuyers should be more concerned</h2>
<p>Climate change is without question a risk for Miami. The insurance industry <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/will-mortgages-and-markets-stay-afloat-in-florida">warns that sea-level rise</a> and moderate flooding of up to 1 foot will affect 48% of total properties in oceanfront Miami-Dade County by 2050. </p>
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<p>Homebuyers should be more concerned than they are.</p>
<p>We believe “climate gentrification” is a meaningful concept for exploring how the impacts and costs of climate change will shift housing and urban inequalities in the future. But so far, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104025">the idea that gentrification is fueled by climate change in Miami</a> doesn’t match reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Miami is often held up as an example of ‘climate gentrification.’ But a closer look finds a bigger driver of flashy new developments in low-income neighborhoods.Richard Grant, Professor of Geography and Urban Studies, University of MiamiHan Li, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of MiamiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1927872022-10-20T10:27:15Z2022-10-20T10:27:15ZWhen digital nomads come to town: governments want their cash but locals are being left behind
– podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490407/original/file-20221018-8364-zq6cfj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C70%2C5217%2C3347&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Digital nomads: ditch the office chair for a backpack. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jose Luis Carrascosa via Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Digital nomads who work as they travel are often attracted by a life of freedom far removed from the daily office grind. Many head to cities that have become known hotspots for remote workers. In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a>, we find out what impact digital nomads have on these cities and the people who live there, and how governments are responding to the phenomenon. </p>
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<p>The La Roma and La Condesa districts of Mexico City have become some of the Mexican capital’s favourite destinations for visitors in recent years. There are long boulevards and the streets are lined with leafy trees and dotted with picturesque parks and fountains. Wander into the right coffee shops and here you’ll find some of the city’s digital nomads, logging on to remote jobs elsewhere.</p>
<p>Speaking to The Conversation Weekly, Erica from Finland tells us she was already working remotely before the pandemic. “Mexico is cheaper, it’s great weather,” she says. “So I figured I might as well move here.”</p>
<p>“The pandemic and the normalisation of remote work has certainly given the digital nomad lifestyle some legitimacy,” says Dave Cook, an anthropologist at University College London in the UK. He’s been <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-nomads-have-rejected-the-office-and-now-want-to-replace-the-nation-state-but-there-is-a-darker-side-to-this-quest-for-global-freedom-189835">chronicling digital nomads and their motivations</a> for the past seven years, interviewing people about their motivations. </p>
<p>The pandemic also made governments take notice of digital nomads as an economic benefit to cash-strapped economies, says Fabiola Mancinelli, an anthropologist at the University of Barcelona in Spain who also studies digital nomads. “That’s why many countries started to create special visa programmes to attract this niche of travellers,” she explains. Countries don’t expect digital nomads to participate in local life, says Mancinelli, but rather to consume locally using the higher purchasing power they get from earning in stronger currencies. </p>
<p>In Mexico City, however, the arrival of digital nomads is <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/07/28/mexico-city-residents-angered-by-influx-of-americans-speaking-english-gentrifying-area-report/">angering some local residents</a> who are worried about changes to their neighbourhoods and rising rents. Adrián Hernández Cordero, a sociologist at Metropolitan Autonomous University who studies gentrification, distinguishes between tourists and digital nomads. “They seem to me to be in an intermediate position because they don’t come just for a week – they stay for a few months,” he says.</p>
<p>In Mexico City, Cordero says digital nomads are drawn to areas such as La Roma and La Condesa where it’s easy to get around on foot or by public transport, and where there is a proliferation of restaurants and bars. He says that while these areas were already fairly well-off, the middle classes who live there are witnessing a form of “super-gentrification”. </p>
<p>Listen to the full episode to find out more about the different strategies countries are using to attract digital nomads, and what this means for local residents. </p>
<p>This episode was produced by Mend Mariwany, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Voiceover by Alberto Rodríguez Alvarado. The executive producer was Gemma Ware. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2473/The_Conversation_Weekly_Transcript_When_digital_nomads_come_to_town.docx.pdf?1670603037">Read a transcript of this episode</a>. </p>
<p>You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free daily email here</a>.
Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a>, or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</p>
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<p><em>Adrián Hernández Cordero is part of the National System of Researchers of the National Council for Science and Technology of the Government of Mexico. Dave Cook and Fabiola Mancinelli do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192787/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
How governments around the world are trying to woo digital nomads. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.Gemma Ware, Head of AudioMend Mariwany, Producer, The Conversation Weekly PodcastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1905482022-09-14T13:07:08Z2022-09-14T13:07:08ZQueen Elizabeth, colonialism and land: ghosts of the past still haunt Cape Town today<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484557/original/file-20220914-1856-xs9ugw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chief Aùtshumao! Francisco MacKenzie (front) protests the Amazon headquarters development in Cape Town. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>British monarch Queen Elizabeth II’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61585886">passing</a> has elicited many <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/10/queen-death-colonies-atrocities-british-empire">polarised</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/08/queen-elizabeth-death-americans-new-york">responses</a>, in the process allowing the ghosts of the past to resurface. </p>
<p>A Nigeria-born US professor, Uju Anya, <a href="https://thenationonlineng.net/five-things-to-know-about-nigerian-born-professor-uju-anya/">tweeted</a> a scathing <a href="https://twitter.com/UjuAnya/status/1567933661114429441">criticism</a> of the British monarchy, recalling her family’s traumatic experience of colonialism in Nigeria. US billionaire businessman <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jeff-Bezos">Jeff Bezos</a> wasted no time in joining others on Twitter <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/09/09/jeff-bezos-defends-queen-elizabeth-amid-uju-anya-criticism/">to pour scorn</a> upon Anya.</p>
<p>Many <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/09/12/thousands-defend-professor-who-wished-queen-an-excruciating-death/">defended Anya</a>, but soon her university <a href="https://dailypost.ng/2022/09/09/queen-elizabeth-us-varsity-distances-self-from-uju-anyas-tweet-says-its-offensive/">distanced itself</a> from her remarks, demonstrating the influence that the founder of the digital retail company Amazon has.</p>
<p>There are a few layers to unpack here here. Amazon finds itself in the middle of <a href="https://www.groundup.org.za/article/court-stops-r45-billion-river-club-development-including-new-amazon-offices/">controversy</a> in Cape Town, South Africa. The company’s South African headquarters is being constructed on the Liesbeek River, a site of historical and <a href="https://www.pregsgovender.com/post/amazon-s-liesbeek-development-preserving-the-place-of-the-stars-from-corporate-plunder">sacred significance</a> to indigenous people of southern Africa. Here precolonial hunter-gatherers were subsisting off the environmental commons, likely making <a href="https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/15987">little negative impact</a> on the natural environment. The Liesbeek River is also a <a href="https://obs.org.za/the-two-rivers-urban-park-is-of-national-heritage-significance/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-two-rivers-urban-park-is-of-national-heritage-significance">site of resistance</a> against colonial dispossession. </p>
<p>From a heritage perspective, much is at stake here for marginalised people. The case – by a local civic organisation along with various indigenous <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/khoisan">Khoi</a> leaders opposing Amazon’s development – remains tied up in court. Construction is reportedly continuing at the site despite them winning a court <a href="https://www.groundup.org.za/article/river-club-construction-continues-amidst-court-delays/">interdict</a> against it.</p>
<p>For a scholar like me who has written about copyright, piracy and the ownership of ideas, it is interesting that one of the blueprints for what we now know as colonisation was <a href="https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/stealing-empire">commons enclosure</a>. In essence, commons enclosure is one of the first steps towards what we now call the privatisation of public resources. </p>
<p>This was the policy the British empire, along with other Western colonisers, brought to Africa, where common land and resources – like the Liesbeek River site today – were enclosed and claimed to serve elite interests. A history of commons enclosure shows how this happened and why the passing of Elizabeth II evokes such painful histories in Africa.</p>
<h2>The first enclosure movement</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/lcp/vol66/iss1/2/">enclosure of common fields</a> in England between the 1500s and 1700s pushed commoners who lived off the commons – communal land or commonly shared natural resources for purposes like subsistence farming – into a wage labour system by cutting off one of their means of subsistence. </p>
<p>Scottish legal scholar James Boyle <a href="https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1273&context=lcp">talks</a> about this as the first enclosure movement. People were pushed off the commons in order to benefit the elites, the landed gentry. As the country shifted from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/feudalism">feudalism</a> to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/capitalism">capitalism</a>, commons enclosure helped create a large working class. </p>
<p>The first enclosure movement became a blueprint for what we now know as colonialism, which generated vast amounts of wealth for the likes of the British royals. Africans were characterised as uneducated, unsophisticated children. <a href="https://library.harvard.edu/confronting-anti-black-racism/scientific-racism">Scientific racism</a> was used to argue that Africans were not fully evolved, allowing colonisers to justify dispossessing Africans of their commons. </p>
<p>Africa, seen collectively as a commons, came to be enclosed by colonisers who imposed an individualist <a href="https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/media-and-citizenship">model of ownership</a> and wealth accumulation at the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/40603?login=false">expense</a> of indigenous people who were living off the environmental commons – like the Liesbeek River.</p>
<p>In this way the west denied black people of their rights. Contract law, property law and intellectual property law were certainly not designed for enslaved and dispossessed Africans.</p>
<p>Commons enclosure also kickstarted the shift to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/industrialization">industrialisation</a> – a move from farming to manufacturing that some scholars call <a href="https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/neva-again">colonial modernity</a>. Industrialisation produced numerous social ills that have led to the environmental crisis that the planet now faces. Commons enclosure not only continues to dispossess indigenous people, but it has set off a climate catastrophe.</p>
<h2>The environmental commons</h2>
<p>In the late 1960s an article by conservative US ecologist <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/garrett-hardin">Garrett Hardin</a>, <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/TragedyoftheCommons.html">Tragedy of the Commons</a>, was used to justify commons enclosure. Hardin implied that commoners were not educated enough to be trusted with managing the environmental commons responsibly. </p>
<p>The only solution would be to abandon “the nightmare of the commons”, which he equated with a system of management devoid of clear rules or sensitivity towards finite <a href="https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/stealing-empire">natural resources</a>. The stakeholders entrusted with managing the commons were effectively elites, the landed gentry. </p>
<p>This helped to justify the annexation of large tracts of land and resources for big commercial projects. The commons came to be gentrified. <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-gentrification-how-works">Gentrification</a> happens when wealthier newcomers take over a working-class area, displacing those who once lived there. This often takes the form of “revitalising” neighbourhoods, effectively pushing up property values and municipal rates and taxes. Working class owners and tenants are driven out of these neighbourhoods.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1567949652875681792"}"></div></p>
<p>It is ironic that Amazon takes its name from the South American rainforest that plays a crucial role in replenishing Earth’s oxygen supply. For many generations, indigenous people in the Amazon lived off the environmental commons in relative harmony within and off an ecosystem that sustains the entire planet. Today the Amazon rainforests are at the mercy of environmental degradation due to industrialisation.</p>
<h2>The second enclosure movement is digital</h2>
<p>Commons enclosure continues in new ways today. Boyle <a href="https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/lcp/vol66/iss1/2/">described</a> the first enclosure movement in order to compare it to what he called the second enclosure movement. This is the enclosure of the digital commons. </p>
<p>The earlier versions of what eventually became the internet were actually produced by the logic of the commons, by gift culture. A broad pool of hackers contributed to its development and many of the protocols upon which the world wide web was built were actually <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/openbook/opensources/book/perens.html">open</a>, and not necessarily proprietary. But the digital commons has become enclosed by proprietary software development at the hands of global media and technology monopolies. There are red flags about these monopolies’ accountability for violating <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8436400">user data privacy</a>.</p>
<p>Amazon is one of the monopolies that drives the digital enclosure movement. There are also lingering questions about the company’s <a href="https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2021/07/09/the-prime-effect-amazons-environmental-impact">impact on the environment</a> and its approach to employees who attempt to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/how-chris-smalls-formed-amazons-first-us-union-and-whats-next.html">unionise</a>.</p>
<p>History clearly comes into play with a site like the Liesbeek River in Cape Town where Amazon is trying to build its headquarters. The site is a key part of the story of the first enclosure movement. Since the fall of legislated apartheid, it is suburbs near the river like Observatory, Salt River, Woodstock, District Six and BoKaap that have became gentrified.</p>
<p>For many people who subsist in South Africa’s informal economy, homelessness, “sleeping rough” and informal settlements are the only options. Both national and provincial governments’ economic policies enable ongoing racialised class inequality. If the colonial occupation of Cape Town and the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a> state’s <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/group-areas-act-1950">Group Areas Act</a> did not succeed in pushing black working-class people out of the city, then gentrification surely will succeed. If it goes ahead, the Amazon development is assisting in this regard.</p>
<p>Bezos’s response to Anya’s critique of the British monarchy reminds us how the intersections of power allow the logic of the first and second enclosure movements to reinforce each other.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190548/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Haupt receives funding from the NRF and UCT's URC. </span></em></p>The British empire brought the practice of commons enclosure to Africa to claim land. Its effects continue today at sites like the Liesbeek River in Cape Town.Adam Haupt, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1892832022-09-02T12:18:04Z2022-09-02T12:18:04ZAs countries ranging from Indonesia to Mexico aim to attract digital nomads, locals say ‘not so fast’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481872/original/file-20220830-31761-o93l5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=327%2C86%2C5423%2C3742&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A tourist has makeup done ahead of Day of the Dead on Oct. 30, 2021, in Mexico City.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tourist-is-having-makeup-done-as-a-skull-in-a-costume-news-photo/1350360186?adppopup=true">Alfredo Martinez/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Should your community welcome <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/digital%20nomad">digital nomads</a> – individuals who work remotely, allowing them freedom to bounce from country to country?</p>
<p><a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/digital-nomads-9780190931780?cc=us&lang=en&">Our research</a> has found that workers are eager to embrace the flexibility of not being tied to an office. And after experiencing economic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cities and countries are concocting ways to entice visitors.</p>
<p>One idea involves stretching the meaning of tourism to include remote workers.</p>
<p>Today, a growing number of countries offer so-called “<a href="https://nomadgirl.co/countries-with-digital-nomad-visas/">digital nomad visas</a>.” These visas allow longer stays for remote workers and provide clarity about allowable work activities. For example, officials in Bali, Indonesia, are looking to formalize a process for remote workers to procure visas – “<a href="https://coconuts.co/bali/features/the-faster-the-better-bali-tourism-agency-head-tjokorda-bagus-pemayun-talks-digital-nomad-visa-plans-and-what-it-means-for-the-island/">the faster, the better</a>,” as the head of the island’s tourism agency put it.</p>
<p>Yet pushback from locals in cities ranging <a href="https://time.com/6072062/barcelona-tourism-residents-covid/">from Barcelona</a> to <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/07/28/mexico-city-residents-angered-by-influx-of-americans-speaking-english-gentrifying-area-report/">Mexico City</a> has made it clear that there are costs and benefits to an influx of remote workers. </p>
<p>As we explain in our new book, “Digital Nomads: In Search of Freedom, Community, and Meaningful Work in the New Economy,” the trend of “work tourism” <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/digital-nomads-9780190931780?cc=us&lang=en&">comes with a host of drawbacks</a>.</p>
<h2>Wearing out their welcome</h2>
<p>For as long as there’s been tourism, locals have griped about the outsiders who come and go. These travelers are usually a welcome boost to the economy – <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/overtourism">up to a point</a>. They can also wear out their welcome. </p>
<p>Perhaps the classic example is <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-25/venice-reinventing-itself-as-sustainable-tourism-capital">Venice</a>, where high numbers of tourists stress the canal-filled city’s fragile infrastructure.</p>
<p>In the U.S., New Jersey shore residents have long used the term “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoobie">shoobies</a>” to denigrate the annual throng of short-term summer tourists. In our research on digital nomads in Bali, locals referred to digital nomads and other tourists as “bules” – a word that roughly translates as “foreigners.”</p>
<p>Generally the terms are used to express minor annoyance over crowds and increased traffic. But conventional tourists come and go – their stays usually range from a couple of nights to a couple of weeks. Remote workers stay anywhere from weeks to months – or longer. They spend more time using places and resources traditionally dedicated to the local residents. This raises the chances that outsiders become a grating presence. </p>
<p>Excessive numbers of visitors can also raise sustainability concerns, as waves of tourists tax the environment and infrastructure of many destinations. Many of Bali’s beautiful rice fields and surrounding lush forests, for example, are being converted into hotels and villas to serve tourism.</p>
<h2>Digital nomads look to stretch their dollars</h2>
<p>Whether they’re lazing around or plugging away on their laptops, privileged tourists ultimately change the economics and demographics of an area. </p>
<p>Their buying power increases costs and displaces residents, while traditional businesses make way for ones that cater to their tastes. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-food-became-the-perfect-beachhead-for-gentrification-167761">Where once there was a neighborhood food stand</a>, now there’s an upscale cafe. </p>
<p>This dynamic is only exacerbated by long-term tourists. Services like VRBO and Airbnb make it easy for digital nomads to rent apartments for weeks or months at a time, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45083954">people around the world are increasingly alarmed</a> at how quickly such rentals can change the affordability and character of a place.</p>
<p>Living a vacation lifestyle on a long-term basis implies a need to choose lower-cost destinations. This means that remote workers may particularly contribute to gentrification as they seek out places where their dollars go furthest.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://travelnoire.com/digital-nomads-see-why-mexicans-are-fed-up-with-them">Mexico City</a>, residents fear displacement by remote workers able to pay higher rents. In response to calls to choose Mexico City as a remote working destination, one local succinctly expressed opposition: “<a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22999722/mexico-city-pandemic-remote-work-gentrification">Please don’t</a>.”</p>
<p>And in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/13/new-orleans-airbnb-treme-short-term-rentals">New Orleans</a>, almost half of all properties in the historic <a href="https://nola.curbed.com/2018/5/16/17356630/treme-new-orleans-neighborhood-history-pictures">Tremé district</a> – one of the oldest Black neighborhoods in the U.S. – have been converted to short-term rentals, displacing longtime residents. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Locals wearing purple march through the streets playing instruments." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481877/original/file-20220830-35381-cosh9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481877/original/file-20220830-35381-cosh9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481877/original/file-20220830-35381-cosh9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481877/original/file-20220830-35381-cosh9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481877/original/file-20220830-35381-cosh9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481877/original/file-20220830-35381-cosh9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481877/original/file-20220830-35381-cosh9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Tremé, New Orleans, nearly half of all dwellings have become short-term rental properties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/crowd-estimated-at-between-1500-and-2000-people-celebrates-news-photo/525178984?adppopup=true">Leon Morris/Redferns via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Culture becomes commodified</h2>
<p><a href="https://suitcasemag.com/articles/neocolonial-tourism">Neocolonialism</a> in tourism refers to the way processes such as overtourism and gentrification create a power imbalance that favors newcomers and erodes local ways of life. </p>
<p>“There’s a distinction between people who want to learn about the place they are in and those who just like it because it’s cheap,” one digital nomad living in Mexico City <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-07-27/americans-are-flooding-mexico-city-some-mexicans-want-them-to-go-home">recently told the Los Angeles Times</a>. “I’ve met a number of people who don’t really care that they’re in Mexico, they just care that it’s cheap.”</p>
<p>Bali, where <a href="https://www.aseantoday.com/2020/10/balis-economy-struggles-to-survive-without-tourists/">as much as 80%</a> of the island’s economy is estimated to be affected by tourism, offers a stark example. </p>
<p>People come to Bali to be immersed in the culture’s spiritual rituals, art, nature and dance. But there’s also resentment over yoga lovers, resortgoers and digital nomads “taking over” the island. And some locals come to see the tourism in and around temples and rituals as the transformation of something cherished – the nuanced and spiritual aspects of their culture – into experiences to be bought and sold. </p>
<p>For instance, Balinese dance performances are huge tourist draws and are even featured in global promotions for tourism on the island. Yet these performances also have cultural and spiritual meaning, and the impact of tourism on these aspects of dance is <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/37628994_Authenticity_and_commodification_of_Balinese_dance_performances">debated even among performers</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People take photographs of people marching in a parade." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481874/original/file-20220830-22-4l4ult.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481874/original/file-20220830-22-4l4ult.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481874/original/file-20220830-22-4l4ult.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481874/original/file-20220830-22-4l4ult.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481874/original/file-20220830-22-4l4ult.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481874/original/file-20220830-22-4l4ult.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481874/original/file-20220830-22-4l4ult.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tourists take pictures of Balinese artists during a parade celebrating the 77th anniversary of Indonesia Independence Day in Bali in August 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/foreign-tourists-take-pictures-of-balinese-artists-during-news-photo/1242552941?adppopup=true">Johannes P. Christo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So there is inevitably friction, which can be seen in the high levels of <a href="https://coconuts.co/bali/features/living-in-a-petty-crimes-paradise-balis-unreported-thefts-and-muggings/">petty crime</a> against foreigners. Neocolonialism can also pit people from the same country or culture against one another. For example, <a href="https://www.travelmole.com/news/bali-taxi-wars-flare-again/">conflicts arise</a> between local Balinese taxi cooperatives and taxi services that employ drivers from other parts of Indonesia. </p>
<p>Although remote employees still make up a small portion of the overall tourist population, their work-related needs and longer stays mean they’re more likely to use services and places frequented by locals.</p>
<p>Whether this leads digital nomads to be welcomed or scorned likely depends on both government policies and tourists’ behavior. </p>
<p>Will governments take measures such as protecting locals from mass evictions, or will landlords’ desire for higher rents prevail? Will guests live lightly and blend in, trying to learn the local language and culture? Or will they simply focus on working hard and playing harder? </p>
<p>As remote work reaches an unprecedented scale, the answers to such questions may determine whether “<a href="https://coconuts.co/bali/features/the-faster-the-better-bali-tourism-agency-head-tjokorda-bagus-pemayun-talks-digital-nomad-visa-plans-and-what-it-means-for-the-island/">the faster, the better</a>” attitude toward digital nomad visas and other incentives continues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189283/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Locals usually see tourists as a way to boost the economy. But at a certain point, resentment starts to build.Rachael A. Woldoff, Professor of Sociology, West Virginia UniversityRobert Litchfield, Associate Professor of Business, Washington & Jefferson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881692022-08-09T17:17:22Z2022-08-09T17:17:22ZCastlefield Viaduct: Manchester’s new park in the sky could transform the city – but who will benefit?<p>In July 2022, Manchester welcomed the newest addition to its roster of urban parks. Owned by the National Trust, the <a href="https://confidentials.com/manchester/castlefield-viaduct-to-become-mini-high-line">Castlefield Viaduct</a> is a Grade II-listed, 19th-century railway bridge that has been redevelopped into a new <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/gallery/manchesters-new-park-skies-top-24630409">330m-long sky park</a>.</p>
<p>The project is part of a wider repurposing of brownfield and former industrial space in Manchester with <a href="https://mayfieldmanchester.co.uk/">several</a> other <a href="https://www.urbansplash.co.uk/regeneration/projects/new-islington">projects</a> promoting the city as a go-to place for innovative urban development in housing and <a href="https://theconversation.com/green-space-access-is-not-equal-in-the-uk-and-the-government-isnt-doing-enough-to-change-that-177598">green and open space</a>. Under construction, in particular, is <a href="https://victorianorth.co.uk/">Victoria North</a>, a new neighbourhood of 15,000 new homes across a 155-hectare site in the north of the city. This includes City River Park, a huge new <a href="https://themanc.com/news/theres-a-huge-new-113-acre-city-river-park-coming-to-north-manchester/">“recreational corridor”</a>, according to the proposals, along the River Irk. </p>
<p>For now, the National Trust is operating Castlefield Viaduct as a 12-month trial. Entry is free but ticketed and limited to 100 visitors per day on allocated one-hour slots each afternoon. Due to the extensive publicity campaign, high demand has led to the National Trust website crashing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Colourful plants in a plant bed along a walkway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477495/original/file-20220803-20-i3l558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477495/original/file-20220803-20-i3l558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477495/original/file-20220803-20-i3l558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477495/original/file-20220803-20-i3l558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477495/original/file-20220803-20-i3l558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477495/original/file-20220803-20-i3l558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477495/original/file-20220803-20-i3l558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3,000 plant species greet visitors on the new walkway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Mell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The idea behind the trail is to generate political and financial support to create a longer park extending westwards (the current layout only covers a proportion of the total viaduct area) and make it permanent. </p>
<p><a href="https://manchestermill.co.uk/p/will-this-be-the-site-of-greater">Initial reactions</a> to the Castlefield Viaduct have been positive. Local charity Castlefield Forum, which is set to have its <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/podcast-dubbed-a-real-love-24639695">own community plot</a> on the bridge, has <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-spirit-of-castlefield/id1637262135">launched a podcast</a> to tell the area’s stories. </p>
<p>Access to green and open space is urgently needed in central Manchester. However, as my <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2022.731975/full">research</a> on <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1527">access to nature</a> and regeneration shows, there is no guarantee that simply having green space makes people use it. Location, access routes and amenities all influence usage. Exactly who stands to benefit from a project like Castlefield Viaduct becoming a permanent feature of the city skyline is a crucial question. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Steel beams cross over a planted walkway on a bridge platform." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477485/original/file-20220803-9305-e9bmxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477485/original/file-20220803-9305-e9bmxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477485/original/file-20220803-9305-e9bmxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477485/original/file-20220803-9305-e9bmxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477485/original/file-20220803-9305-e9bmxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477485/original/file-20220803-9305-e9bmxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477485/original/file-20220803-9305-e9bmxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Castlefield Viaduct brings a new, industrial aesthetic to Manchester’s green spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Mell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>A Victorian structure revisited</h2>
<p>Built in 1892, the bridge was left derelict after 1969, when Manchester Central Station, now the Manchester Central Convention Complex, was taken out of service. Repurposing an abandoned site with little access, socio-economic worth or ecological value into a public park is a sign that Manchester city council, the landowner of the viaduct, is willing to test new approaches to urban greening. </p>
<p>Initial designs for the site were <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2021/07/07/castlefield-viaduct-twelve-architects-landscape-urbanism-manchester/">drawn up</a> by London studio Twelve Architects. Founding director Matt Cartwright explained in 2021 that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s39Pz_ZeiMg">the brief</a> included creating “moments of joy”. On a recent visit, I found the site is divided into three distinct zones linking the viaduct’s past, present and future journeys. </p>
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<img alt="Seats, planted beds and a light coloured pathway on a bridge." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477492/original/file-20220803-18-3zaw0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477492/original/file-20220803-18-3zaw0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477492/original/file-20220803-18-3zaw0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477492/original/file-20220803-18-3zaw0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477492/original/file-20220803-18-3zaw0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477492/original/file-20220803-18-3zaw0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477492/original/file-20220803-18-3zaw0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Motifs of the bridge’s structure are repeated in the landscaping of the park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ian Mell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The opening section draws on the railway motifs of trellis architecture to guide people into the site. The second introduces the 3,000 planted species – from <a href="https://twitter.com/mcrconfidential/status/1537395343779848195">cotton grass and ferns</a> to <a href="https://ilovemanchester.com/plants-urban-sky-park-castlefield-viaduct">fennel, Broom and fleabane</a> – in a range of planters, highlighting the biodiversity of the local environment. </p>
<p>The third, meanwhile, which you can currently see, but not acccess, from the visitors centre, offers views on to where the site may go physically and conceptually. These various spaces blend with the sound of the passing trams. You are keenly aware of being in both a park and in a layer of the city’s history. The linear nature of the site underscores the notion of travel between the zones – as a visitor, you walk there and back again. </p>
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<h2>How Mancunians need more green</h2>
<p>Castlefield is thus doted with a unique conceptual motif and a novel industrial aesthetic, as compared to other parks in Manchester. It remains to be seen, though, whether the design and the fact that it is located in an area of largely privately rented and owned flats will attract locals or serve primarily as a tourist attraction for visitors. </p>
<p>When the <a href="https://www.the606.org/">606</a> linear park opened in Chicago in 2015, local residents <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-606-bloomingdale-trail-gentrification-met-20150605-story.html">reportedly expressed fears</a> they would be priced out of their neighbourhoods. <a href="https://www.chicagoreporter.com/green-gentrification-and-lessons-of-the-606/">Reports</a> in 2020 revealed that the park had indeed triggered luxury developments and long-term local residents being displaced. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00139157.2021.1871293">Research shows</a> how similar developments, including New York’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-australia-build-a-new-york-highline-19681">High Line</a>, can lead to what economists have dubbed <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169204619314574">eco-gentrification</a>. </p>
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<p><a href="https://www.gmpovertyaction.org/groundwork-out-of-bounds/">Research</a> has also shown how much need there is for green space in Manchester. The city centre currently has very <a href="https://www.lancswt.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-04/MBY-ActionPlan.pdf">few public green spaces</a>, and even fewer that provide play facilities or access to nature. According to <a href="https://www.lancswt.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-04/MBY-ActionPlan.pdf">Friends of the Earth</a>, over 73% people across Manchester have poor or limited access to a personal garden or a communal green space. Covid <a href="https://www.groundwork.org.uk/lockdown-and-beyond-green-spaces-are-more-important-than-ever/">lockdowns</a> highlighted how significant this lack of access to green space is, especially for those with families. </p>
<p>The redevelopment of the Castlefield Viaduct presents an interesting conundrum for Manchester and other UK cities. High-quality and potentially exclusive locations that are inaccessible can nonetheless act as a catalyst for green-space investment linked to regeneration programmes like <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283320811_Resilient_Cities_A_Grosvenor_Research_Report">Grosvenor’s Living Cities</a>. This strategy provides increased certainty for investors but primarily serves specific communities, that is, those who can afford market-rate apartments. </p>
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<p>We also need look beyond the financing of high-end projects towards a more locally attuned approach to green space provision. Urban planning expert <a href="https://extra.shu.ac.uk/ppp-online/blame-it-on-austerity-examining-the-impetus-behind-londons-changing-green-space-governance/">Meredith Whitten</a> has shown how this would focus on local provision for meeting people’s everyday needs to interact with nature, play outside and live in a biodiverse landscape. </p>
<p>This requires sufficient public funding to be allocated to local government to support <a href="https://theconversation.com/green-space-access-is-not-equal-in-the-uk-and-the-government-isnt-doing-enough-to-change-that-177598">capital and revenue spend on public parks</a> –- something not seen in the UK over the last 12 years.</p>
<p>By drawing on the industrial heritage of the city, Castlefield Viaduct makes strong links to its fabled Cottonopolis heritage. The park also sets out a bold statement of intent, that redundant spaces in Manchester can be meaningful, accessible and interactive. Of course, integrating industrial chic with urban regeneration is <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2022.731975/full">nothing new</a>. But it is new in Manchester. This could be the start of something beautiful.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188169/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Mell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Turning a disused Victorian railway bridge into an elevated walkway and garden has the potential to rejuvenate a forgotten part of the city.Ian Mell, Reader in Environmental & Landscape Planning, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1819172022-08-01T12:35:55Z2022-08-01T12:35:55ZCity residents who support neighborhood schools are often divided by race and purpose<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473644/original/file-20220712-19-iupfn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C54%2C4485%2C2949&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Local school support is fragmented by race and class.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/lonely-woman-royalty-free-image/488975197?adppopup=true">digitalskillet / Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>When community activists protest issues related to local schools, they do so through movements that are largely segregated by race and class. This is what I found through my <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/this-is-our-school-race-and-community-resistance-to-school-reform/oclc/1311404138&referer=brief_results">research on community activism and school reform in Denver</a> over a span of five years.</p>
<p>Both Black and white community activists had an interest in keeping local schools from being closed. They also wanted better quality schools and more of a voice in what happens at those schools. But they seldom joined each other in their efforts because their battles for neighborhood schools were rooted in different experiences of gentrification.</p>
<p>Gentrification is when more-affluent residents move into low-income neighborhoods, changing the character and makeup of those neighborhoods and forcing low-income residents to move elsewhere due to rising rents. Gentrification often involves <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/marketing-schools-marketing-cities-who-wins-and-who-loses-when-schools-become-urban-amenities/oclc/7391947585&referer=brief_results">turning around, reforming, closing and replacing neighborhood schools</a>.</p>
<p>Black community activists viewed gentrification as an elite-driven process of exclusion and displacement, while white community activists viewed gentrification as an inevitable and even beneficial process.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Community movements can help bring about educational reforms. These <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/986861637">reforms</a> include improvements like more college prep courses, school-based community centers and food programs.</p>
<p>These movements don’t always succeed. I found in my research that different experiences of gentrification produce segregated movements to preserve neighborhood schools. This split <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859221086508">ultimately keeps activism fragmented</a> and prevents it from turning into a stronger, larger, more unified multiracial movement.</p>
<p>Although white, middle-class activists told me they valued diversity, none of them saw gentrification as problematic. They also felt their presence was beneficial to the neighborhood. They wanted schools to which their children could walk and with which they felt connected.</p>
<p>They also felt <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916636656">entitled</a> to have more say in how neighborhood schools operate. This in turn alienated Black and Latino activists.</p>
<p>Black, low-income activists, on the other hand, saw school closures as a part of gentrification. For them, fighting against school closures was simply one piece of a larger fight against being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2016.1245069">displaced by gentrification</a>.</p>
<p>These divergent views on gentrification as beneficial or destructive ensures that white, middle-class activists and Black, low-income activists will be unable to join forces. Consequently, they are unlikely to use each other’s strengths to fight for their common cause – which, in this case, is to sustain and provide resources to local neighborhood schools instead of closing them in favor of charter schools or moving them out of the neighborhood.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>It remains to be seen how segregated school reform movements, produced through different experiences of gentrification, can work through their deep divides and unite for their shared interests. White, middle-class activists in particular would need to better recognize their own participation in gentrification and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2009.56.4.647">affirm the grievances</a> of the low-income Black and Latino activists who could be in their coalition.</p>
<p>Research suggests that money and political will are already <a href="https://theconversation.com/states-are-favoring-school-choice-at-a-steep-cost-to-public-education-95395">stacked against</a> the prospect of high-quality, public neighborhood schools in every community. If segregated school reform movements could find common ground, they might be better positioned to fight against these forces.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181917/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hava Rachel Gordon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Different views of gentrification drive divisions that keep school activists separated by race.Hava Rachel Gordon, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of DenverLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1840792022-07-05T09:04:51Z2022-07-05T09:04:51ZCities: how urban design can make people less likely to use public spaces<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471166/original/file-20220627-24-rujbd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C0%2C4618%2C3055&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We only feel free to use spaces that we can identify with. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-man-back-flip-parkour-urban-648917863">Vagengeim | Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urban beautification campaigns are usually sold to local residents as a way to improve <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43028866">their daily lives</a>. Design elements – from lighting systems to signs, benches, bollards, fountains and planters, and sometimes even surveillance equipment – are used to refurbish and embellish public spaces. </p>
<p>Designers refer to these elements as “urban furniture”. And the projects they’re used in are usually aimed at increasing social interaction, heightening safety, improving accessibility and generally making life in the city better.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.03.004">Some research argues</a>, however, that such <a href="https://pure.port.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/21226980/2019.09.09_PhD_thesis_JALH_.pdf">beautification campaigns can result</a> in public urban spaces becoming <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330910459_Temporary_Appropriation_of_Public_Space_As_an_Emergence_Assemblage_for_the_Future_Urban_Landscape_The_Case_of_Mexico_City">more exclusive</a>. Despite the promises with which they are marketed, if these projects <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/temporary-appropriation-of-cities-human-spatialisation-in-public-">disregard what local people need</a>, they can feel less able, or willing, to make use of these spaces.</p>
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<img alt="An urban canal pathway seen at sunset." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471146/original/file-20220627-23-615e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471146/original/file-20220627-23-615e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471146/original/file-20220627-23-615e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471146/original/file-20220627-23-615e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471146/original/file-20220627-23-615e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471146/original/file-20220627-23-615e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471146/original/file-20220627-23-615e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Cheonggyecheon canal, in Seoul, South Korea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/oct-27-2013-seoul-south-korea-1151130620">PixHound | Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Cities aren’t only identified by their monuments or signature buildings. You can tell New York City and Palermo apart just by looking at what people are doing in public. A New York scene is more likely to feature someone on a skateboard eating a burrito, while a Palermo image might include a group of men in a street watching a football match on television through a shop window. </p>
<p>Urban space is where city children learn and play, students read and people work, walk and relax. It is through these different activities that any single city’s urban culture is created. </p>
<p>Quite what city spaces <a href="https://theconversation.com/sunshine-coast-shows-the-way-to-create-good-design-loved-by-communities-and-put-an-end-to-eyesores-140348">look like</a> is down to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334374615_Urban_Design_and_Urbanism">urban design</a>, a powerful tool. </p>
<p>Architects, infrastructural and spatial designers carefully configure the built environment – the constructed fabric of our cities – and this has a lasting <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/83937579.pdf">effect</a> on how we use or inhabit them.</p>
<p>In cities around the globe – from Algiers, Auckland and Chicago to Hanoi, <a href="http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S0188-25032015000100001&script=sci_abstract">Mexico City</a> and Seoul – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.03.004">research shows</a> that transforming public spaces <a href="https://pure.port.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/21226980/2019.09.09_PhD_thesis_JALH_.pdf">markedly affects</a> the diversity of what people do in them, and whether they use them. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.journalpublicspace.org/index.php/jps/article/view/1254/767">In Algiers</a>, the Algerian capital, neighbourhoods were formally designed in the 1970s in a rigid modernist style. Design elements including shady trees, benches and lights at night made people feel comfortable carrying out activities such as playing cards or gathering to chat, but huge buildings, wide streets and large spaces also caused people to feel insecure and <a href="https://www.journalpublicspace.org/index.php/jps/article/view/1254">lost</a>.
Further, the land was landscaped in the kind of homogenous way characteristic of other big cities including Los Angeles, Auckland and Sydney. These <a href="https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/place-and-placelessness/book249276">large-scale and non-contextual</a> designs have also been linked to antisocial behaviour.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330910459_Temporary_Appropriation_of_Public_Space_As_an_Emergence_Assemblage_for_the_Future_Urban_Landscape_The_Case_of_Mexico_City">Research</a> conducted in the historic <a href="http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0188-70172013000200003">Alameda Central Park</a> neighbourhood of <a href="http://www.ub.edu/geocrit/coloquio2014/Victor%20Delgadillo.pdf">Mexico City</a> highlight similar patterns of <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-planning-as-a-tool-of-white-supremacy-the-other-lesson-from-minneapolis-142249">exclusion</a> caused by how a neighbourhood was redesigned. </p>
<p>After the area was transformed in 2013, there was a notable decline in the diversity of the activities people undertook there (family and religious gatherings; street art; music; informal vendors). Instead, the law now prioritises touristic activity over local people’s everyday needs and allows the authorities to operate a zero-tolerance approach towards anything deemed disruptive. Vendors have become nomadic, packing up and hiding as soon as the police are nearby. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/progressingplanning/2021/11/29/claiming-their-right-to-the-city-resisting-redevelopment-induced-gentrification-in-seoul-korea/">Cheonggyecheon-Euljiro area</a> of Seoul, South Korea, meanwhile, redevelopment led to 50-year-old workshops being torn down. This in turn has threatened the historical and cultural values of the local population and disrupted social networks.</p>
<h2>How cities are co-created</h2>
<p>In his 1968 book, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328491674_Henri_Lefebvre_and_the_Right_to_the_City">The Right to the City</a>, the French Marxist philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre described the city as a co-created space. This contrasts with the more capitalist definition in which urban space is <a href="https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/217887/1/217887.pdf">a commodity</a> to be bought and sold, Lefebvre saw it as a meeting place where citizens collectively built urban life. </p>
<p>This idea that public space is a public good that belongs to everybody has been increasingly challenged in recent years, with the rise of <a href="https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/art-architecture-design/you-cant-sit-us-rise-privately-owned-public-spaces">privately owned public space</a>. Most of the parks in London (roughly 42 kilometres squared) of green space in total) are owned by the City of London Corporation, the municipal body that governs the City of London, but increasingly squares within new developments are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jul/24/revealed-pseudo-public-space-pops-london-investigation-map">owned by corporations</a>. </p>
<p>Urban theorists have long noted the connection between how a city is designed and how life is conducted within it. The US scholar <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/11/the-prophecies-of-jane-jacobs/501104/">Jane Jacobs</a> is famous for highlighting that cities fail when they are not designed for everyone. And Danish architect <a href="https://gehlpeople.com/">Jan Gehl</a>’s output has consistently focused on what he has termed the “life between buildings”. </p>
<p>As Gehl <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL_RYm8zs28">has explained</a>, for a city to be good to its residents, those in charge of designing it have to be aware of how it is being used: what people are doing in its spaces. To be successful, urban designs have to be focused on and geared towards people’s daily lives. Gehl has explained that designing a city for pedestrians – at a walkable scale – is how you make it healthy, sustainable, lively and attractive.</p>
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<p>When we use public spaces, even if only on a short-term basis, we are effectively <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/temporaryappropriation(62a30252-cbb1-457a-b751-52b66176d8d7).html">appropriating them</a>: <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-32120-8">urban designers</a> and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429331701-19/understanding-temporary-appropriation-streetscape-design-antonio-lara-hernandez-yazid-khemri-alessandro-melis">architects</a> talk about <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-32120-8">“temporary appropriation”</a> to describe the individual or group activities with which we invest these spaces. </p>
<p>Research has also highlighted how <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.71417!/file/7woolley.pdf">democratic</a> this can be. But it is contingent on those spaces being designed in consort with residents. When a public space, by contrast, is overly designed without people’s needs being taken into account, it does not get used.</p>
<p>Since the 1970s, urban theorists <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000055743">have highlighted</a> that we only make use of those public spaces where we feel <a href="https://core.ac.uk/reader/82653560">represented</a>. For urban design to work, paying heed to <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-to-give-people-a-greater-say-in-their-cities-62672">what local people actually think</a> of their city is crucial.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184079/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cities are defined as much by their buildings as what people do in between them. Designing them comes with great responsibility.Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1767782022-03-14T12:22:36Z2022-03-14T12:22:36ZAffordable housing in the US is increasingly scarce, making renters ask: Where do we go?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451075/original/file-20220309-1737-4p8f7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Community organizers speak in a vacant house in West Oakland, Calif., that they occupied in 2019 and 2020 to bring attention to affordable housing.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/moms-4-housing-founder-dominique-walker-and-others-talk-in-the-dining-picture-id1199390012?s=2048x2048">Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United States is facing an expanding gap between how much workers earn and how much they have to pay for housing. </p>
<p>Workers have faced <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/10/why-wages-arent-growing-in-america">stagnant wages</a> for the past 40 years. Yet the cost of rent has steadily increased during that time, with <a href="https://www.redfin.com/news/redfin-rental-report-december-2021/">sharp increases of 14% to 40% </a> over the past two years. </p>
<p>Now, more than ever, workers are feeling the stress of the affordable housing crisis. </p>
<p>While I was conducting research in economically hard-hit communities from Appalachia to Oakland, California, for my recent <a href="https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=living-on-the-edge-when-hard-times-become-a-way-of-life--9781509548231">book, published in November 2021</a>, nearly every person I met was experiencing the painful reality of being caught between <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/blog/rents-have-risen-more-than-incomes-in-nearly-every-state-since-2001">virtually stagnant wages and rising housing costs</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://cmpascale.org/">As a sociologist,</a> I had expected that low-wage workers would struggle with the cost of housing. I did not expect to meet people who worked two jobs and lived with roommates and still struggled to pay their bills. </p>
<p>For perspective, a person making US$14 an hour would have to work 89 hours a week to cover the rent on a “modest” one-bedroom rental, estimated to cost $1,615 per month, according to a <a href="https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2021/Out-of-Reach_2021.pdf">2021 study by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition</a>. </p>
<p>Millions of workers earn less than $14 an hour. Among U.S. employees, the average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, were only <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/216259/monthly-real-average-hourly-earnings-for-all-employees-in-the-us/#:%7E:text=In%20January%202022%2C%20the%20average,data%20have%20been%20seasonally%20adjusted">$11.22 in 2022</a>. </p>
<p>In January 2022, median rents in the U.S. reached their highest level yet. <a href="https://www.realtor.com/research/january-2022-rent/">The average median cost</a> of one-bedroom units in the 50 largest metro areas rose from $1,386 in 2020 to $1,652 in 2022.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451084/original/file-20220309-15-8rxxu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man is shown outside of a moving truck, next to a row of new attached houses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451084/original/file-20220309-15-8rxxu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451084/original/file-20220309-15-8rxxu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451084/original/file-20220309-15-8rxxu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451084/original/file-20220309-15-8rxxu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451084/original/file-20220309-15-8rxxu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451084/original/file-20220309-15-8rxxu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451084/original/file-20220309-15-8rxxu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New affordable housing units in Irvine, Calif., are shown on Jan. 26, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/residents-start-to-move-into-sage-park-irvines-new-affordable-housing-picture-id1238006154?s=2048x2048">Mindy Schauer/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Now I’m having to scrounge’</h2>
<p>I interviewed PL (a pseudonym) for my recent book. He is <a href="https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/americas-rental-housing-2022">among the 44 million</a> people in the U.S. who rent their homes.</p>
<p>PL is a longtime Oakland, California, resident, who works full time in a professional career. Despite employment stability, his financial circumstances are worsening.</p>
<p>“Rent is raised dramatically from year to year. I work in a nonprofit organization, so I don’t get a raise every year,” PL told me during an interview in 2018. His monthly rent increased by $250 over the previous three years. Yet his salary remained static. </p>
<p>“That $250 was going toward the grocery bills, the gas bills. Now I’m having to scrounge,” PL said. </p>
<p>PL is not alone.</p>
<p>Households that spend more than 30% of their income on rent are referred to as “cost burdened,” according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2019, <a href="https://www.habitat.org/costofhome/2020-state-nations-housing-report-lack-affordable-housing">37.1 million households</a>, or 30.2% of all U.S. households, fit this category. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-in-pandemic-times-what-works-and-what-doesnt-177699">situation has worsened</a> since the pandemic.</p>
<p>The financial burden of the increasing cost of rent falls hardest on the <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2019">half of workers in the U.S. who earn less than $35,000</a> each year. After paying rent, about 80% of renter households with incomes under $30,000 have between <a href="https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/calendar/americas-rental-housing-2022">$360 and $490 left to cover all other</a> expenses, including food, health care, transportation and child care. </p>
<h2>Where can you live?</h2>
<p>Oakland has been described by gentrification experts as the new center of the nationwide <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/03/we-are-fed-up-new-surge-of-housing-activism-spurs-change-in-oakland/">affordable housing crisis</a>. </p>
<p>A growing tech industry in San Francisco, a lack of affordable housing, weak rent control laws and a predominance of low-wage service industry jobs contribute to the shortage of affordable housing in Oakland. </p>
<p>Vanessa Torres is one of the more than 15,000 people who live in a low-income neighborhood in Oakland known as “the Deep East.” When I spoke with Torres in 2020, the worry in her voice was clear.</p>
<p>“This is the ‘hood. If low-income Latinos can’t afford it anymore, well where do we go? If we can no longer afford to live in low-income communities that are considered dangerous, that are considered poor, then where do we see ourselves?” Torres said. </p>
<p>In 2019, <a href="https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/oakland-ca/downtown-oakland">the midpoint</a> for monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland was $2,300. </p>
<p>Torres would need to earn almost $50 per hour, approximately $96,000 a year, to be able to afford $2,300 a month in rent, according to the <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/expensive-san-francisco/article/San-Francisco-rent-wages-median-Oakland-Alameda-12879211.php">nonprofit California Housing Partnership Corp.</a>. Torres earns roughly $50,000 a year as an educator. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451149/original/file-20220309-15-1my4t3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man walks past a building with graffiti, in front of tents and boxes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451149/original/file-20220309-15-1my4t3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451149/original/file-20220309-15-1my4t3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451149/original/file-20220309-15-1my4t3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451149/original/file-20220309-15-1my4t3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451149/original/file-20220309-15-1my4t3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451149/original/file-20220309-15-1my4t3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451149/original/file-20220309-15-1my4t3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">California has one of the highest homeless rates in the country. Here, a man walks past tents in Los Angeles on April 26, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/man-walks-past-tents-housing-the-homeless-on-the-streets-in-the-skid-picture-id1232545986?s=2048x2048">Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Still seeking solutions</h2>
<p>Elected officials across the country have tried to address the affordable housing crisis through proposals to raise the <a href="https://edlabor.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2021-01-26%20Raise%20the%20Wage%20Act%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf">minimum wage</a> and to mandate more meaningful <a href="https://www.multihousingnews.com/a-deep-dive-into-growing-rent-control-laws-proposals/">rent control</a>. They have also proposed greater government investment in <a href="https://joebiden.com/housing/">affordable housing</a>, and pursued <a href="https://inclusionaryhousing.org/inclusionary-housing-explained/what-is-inclusionary-housing/#:%7E:text=Inclusionary%20housing%20programs%20are%20local,units%20to%20lower%2Dincome%20residents.">partnerships with developers</a>. As yet, none of these efforts has been successful to any significant extent. </p>
<p>Countries with more government control over the economy have taken a different approach to affordable housing. For example, <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a99206bee17593d9ef5cceb/t/5f609207aed573278ae41bc4/1600164570274/NBO+%E2%80%93+Housing+Nordic_Housing+models+in+the+Nordic+Region.pdf">Nordic countries</a> treat the development of low- and medium-cost housing as a public utility. This <a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.32.1.59">reduces and stabilizes</a> housing prices by removing the cost of land, construction, finance and management from the speculative market. They have succeeded in producing quality housing that is subsidized and permanently price restricted. </p>
<p>Known as <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a99206bee17593d9ef5cceb/t/5f609207aed573278ae41bc4/1600164570274/NBO+%E2%80%93+Housing+Nordic_Housing+models+in+the+Nordic+Region.pdf">social housing</a> in Denmark, this strategy has produced 20% of the total available housing there. </p>
<p>Given the affordable housing problems in the U.S., taking stock of other options could provide some inspiration.</p>
<p>For PL, the Oakland renter feeling the squeeze of rising rents, as well as for many other full-time workers, the future doesn’t look any better. PL, who is in his mid-50s, told me he doesn’t see a way to retire. He would need to leave his community in order to retire, but he can’t imagine where he would go. The East Bay is his home. </p>
<p>[<em>More than 150,000 readers get one of The Conversation’s informative newsletters.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140K">Join the list today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176778/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Celine-Marie Pascale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s getting much harder in the US to find an affordable home, even for people who work multiple jobs.Celine-Marie Pascale, Professor of Sociology, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1761182022-02-11T13:29:58Z2022-02-11T13:29:58ZPuerto Rico has a plan to recover from bankruptcy — but the deal won’t ease people’s daily struggles<p>Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy problem is complicated — but the various ways the crisis hurts most Puerto Ricans is unmistakable. </p>
<p>Since Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy in 2017, it’s become harder for people to decide where they can afford to live and where their children can enroll in school.</p>
<p>The island declared a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/business/dealbook/puerto-rico-debt.html">form of bankruptcy in 2017</a>. At the time, the island faced historic levels of debt, topping $72 billion. But Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, far worse than Detroit’s $18 billion bankruptcy claims <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/12/15/18073574/detroit-bankruptcy-pensions-municipal">in 2014</a>, has now reached a potential turning point.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain approved a large-scale debt restructuring plan on Jan. 18, 2022, that would cut <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/us/puerto-rico-bankruptcy.html">$33 billion</a> from Puerto Rico’s debt and work to pay back its creditors.</p>
<p>Because Puerto Rico has been a <a href="https://www.history.com/news/puerto-rico-statehood">territory of the United States</a> since 1898, the bankruptcy plan unfolded in a unique way that has limited residents’ say over financial cuts to public programs that directly affect them, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/07/24/puerto-rico-protests-ricardo-rossello-la-junta/">angering many Puerto Ricans</a>.</p>
<p>As a scholar of <a href="https://polisci.ufl.edu/carlos-a-suarez-carrasquillo/">Puerto Rican politics</a> and a native Puerto Rican, I believe that the island’s <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/puerto-rico-s-new-bankruptcy-plan-does-nothing-most-island-n1287883">recently announced debt agreement</a> will not make it easier for citizens to find homes, schools, and jobs. But it will fuel and test Puerto Ricans’ ability to mobilize politically.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445788/original/file-20220210-19-uv3w77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A silhouette of two adults and two children shows the outline of buildings in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445788/original/file-20220210-19-uv3w77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445788/original/file-20220210-19-uv3w77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445788/original/file-20220210-19-uv3w77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445788/original/file-20220210-19-uv3w77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445788/original/file-20220210-19-uv3w77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445788/original/file-20220210-19-uv3w77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445788/original/file-20220210-19-uv3w77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A financial institution stands behind a family sculpture in San Juan in 2017, when Puerto Rico declared a form of bankruptcy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/financial-institution-stands-behind-a-family-sculpture-on-may-15-2017-picture-id685530632?s=2048x2048">Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Puerto Rico’s controversial bankruptcy crisis</h2>
<p>Puerto Rico’s money problems, which have grown over the past <a href="http://newserver.jjay.cuny.edu/sites/default/files/contentgroups/economics/02-Ian_1.pdf">two decades</a>, are the result of many factors: Years of borrowing to cover budget deficits, poor <a href="https://cepr.net/puerto-rico-s-colonial-legacy-and-its-continuing-economic-troubles/">economic growth</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/puerto-rico-governor-others-face-formal-corruption-probe">political corruption</a> and a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-ricos-population-fell-118-33-million-census-shows-rcna767">population decline</a> all play a role.</p>
<p>Since Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, and not a state or city, it does not have the right to officially file for bankruptcy.</p>
<p>In 2016, Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, a <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2328">law known as PROMESA</a>, that created a new government agency. This agency, the <a href="https://oversightboard.pr.gov">Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico</a>, was responsible for laying out Puerto Rico’s debt repayment strategy.</p>
<p>But local people had no say in the creation or composition of this board, known simply as the Junta – meaning council in Spanish. None of its current <a href="https://oversightboard.pr.gov/about-us/">seven board members</a> are from the island. Puerto Ricans have also not been involved in the Junta’s financial decisions. </p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s debt was never publicly audited, which lent to <a href="http://www.auditoriaya.org/">public concerns</a> about lack of transparency in managing this crisis. </p>
<p>The Junta primarily made financial cuts, or austerity measures, to address the debt. They <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/will-puerto-ricos-debt-restructuring-deal-end-largest-bankruptcy-us-hi-rcna4051">achieved an agreement</a> with the Puerto Rican government to partially pay back its debt. </p>
<p>But, for everyday people, these cuts have worsened their quality of life. </p>
<p>One unpopular austerity measure the Junta took was freezing public school <a href="https://labornotes.org/blogs/2021/09/viewpoint-battle-continues-save-puerto-rican-teachers-pension">teachers’ pension plans</a>. Financial cuts also limited Puerto Rico’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/08/01/632804633/puerto-ricos-wounded-medicaid-program-faces-even-deeper-cuts">Medicaid spending</a> and have <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-governor-signs-law-debt-restructuring-bill-rcna3902">threatened funding for people’s pension</a> plans and public universities.</p>
<p>Thousands of teachers, earning a starting salary of $1,750 a month, have taken to the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-hundreds-teachers-leave-classrooms-protest-higher-wages-rcna14907">streets in protest</a>. Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi announced on Feb. 8, 2022, that teachers will receive a temporary monthly raise of <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/593393-teachers-in-puerto-rico-to-get-1k-monthly-pay-raise">$1,000 starting in July</a>.</p>
<p>The teachers’ demands echo the sentiment of many Puerto Ricans, who do not like these <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/university-puerto-rico-protests/">austerity measures</a>. </p>
<h2>Public schools take a hit</h2>
<p>Puerto Rico’s Department of Education has regularly closed public schools over the last few years because of financial cuts, at a pace that was previously unseen for <a href="https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/centrovoices/current-affairs/new-report-population-loss-and-school-closures-puerto-rico">decades</a>. </p>
<p>Since 2016, 523 schools <a href="https://www.telemundopr.com/programas/rayos-x/cierre-de-escuelas-no-reflejo-ahorros-significativos/2305001/">have closed</a> in Puerto Rico. The education department <a href="https://www.latinorebels.com/2022/01/24/prschoolclosings/">has plans</a> to close 83 schools by 2026, affecting 18,644 students. </p>
<p>Julia Keleher, the former secretary of education in Puerto Rico, <a href="https://www.wapa.tv/programas/losetodo/secretaria-de-educacion-reacciona-al-cierre-de-escuelas_20131122405968.html">is an advocate</a> of school closings.</p>
<p>Keleher was a polarizing public figure — she was also a mainland American official in Puerto Rico — a reminder of the island’s colonial history. Keleher pleaded guilty to <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/puerto-ricos-former-education-secretary-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-conspiracy/2021/06">federal fraud conspiracy charges</a> over mismanagement of public funds in June 2021. </p>
<p>Puerto Rico’s Department of Education has new leadership. But some specialized arts schools, such as the Central High School in San Juan, have continued to shut down, prompting <a href="https://www.change.org/p/departamento-de-educaci%C3%B3n-de-puerto-rico-no-al-cierre-de-la-central-high-central-de-artes-visuales">online petitions for change</a>.</p>
<p>School closings more broadly sparked significant protests in San Juan by parents, students, teachers and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ed003c843f094e56ab0229dc624ce4a8">politicians</a> over the last few years. Many working-class students needed to travel farther to reach open schools that were outside of their communities, disrupting their learning experience.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445786/original/file-20220210-47270-1ssc46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People waving Puerto Rican flags march together in front of colorful buildings in San Juan" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445786/original/file-20220210-47270-1ssc46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445786/original/file-20220210-47270-1ssc46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445786/original/file-20220210-47270-1ssc46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445786/original/file-20220210-47270-1ssc46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445786/original/file-20220210-47270-1ssc46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445786/original/file-20220210-47270-1ssc46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445786/original/file-20220210-47270-1ssc46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Puerto Rico teachers protest for a better salary on Feb. 9, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/puerto-rico-teachers-protest-for-a-better-salary-demanding-higher-picture-id1238330618?s=2048x2048">Alejandro Granadillo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Gentrification amps up in Puerto Rico</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/12/16/what-us-business-leaders-can-learn-from-puerto-ricos-booming-real-estate-market/?sh=70c645c02c5d">Rising housing costs</a> compose the latest chapter of Puerto Rico’s layered financial saga. </p>
<p>The housing problem coincides with Puerto Rico attracting foreign investors with new tax breaks. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/working-papers/tracking-neighborhood-change-in-geographies-opportunity-post-disaster">Economic development experts have argued</a> that the arrival of new investors, combined with the Puerto Rico government’s tax relief measures, create new <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/31/us/puerto-rico-gentrification.html">gentrification concerns</a> about affordable housing. This is particularly true along the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGXtWpCOiC8">coastal regions</a> — that may hurt Puerto Ricans. </p>
<p>American financier John Paulson is one example of a growing wave of outsiders who have purchased property in Puerto Rico, seeking to receive <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2016/02/12/investing/puerto-rico-john-paulson/index.html">tax breaks</a>. </p>
<p>This investment was made possible by a <a href="https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/leyesreferencia/PDF/Desarrollo%20Econ%C3%B3mico/22-2012/22-2012.pdf">new law</a>, which aims to attract wealthy foreigners to the island. It does this by providing new Puerto Rican residents with exemptions from <a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/irs-targeting-those-who-relocated-to-puerto-rico-wake-act-22">paying income tax</a> on all “passive” income, meaning money from investments, for example. </p>
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<p>The net result is significant local <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crypto-bitcoin-puerto-rico-taxes-b1995734.html">resistance</a> to foreign investors. </p>
<p>Now that a judge has approved Puerto Rico’s debt restructuring, the austerity measures cannot be changed on paper. But Puerto Rico’s public still has the chance to push back and lobby for change, as they continue to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/public-employees-puerto-rico-protest-wages-frustration-governor/story?id=82774827">do through protests</a> to advocate for their political demands.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176118/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carlos A. Suárez Carrasquillo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Puerto Rico has reached an agreement to partially settle its historic bankruptcy crisis. But public cuts to education and health care are unlikely to ease, creating ongoing challenges for Puerto RicansCarlos A. Suárez Carrasquillo, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Center for Latin American Studies, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1678172021-12-09T15:16:19Z2021-12-09T15:16:19ZThe new enclosure: how land commissions can lead the fight against urban land-grabs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433143/original/file-20211122-23-82ywzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In 2020, Liverpool became the first city in England to set up a land commission.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/liverpool-skyline-rooftop-view-buildings-england-1787259515">Songquan Deng | Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Boris Johnson sold the 35-acre <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f7b5599c-c7b0-11e2-9c52-00144feab7de">Royal Albert Docks in London</a> to Chinese buyers in 2013, it was his biggest commercial property deal as mayor of London and one of China’s largest investments in the UK. The Greater London Authority sold off further parcels of land in the area in a bid to regenerate the Royal Docks, which had fallen into disrepair with the decline of the docklands from the 1960s. </p>
<p>Over the past few decades, huge transfers of land from public to private ownership have occurred throughout Britain. Since Margaret Thatcher was elected prime minister in 1979, <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/3050-the-new-enclosure">one-tenth</a> of the entire British landmass, or about half of the land owned by all public bodies, has been privatised. This has included, for instance, dozens of <a href="https://www.forces.net/services/tri-service/more-50-bases-go-mod-estate-sell">former military bases</a> on Ministry of Defence land. </p>
<p>In our cities, one result of this land privatisation has been the long-term shift from public to private housing tenure: social rented housing <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13604813.2012.709403">declined</a> from 31% of Britain’s total housing stock in 1981 to just 18% in 2012. </p>
<p>As what was effectively our <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-commons-are-under-siege-in-the-age-of-austerity-heres-how-to-protect-them-121067">common wealth</a> is sold off, local authorities are losing the capacity to address the interconnected housing and climate change <a href="https://www.tcpa.org.uk/blog/blog-the-need-for-better-environmental-standards-in-homes-old-and-new">crises</a>. From London to Leeds, this transformation of land has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264275115300299">impeded democratic involvement</a> in urban planning. It has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13604813.2012.709403?needAccess=true">displaced</a> working-class communities. And it has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13604813.2012.754190">heightened</a> social inequalities.</p>
<p>In a bid to make Liverpool the fairest and most socially inclusive city region in the UK, the mayor, Steve Rotherham, launched England’s first land commission in September 2020. The commission’s findings chime with <a href="http://www.gmhousingaction.com/who-owns-the-city/">our research</a>. It argues for a fundamentally new understanding of what land is. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Panoramic view of London from Highgate Hampstead Park" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433148/original/file-20211122-17-1h5hnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433148/original/file-20211122-17-1h5hnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433148/original/file-20211122-17-1h5hnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433148/original/file-20211122-17-1h5hnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433148/original/file-20211122-17-1h5hnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433148/original/file-20211122-17-1h5hnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433148/original/file-20211122-17-1h5hnoj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even many of our so-called urban commons don’t belong to the people at all.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/panoramic-view-london-highgate-hampstead-park-632934269">pabmap | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is a land commission?</h2>
<p>Liverpool was the first metropolitan area in England to establish a participatory land commission. The participants were from the public, private and voluntary sectors as well as from academia. They were <a href="https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/steve-rotheram-launches-englands-first-land-commission-focused-on-community-wealth-building/">tasked</a> with a radical year-long mission: to figure out how to make the best use of publicly owned land in the city region. </p>
<p>The idea is to build what economists call <a href="https://cles.org.uk/community-wealth-building/what-is-community-wealth-building/">community wealth</a>. In response, the commission released its <a href="https://cles.org.uk/publications/our-land/">final report</a> in June 2021, in concert with the Manchester-based <a href="https://cles.org.uk/">Centre for Local Economic Strategies</a>. </p>
<p>Public authorities in recent decades have largely looked at urban land through a narrow economic growth lens. This has focused on <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/man-city-champions-league-final-20494480">attracting investment</a> at the expense of wider community needs – social housing, say, or public green space. </p>
<p>By contrast, the commission recognises that land plays an important function in <a href="https://landforthemany.uk/">addressing</a> social and environmental, as well as economic, needs. This challenges the processes of privatisation, commodification and wealth extraction that have characterised urban development since the 1980s, and which political economist Brett Christophers has described as the <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/3050-the-new-enclosure">“new enclosure”</a>. Similar processes can be seen in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X16305484">other countries</a> around the world too. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/articles/enclosure-grand-scale">Karl Marx</a> and <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-invention-of-capitalism">others</a> drew a direct connection between the <a href="https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=568">enclosure of the commons</a>, which took place during the 16th-19th century in England, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of the elite. If enclosure led to the dispossession of the rural peasantry, that storing up of wealth by the privileged few, in turn, led to the rise of capitalism in western Europe. </p>
<p>As historical <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520260009/the-magna-carta-manifesto">research</a> shows, the very notion of the commons is revolutionary. It defines land as collective wealth that belongs to everyone. This stands in stark contrast to the capitalist model of private property. </p>
<p>It is this idea that motivated the 17th-century reformer, <a href="https://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/culture/theory/item/2978-a-common-treasury-for-all-gerrard-winstanley-and-the-diggers">Gerard Winstanley</a>, along with a group of men and women who became known as the Diggers, to create a social order based on common ownership of the land. </p>
<p>This historical tradition animates the Liverpool land commission’s vision of how urban land can be managed for the benefit of the many rather than the few. The report explicitly situates the commission’s work within that long history of enclosure and resistance, quoting a <a href="http://jacklynch.net/Texts/winstanley.html">1649 pamphlet</a> from Winstanley: “The earth was not made for you, to be Lords of it, and we to be your Slaves, Servants and Beggars; but it was made to be a common Livelihood to call, without respect of persons.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Overhead view of the Three Graces and the Liverpool waterfront" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433146/original/file-20211122-25-nausrs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urban land is increasingly seen as an economic asset, at the expense of its social functions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/lrG9KIuxQzo">Phil Kiel | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Practical steps</h2>
<p>The commission’s report includes a series of practical recommendations to reclaim the social function of urban land. These include establishing a citizen-led body for governing public land. It recommends making public land available to community organisations for socially valuable projects such as cooperatives, green spaces and social enterprises. And it suggests establishing an online map of public land resources, including empty land, that is currently held by councils.</p>
<p>Further, it recommends capturing rising land values (future profits derived from the development of currently underused land) to fund reparations for Liverpool’s historic role in the transatlantic slave trade. And it suggests using public land to install the green infrastructure needed to combat climate change. </p>
<p>If adopted, these recommendations will mark a rupture from the Thatcherite approach to <a href="https://theconversation.com/ending-austerity-stop-councils-selling-off-public-assets-113858">selling off public assets</a> that has dominated since the 1980s. As such, the commission demonstrates how decisions about urban land use can be undertaken in a democratic, participatory and transparent manner. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.gmhousingaction.com/who-owns-the-city/">Our research</a> on public land privatisation in the neighbouring city of Manchester suggests that the land commission approach needs to be expanded to other UK cities. We raised a number of concerns about public land sales by Manchester City Council, including the lack of transparency around deals and the fact that large amounts of public land have been sold to private developers to build <a href="http://www.gmhousingaction.com/report_launched_on_housing_finance_gm/">city centre apartment blocks</a> that contain no social or affordable housing. </p>
<p>In response to this research, over 60 civil society organisations <a href="http://www.gmhousingaction.com/gm-land-commission-letter/">signed an open letter</a> calling for the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to stick to his <a href="https://andyformayor.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Andy-Burnham-Manisfesto-v2.1-002.pdf">manifesto</a> commitment to establish a Greater Manchester land commission. </p>
<p>The UK government’s “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/56238260">levelling-up</a>” programme has brought regional inequality and postindustrial urban decline to the fore once again. But addressing these longstanding issues will require a fundamental rethink about what land is for and the purpose it serves in today’s society. The Liverpool land commission has opened the door to the future. Which cities will follow?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Silver receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, and the European Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Gillespie receives funding from the University of Manchester and the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>Liverpool is the first city in England to investigate, via a land commission, how urban property can best serve everyone.Jonathan Silver, Senior Research Fellow, University of SheffieldTom Gillespie, Hallsworth Research Fellow, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1725752021-12-08T21:43:01Z2021-12-08T21:43:01ZParc-Extension: How immigrants are integrating into Montréal’s most multi-ethnic neighbourhood<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434555/original/file-20211129-58471-1p55mth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=39%2C0%2C4368%2C2909&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
The Parc-Extension neighbourhood has a large number of immigrants from Southeast Asia. A survey reveals that, far from what you hear in the media, they integrate very well and are enjoying their lives. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The sense of belonging that immigrants develop with their host society is not very often reflected in media coverage or speeches by public figures, which tends to focus on activism. What makes immigrants feel like they are part of their host society is, above all, <a href="https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2019/06/14/why-people-run-motivation-theory-applied-to-diverse-migration/">having their basic needs met</a>.</p>
<p>Because of the diversity in Montréal, as well as the competing influences of the French- and English-language cultures, the city is an ideal place to observe the dynamics of immigration and integration and, sometimes, the clash of values.</p>
<p>As a university researcher in applied ethics and communication, I consider it essential to understand how the values and preferences of individuals are embodied or transformed by their life experiences. An immigrant’s interactions with their host society offer a unique perspective on how individuals evolve. </p>
<h2>Parc-Extension: A transitional neighbourhood</h2>
<p>In order to better understand how migration affects the transformation of values and preferences, I decided a few years ago to focus on the particular experiences of South Asians <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/why-park-ex-a-working-class-neighbourhood-in-montreal-is-such-a-special-pla">living in the multicultural neighbourhood of Parc-Extension</a> (or Parc Ex), in Montréal.</p>
<p>This community, <a href="https://irpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/study-no52-1.pdf">whose numbers are growing</a>, remains one of the most misunderstood by Quebecers. </p>
<p>The people who immigrate to Parc Ex come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Since the 1970s, they have occupied a growing place in the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood first welcomed immigrants from Eastern Europe, Italy and Greece after the Second World War. Language differences and the fact that the socio-economic status of those living in the community is lower than the average for Montréal and Québec make it more difficult for them to gain social visibility.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.centraide-mtl.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Territorial-profiles-Montreal-Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension-2019-2020.pdf">a recent study by the United Way</a>, 69 per cent of the population of Parc-Extension has a first language other than French and English, and 10 per cent do not speak either official language. Economically, 38 per cent of residents have low incomes and 40 per cent of renting households spend more than a third of their income on rent. </p>
<p>For many South Asians, Parc-Extension remains a “transitional” neighbourhood that they live in when they arrive in the country, but leave when their social and economic status improves. This reality may change in the future, however, as the neighbourhood gentrifies, <a href="https://www.px-news.com/feature-anti-eviction-project-denounces-gentrification-of-park-extension/">much to the dismay of many community organizations</a>. This phenomenon is making it more and more complicated for many people to move to — and stay in — Parc-Extension.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man walks past a sign" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427106/original/file-20211018-13-mij616.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427106/original/file-20211018-13-mij616.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427106/original/file-20211018-13-mij616.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427106/original/file-20211018-13-mij616.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427106/original/file-20211018-13-mij616.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427106/original/file-20211018-13-mij616.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427106/original/file-20211018-13-mij616.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A man walks past a sign in Montreal’s Parc-Extension neighbourhood in August 2019, during a community event where people voiced their concerns about gentrification in the multicultural borough.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My research led me to conduct interviews with about 40 men and women from this neighbourhood. <a href="https://archipel.uqam.ca/14350/1/New%20Diversities%202021_23-01_07_Farmer.pdf">The overall results were published in 2021</a> in the journal <em>New Diversities</em>. </p>
<h2>Three characteristics that promote belonging</h2>
<p>The data collected showed that three factors are essential for residents to develop an attachment to the place where they live. The first is the <em>quality of interpersonal relationships</em>. By this we mean relationships with close friends, family, neighbours or colleagues, but also the social interactions of everyday life. In this regard, many South Asians expressed delight in the friendliness of people in their neighbourhoods, and in Québec and Canadian societies in general.</p>
<p>The second factor is the <em>feeling of safety</em>, which is linked to low crime rates and being able to move around freely. This factor was crucial for the women we interviewed, but men also attached great importance to it.</p>
<p>The third factor is the <em>quality of urban infrastructure</em>. This refers to all the facilities and equipment (roads, public transport, libraries, parks, playgrounds, etc.) that can be enjoyed by all. This factor was considered to be as important as safety.</p>
<p>Two other factors were also considered significant, but less so than the first three. These were the <em>quality of social programs</em> relating to health, education and employment, and <em>cultural similarity</em>, such as the possibility of finding certain aspects of the original culture in the host society (grocery shops, places of worship, traditional festivals, etc.).</p>
<h2>Meet concrete needs first</h2>
<p>In analyzing the data, it became apparent that the factors that reinforce a sense of belonging appear to be strongly determined by the basic psychological needs defined in <a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html">Maslow’s pyramid</a>. According to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow, security, rich interpersonal relationships and positive esteem from others are among the essential elements for a happy and meaningful life. </p>
<p>The links between the factors that promote belonging and those supporting basic psychological needs also help explain why respondents didn’t consider other factors to be important, even if they are regularly the subject of lively public debates on the issues of immigration and living together.</p>
<p>For example, although this topic was much discussed in the media at the time of the interviews, <a href="http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/L-0.3">the issue of secularism and the law banning some public sector workers from wearing religious symbols virtually flew under the radar</a> of the community. In fact, only one person (out of 40), a self-described activist, mentioned it as something that could affect their sense of belonging. </p>
<p>This apparently surprising aspect of the results is actually quite logical. A place becomes attractive, not least of all because of the concrete needs that can be met there. Theoretical debates about laws or models of immigrant integration are far removed from the basic needs of most people. These rather abstract issues are of much more interest to politicians, intellectuals or activists than they are to ordinary people.</p>
<p>When it comes to these hot issues, we unfortunately see what is sometimes a considerable gap between what the mass media or public figures portray and the reality that unfolds every day in the streets and neighbourhoods of our cities. This observation should encourage those who wish to have access to an accurate portrait of current social issues to diversify their credible sources of information in order to develop an informed citizen’s point of view.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172575/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yanick Farmer has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p>Security and high-quality interpersonal relationships are essential factors for immigrants to create a happy life.Yanick Farmer, professeur titulaire en éthique de la communication, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1677612021-10-13T12:17:25Z2021-10-13T12:17:25ZHow food became the perfect beachhead for gentrification<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425787/original/file-20211011-28-1avbhxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C15%2C4991%2C3160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When food trucks start rolling up, developers usually aren't far behind.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/general-view-of-atmosphere-at-genr-la-force-for-change-i-am-news-photo/1151048101?adppopup=true">Photo by Samantha Trauben/Getty Images for International Rescue Committee</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everybody, it seems, welcomes the arrival of new restaurants, cafés, food trucks and farmers markets. </p>
<p>What could be the downside of fresh veggies, homemade empanadas and a pop-up restaurant specializing in banh mis?</p>
<p>But when they appear in unexpected places – think inner-city areas populated by immigrants – they’re often the first salvo in a broader effort to rebrand and remake the community. As a result, these neighborhoods can quickly become unaffordable and unrecognizable to longtime residents.</p>
<h2>Stoking an appetite for gentrification</h2>
<p>I live in San Diego, where I teach courses on urban and food geographies and conduct research on <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442266513/Food-and-Place-A-Critical-Exploration">the relationship between food and ethnicity in urban contexts</a>.</p>
<p>In recent years, I started to notice a pattern playing out in the city’s low-income neighborhoods <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas/">that have traditionally lacked food options</a>. More ethnic restaurants, street vendors, community gardens and farmers markets were cropping up. These, in turn, spurred growing numbers of white, affluent and college-educated people to venture into areas they had long avoided.</p>
<p>This observation inspired me to write a book, titled “<a href="https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295749280/the-16-taco/">The $16 Taco</a>,” about how food – including what’s seen as “ethnic,” “authentic” or “alternative” – often serves as a spearhead for gentrification. </p>
<p>Take <a href="https://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/City-Heights-San-Diego-CA.html">City Heights</a>, a large multi-ethnic San Diego neighborhood where successive waves of refugees from places as far away as Vietnam and Somalia have resettled. In 2016, a dusty vacant lot on the busiest boulevard was converted into an outdoor international marketplace called <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fairat44/?hl=en">Fair@44</a>. There, food vendors gather in semi-permanent stalls to sell pupusas, <em>lechon</em> (roasted pig), single-sourced cold-brewed coffee, cupcakes and <em>tamarind raspado</em> (crushed ice) to neighborhood residents, along with tourists and visitors from other parts of the city.</p>
<p>A public-private partnership called the City Heights Community Development Corporation, together with several nonprofits, <a href="https://theboulevard.org/fair44-international-market-now-open/">launched the initiative</a> to increase “access to healthy and culturally-appropriate food” and serve as “a business incubator for local micro-entrepreneurs,” including immigrants and refugees who live in the neighborhood.</p>
<p>On paper, this all sounds great.</p>
<p>But just a few blocks outside the gates, informal street vendors – who have long sold goods such as <a href="https://sandiegofreepress.org/2013/10/an-informal-economy-with-entrepreneurs-from-across-the-globe-flourishes-in-city-heights/#.YV2-GC-cY_U">fruit, tamales and ice cream</a> to residents who can’t easily access supermarkets – now face heightened harassment. They’ve become causalities in <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2021-08-31/san-diego-crafting-second-attempt-at-street-vendor-crackdown-as-merchant-complaints-intensify">a citywide crackdown on sidewalk vending</a> spurred by complaints from business owners and residents in more affluent areas. </p>
<p>This isn’t just happening in San Diego. The same tensions have been playing out in rapidly gentrifying areas like Los Angeles’ <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/feb/22/foodie-tourism-and-protests-las-gentrification-battles-play-out-in-netflixs-gentefied">Boyle Heights neighborhood</a>, Chicago’s <a href="https://chicago.eater.com/2018/2/6/16897876/chicago-restaurants-gentrification-pilsen-logan-square">Pilsen neighborhood</a>, New York’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/jun/27/queens-new-york-food-restaurants-immigrants-foodie-tour">Queens borough</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petra-Luetke/publication/350926366_Food_Trucks_Driving_Gentrification_in_Austin_Texas/links/6098dd65458515d3150c0f39/Food-Trucks-Driving-Gentrification-in-Austin-Texas.pdf">East Austin, Texas</a>.</p>
<p>In all of these places, because “ethnic,” “authentic” and “exotic” foods are seen as cultural assets, <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-changing-urban-neighborhoods-new-food-offerings-can-set-the-table-for-gentrification-131538">they’ve become magnets for development</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman holds vegetables." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426032/original/file-20211012-23-18m0mqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426032/original/file-20211012-23-18m0mqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426032/original/file-20211012-23-18m0mqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426032/original/file-20211012-23-18m0mqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426032/original/file-20211012-23-18m0mqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426032/original/file-20211012-23-18m0mqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426032/original/file-20211012-23-18m0mqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Somali immigrant shops at a farmers market in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/shopper-from-somalia-l-peruses-vegetables-on-sale-at-the-news-photo/595283814?adppopup=true">Sandy Huffaker/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why food?</h2>
<p>Cities and neighborhoods have long sought to attract educated and affluent residents – people whom sociologist Richard Florida dubbed “<a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/richard-florida/the-rise-of-the-creative-class/9781541617742/">the creative class</a>.” The thinking goes that these newcomers will spend their dollars and presumably contribute to economic growth and job creation.</p>
<p>Food, it seems, has become the perfect lure. </p>
<p>It’s uncontroversial and has broad appeal. It taps into the American Dream and appeals to the multicultural values <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315794600">of many educated, wealthy foodies</a>. Small food businesses, with their relatively low cost of entry, have been a cornerstone of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/26549622.pdf?casa_token=Qy1Mfii1sykAAAAA:fvVuj0VuC9ICnQLW2v7iilS2ksb87ePRDYbniD_1tyflVLxSxJJAlcqf3fkayBOrFKzmzoRvmu6rvrj68KSP3Q6RU-uQJuSk33ehDVDl7UT1oVtv95M">ethnic entrepreneurship</a> in American cities. And initiatives like farmers markets and street fairs <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/metropoles/4970?gathStatIcon=true&lang=en">don’t require much in the way of public investment</a>; instead, they rely on entrepreneurs and community-based organizations to do the heavy lifting.</p>
<p>In City Heights, the Community Development Corporation hosted its first annual <a href="https://www.cityheightscdc.org/street-food-fest">City Heights Street Food Festival</a> in 2019 to “get people together around table and food stalls to celebrate another year of community building.” Other recent events have included African Restaurant Week, Dia de Los Muertos, New Year Lunar Festival, Soul Food Fest and Brazilian Carnival, all of which rely on food and drink to attract visitors and support local businesses.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, initiatives such as the New Roots Community Farm and the City Heights Farmers’ Market have been launched by nonprofits with philanthropic support in the name of “food justice,” with the goal of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/us/refugees-in-united-states-take-up-farming.html">reducing racial disparities in access to healthy food and empowering residents</a> – projects that are particularly appealing to highly educated people who value diversity and democracy.</p>
<h2>Upending an existing foodscape</h2>
<p>In media coverage of changing foodscapes in low-income neighborhoods like City Heights, you’ll rarely find any complaints. </p>
<p>San Diego Magazine’s <a href="https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood-guide-city-heights/article_f71755b8-2fa8-558a-9963-74a3c37c8333.html">neighborhood guide</a> for City Heights, for example, emphasizes its “claim to authentic international eats, along with live music venues, craft beer, coffee, and outdoor fun.” It recommends several ethnic restaurants and warns readers not to be fooled by appearances.</p>
<p>But that doesn’t mean objections don’t exist. </p>
<p>Many longtime residents and small-business owners – mostly people of color and immigrants – have, for decades, lived, worked and struggled to feed their families in these neighborhoods. To do so, they’ve run convenience stores, opened ethnic restaurants, sold food in parks and alleys and created spaces to grow their own food. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man holds a hoe in a garden." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425786/original/file-20211011-15-4dkx9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425786/original/file-20211011-15-4dkx9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425786/original/file-20211011-15-4dkx9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425786/original/file-20211011-15-4dkx9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425786/original/file-20211011-15-4dkx9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425786/original/file-20211011-15-4dkx9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425786/original/file-20211011-15-4dkx9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Vietnamese man tends to his crops at a community garden in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/vietnamese-gardner-tend-to-his-crops-at-a-community-garden-news-photo/595290798?adppopup=true">Sandy Huffaker/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All represent strategies to meet community needs in a place mostly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X17700394">ignored by mainstream retailers</a>. </p>
<p>So what happens when new competitors come to town?</p>
<h2>Starting at a disadvantage</h2>
<p>As I document in <a href="https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295749280/the-16-taco/">my book</a>, these ethnic food businesses, because of a lack of financial and technical support, often struggle to compete with new enterprises that feature fresh façades, celebrity chefs, flashy marketing, <a href="https://wearemitu.com/wearemitu/things-that-matter/san-diegos-barrio-logan-community-is-fighting-against-a-modern-fruteria-and-the-gentrification-it-embodies/">bogus claims of authenticity</a> and disproportionate media attention. Furthermore, following the arrival of more-affluent residents, existing ones find it increasingly <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.18574/9781479809042-002/html">difficult to stay</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295749280/the-16-taco/">My analysis</a> of real estate ads for properties listed in City Heights and other gentrifying San Diego neighborhoods found that access to restaurants, cafés, farmers markets and outdoor dining is a common selling point. The listings I studied from 2019 often enticed potential buyers with lines like “shop at the local farmers’ market,” “join food truck festivals” and “participate in community food drives!”</p>
<p>San Diego Magazine’s <a href="https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/guides/san-diego-homebuyer-s-guide-2019/article_ed29afa0-787f-5eef-8893-e0b0c02420e5.html">home buyer guide for the same year</a> identified City Heights as an “up-and-coming neighborhood,” attributing its appeal to its diverse population and eclectic “culinary landscape,” including several restaurants and Fair@44. </p>
<p>When I see that <a href="https://www.redfin.com/neighborhood/547396/CA/San-Diego/City-Heights/housing-market">City Heights’ home prices rose 58%</a> over the past three years, I’m not surprised.</p>
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<h2>Going up against the urban food machine</h2>
<p>Longtime residents find themselves forced to compete against what I call the “urban food machine,” a play on sociologist Harvey Molotch’s “<a href="https://web.ics.purdue.edu/%7Ehoganr/SOC%20602/Spring%202014/Molotch%201976.pdf">urban growth machine</a>” – a term he coined more than 50 years ago to explain how cities were being shaped by a loose coalition of powerful elites who sought to profit off urban growth.</p>
<p>I argue that investors and developers use food as a tool for achieving the same ends. </p>
<p>When their work is done, what’s left is a rather insipid and tasteless neighborhood, where foodscapes become more of a marketable mishmash of cultures than an ethnic enclave that’s evolved organically to meet the needs of residents. The distinctions of time and place start to blur: An “ethnic food district” in San Diego looks no different than one in Chicago or Austin.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the routines and rhythms of everyday life have changed so much that longtime residents <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347561733_Contested_Ethnic_Foodscapes_Survival_Appropriation_and_Resistance_in_Gentrifying_Immigrant_Neighborhoods">no longer feel like they belong</a>. Their stories and culture reduced to a selling point, they’re forced to either recede to the shadows or leave altogether.</p>
<p>It’s hard to see how that’s a form of inclusion or empowerment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167761/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pascale Joassart-Marcelli has received funding from the National Science Foundation for research related to this article.</span></em></p>Ethnic food is cheap, and it appeals to adventurous eaters. Real estate agents and investors have caught on.Pascale Joassart-Marcelli, Professor of Geography and Director, Urban Studies and Food Studies Programs, San Diego State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1628932021-07-20T15:04:48Z2021-07-20T15:04:48ZTokyo Olympics: how hosting the Games disrupts local lives and livelihoods<p>In the run up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the favela community of <a href="https://theconversation.com/vila-autodromo-the-favela-fighting-back-against-rios-olympic-development-52393">Vila Autódromo</a> was virtually destroyed. It sat on prime real estate at the water’s edge, in the up and coming West Zone neighbourhood. Dwellings were demolished, and hundreds of families were pressured to leave. </p>
<p>One long-term resident, Luiz Claudio Silva, lost the home he had built with his wife over two decades. “Where the Olympics have been,” <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1012690219878842">he said in 2018</a>, “there is a trail of demolitions, of destruction of life stories… this is very clear, it’s obvious, the only people who don’t see it are those who don’t want to.”</p>
<p>Silva’s was one of the <a href="https://issuu.com/mantelli/docs/dossiecomiterio2015_eng_issuu">22,059 households</a> evicted in the build up to the Rio Games. And his story is not unique. </p>
<p>Whether it’s the <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-l-annee-sociologique-2018-1-page-67.htm">young people</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098009357351">local businesses</a> left traumatised by evictions due to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261517718302073">London 2012</a> Games, the elderly tenants whose homes were <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2017.1355408">destroyed</a> to make way for the new National Stadium in Shinjuku, ahead of Tokyo 2020 or the <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/olympics-echo-park/">unhoused people</a> fighting for their camp ahead of Los Angeles 2028, displacement is as Olympic as medals and records. It begins during the planning stage and continues throughout the live staging, its effects written into the post-event legacy period. </p>
<h2>The planning stage</h2>
<p>Planning to host the Olympic Games is a huge undertaking. Usually it takes around a decade, with a significant amount of that time spent building physical infrastructure, from stadiums to transport networks. For Rio 2016, the city installed a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0739456X16683228">BRT system</a> to connect different parts of the city to Olympic zones. In preparation for the Paris 2024 Games, extensive construction is <a href="https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/89932">underway</a> in various areas of the French capital <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1105265/paris-2024-solideo-hidalgo-building">to build</a> the Athlete’s Village and the Media Village.</p>
<p>Because hosting is often vaunted as a tool for urban regeneration, construction tends to be situated in deprived areas. Rio’s BRT system accounted for around <a href="https://issuu.com/mantelli/docs/dossiecomiterio2015_eng_issuu">20% of all evictions</a> in the city, including the wholesale removal of entire communities. </p>
<p>Residents and businesses in Saint-Ouen, a deprived district in the north of Paris, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20190614-paris-suburb-residents-brace-olympic-village-upheaval">have been told</a> they need to leave in order for construction to begin. Having been evicted in the planning process, these communities then have little to no access to any future benefits that construction might bring.</p>
<h2>During the event</h2>
<p>There might be some truth in the frequent claim that the Olympics <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23750472.2017.1412269?casa_token=HX2lly_l02wAAAAA%3AFso-qOddqWTY_WbPQbOfpojHdMUC1dzGaygUJxi3YOdrtBm-lS5nX5q9vzRqxB1D_LCY-O0HQVPB">bring tourism spending</a> to host cities. Local businesses and entrepreneurial residents situated adjacent to event sites usually look to make a quick buck. In Rio <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160738319301318">we noted</a> food stalls selling churros, mobile caipirinha unit, and local residents serving up BBQ from their porches to hungry spectators. </p>
<p>However, these entrepreneurs are often banned from using the Games’ branding. They also often have no access to the tourists to begin with, because of the way the city is reorganised during the actual events. Official sports and cultural activity take place in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0042098014550456?casa_token=lZ3pQqdV6ooAAAAA%3A3ylNXIMDd5LSCIQFX6M8TCbb9PhopOBJSQDejlPY91JNMNmnpGzA_-vfUfNuPkiHIFaWBih5HPyi">purpose-built zones</a>, to which the International Olympic Comittee (IOC) offers exclusive rights to <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/partners">mega-corporation sponsors</a>, supporters and suppliers. </p>
<p>Visitors are encouraged to stay within these zones. They are shuttled between them by an Olympic transport network that effectively shrouds the city and excludes the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738319301318?casa_token=YLF0oDBUNPEAAAAA:z9p63638XBdM_n-oq6dFeRreU5p-rGljESD9UXJjRirIIQLdmdFIDyF1y98OocF-2BUjqyoxwg#bb0105">local community</a>. Not only does this disrupt residents’ day-to-day lives, it reconfigures the city in a way that displaces the existing population.</p>
<h2>The legacy</h2>
<p>The legacy is often cited as justification for these comprehensive programmes of urban transformation and its attendant cost. London 2012, a case in point, was touted as the Legacy Olympics, with then foreign secretary, Jack Straw, pledging the Games as <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.426.8326&rep=rep1&type=pdf">“a force for regeneration”</a>. </p>
<p>But legacies are not <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1012690219878842">exclusively positive</a>. Even as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/dec/19/london-2012-opening-ceremony-olympic">money is being spent</a> and <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2011/12/31/olympic-britain-v-royal-britain">preparations are underway</a>, much is written about the missed opportunities. Whether it is investing in grassroots sport facilities or developing sustainable tourist experiences, there is the sense that the investment and energy put into the Games would be better deployed elsewhere.</p>
<p>After the fact, this sentiment is often borne out. Newly built stadiums turn into <a href="https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/123936/13/Avoiding%20white%20elephants%20The%20planning%20and%20design%20of%20London%20s%202012%20Olympic%20and%20Paralympic%20venues%202002%202018.pdf">white elephants</a>. Almost a decade later, UK taxpayers are still effectively subsidising Premier League football club West Ham United to use the Olympic Stadium in a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jofolympstud.2.1.0029">sweetheart deal</a> agreed to ensure that the stadium doesn’t remain embarrassingly empty. </p>
<p>Transport infrastructure built for the Games doesn’t always bring long-term benefits either. In Rio, despite the billions spent on shiny new buses and trains, cuts to existing services meant that urban mobility was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26911287?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">actually worse</a> after the Games, especially for poorer communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Faliro Olympic beach volleyball centre, from the Athens 2004 Games, lies in disrepair" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412156/original/file-20210720-19-tzqpzt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412156/original/file-20210720-19-tzqpzt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412156/original/file-20210720-19-tzqpzt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412156/original/file-20210720-19-tzqpzt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412156/original/file-20210720-19-tzqpzt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412156/original/file-20210720-19-tzqpzt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412156/original/file-20210720-19-tzqpzt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Faliro Olympic beach volleyball centre, from the Athens 2004 Games, lies in disrepair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Faliro_Olympic_Beach_Volleyball_Centre_Athens_3.JPG">Arne Müseler / arne-mueseler.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are some clear benefits for citizens after a city hosts the Olympics. New cultural quarters which increase <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527258.2011.651735?casa_token=jTO33JJkeyIAAAAA%3AndeqqDfz5hcDO_y0iOJ_PIOnXo5vzKU2tq82h2Dq7Nr_SuLuDdsLf1VsYe72SqZir9OR0BV5MFeM">subsequent flows of tourists</a>. And the less tangible outcomes, such as <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SBM-02-2020-0014/full/html">increased civic pride</a> or skills development as a result of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09669582.2017.1291648?journalCode=rsus20#:%7E:text=The%202012%20Olympics%20were%20seen,to%20play%20an%20important%20role.">volunteering opportunities during the event</a>. </p>
<p>Due to intense media attention and affiliation to the Olympics, there is a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0042098015623719?casa_token=HIpKHgpm8_wAAAAA%3AtP6bGrd1tRGkS4t5_vHr-EAZNRE-4pi3rU1O_iXRX-JO1IMi1zJW1oKcKol4_OI_kePaYzWwPov8">rise</a> in real-estate prices and rental values of both residential and commercial property. Poorer communities that avoided eviction in the run-up to the Games often end up pushed out of the areas which see the greatest economic benefit from hosting. </p>
<p>Long-term tourism development suffers too. Tourists visit cities to catch a glimpse of something both novel and culturally specific to a place. Post-Olympic gentrification erodes the local cultural offer: small businesses, which play a key part in cultural production, find themselves <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/jpmd/2019/00000012/00000002/art00001">excluded</a>, resulting in a tourist experience that is ultimately less authentic. </p>
<p>These negative outcomes have led to host populations vetoing the very idea of hosting the Games when given the option as happened recently in <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgarians-vote-no-on-hosting-2026-olympic-games">Calgary</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/nov/29/hamburg-votes-2024-olympics">Hamburg</a>, among <a href="https://gamesbids.com/eng/winter-olympic-bids/2026-olympic-bid-news/bidweek-a-short-history-of-olympic-bid-referendums/">others</a>. The Olympic project is in real peril, as a result, because it may not be compatible with modern inclusive and sustainable development. </p>
<p>Indeed, the IOC recognises this and is attempting to implement reforms. It suggests future games must consider local planning and development <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/roles-and-responsibilities-of-the-ioc-and-its-partners/what-is-the-new-norm">needs</a>. It remains to be seen whether this rhetoric will be followed by robust action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162893/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Mike Duignan has previously received funding from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but for a topic unrelated to this article. Mike is also the Director of the Observatory for Human Rights and Major Events which is the UK's official Olympic Studies Centre, which is affiliated to the IOC's academic Olympic Studies Centre. However, the nature of this relationship is academic with the view to disseminate good social science concerning how we can enhance the social and economic benefits of hosting the Olympic Games for the host country, city and its citizens. This article was based on work funded by 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Research and Innovation grant agreement no. 823815</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Talbot does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The cost of the Olympics is often justififed by the investment and regeneration hosting brings about. Local residents, though, rarely benefitMike Duignan, Head of Department, Reader in Events, and Director of the Observatory for Human Rights and Major Events, University of SurreyAdam Talbot, Lecturer in Sport and Event Management, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1600012021-06-01T15:10:01Z2021-06-01T15:10:01ZNollywood: how professionalism – and a new elite audience – is affecting it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398028/original/file-20210430-23-75c9vn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Director Kunle Afolayan and actress Genevieve Nnaji discuss the international rise of Nollywood at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tara Ziemba/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Nigerian film industry, fondly called Nollywood, became popular in the early 1990s, although with more negative attributes than positives. Over the years, the industry has attracted a lot of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/new-nollywood-a-sketch-of-nollywoods-metropolitan-new-style/21DD79D3A94E58E61B1483DD2D61D54D">criticism</a>. </p>
<p>Some critics believe that the industry is quantity driven, while shunning quality. Others slated the industry for its budget restrictions, weak plots and repetitive dialogue.</p>
<p>But the most alarming criticism was focused on fatigue caused by movie overproduction. This fatigue was created by profit-driven <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/world/africa/with-a-boom-before-the-cameras-nigeria-redefines-african-life.html">filmmakers</a> who churn out cheap, rushed movies on the regular. This wasn’t surprising given the fast growth of the industry. In the early 2000s, Nollywood went producing up to 50 films per week, with an annual total of over 2,500 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/world/africa/with-a-boom-before-the-cameras-nigeria-redefines-african-life.html">movies</a>.</p>
<p>This overproduction caused a saturation of the market and film professionals began to seek alternatives in order to produce quality films. Starting as early as 2006 the industry began to make movies with a new approach to everything. Films like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804225/"><em>The Amazing Grace</em></a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1578582/"><em>Ije</em></a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1326268/"><em>Through the Glass</em></a> started a change in the diaspora. And on the home market, the new wave was domesticated with Kunle Afolayan’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1542960/"><em>The Figurine</em></a>. Some filmmakers described this as their attempt to rescue the dying <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-29477015">industry</a>. </p>
<p>Filmmakers – among them Afolayan, Chineze Anyaene, Obi Emelonye, Stephanie Linus, Jeta Amata and Mahmod Ali-Balogun – began to adopt a different marketing strategy to amplify earnings. Previously, Nollywood was largely produced for the small screen and consumed mostly straight to video on VCD/DVD. The new marketing strategy took the consumption of Nollywood back to the cinema.</p>
<p>This marked a turning point for the industry. </p>
<h2>The big changes</h2>
<p>In 2013 President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration launched a 3 billion naira fund named Project ACT Nollywood, to support filmmakers. The fund was to help with capacity building and training for actors and filmmakers. It was also a vehicle for the establishment of film distribution <a href="https://www.boi.ng/boi-refutes-custody-of-200m-entertainment-fund-2/">platforms</a>. This rejuvenated the industry, attracting young professionals in droves.</p>
<p>Nollywood’s transformation has since become huge, with films such as Kemi Adetiba’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5978822/"><em>The Wedding Party</em></a> (2016) grossing record breaking figures at cinemas.</p>
<p>In my recent <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244020940994">paper</a>, I explore these seismic changes. I set out to answer what impact this revamping – from producing straight to VCD/DVD films consumed mostly by the masses, to an elite-targeted theatre distribution – has had on the industry.</p>
<p>Since 2010, some dramatic developments have changed the nature of Nollywood. They include an influx of professional filmmakers, the rise in international festival and cinema tours, international premieres, collaborations with multinational companies, Pan Africanism and distribution via multiplexes. In this time, a film’s release on VCD/DVD began to happen later in its life, effectively disenfranchising Nollywood’s traditional mass-market consumer base.</p>
<p>The questions I was interested in answering were: was the industry professionalising – in other words have Nollywood’s film makers become more specialised in their art? And was it <a href="https://www.urbandisplacement.org/gentrification-explained">gentrifying</a>? Gentrification refers to the renovation and transformation of a neighbourhood, previously occupied by the working class, to suit the tastes of middle and upper class. I use the word metaphorically to explore whether Nollywood increased in grandeur, appeal and acceptance among Nigeria’s upper class.</p>
<p>The ability of Nollywood filmmakers to receive specialised training and improved knowledge meant that filmmakers’ perception of film and the creative process changed. It led to a new outlook – filmmakers became quality rather than quantity driven. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398033/original/file-20210430-15-ikncgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man standing and smiling for a photo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398033/original/file-20210430-15-ikncgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398033/original/file-20210430-15-ikncgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398033/original/file-20210430-15-ikncgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398033/original/file-20210430-15-ikncgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398033/original/file-20210430-15-ikncgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398033/original/file-20210430-15-ikncgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398033/original/file-20210430-15-ikncgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Veteran Nigerian filmmaker, Tunde Kelani poses for a portrait in Mumbai, India.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint/Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Budgets also got bigger. More money began circulating in the industry as corporate and institutional funders stepped in. Corporate funders became interested in the industry due to its increasing formalisation of practice and rising professionalism among practitioners. They also saw the potential of high profitability and return on investment. State and Federal governments are also showing increased interest in the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/new-nollywood-a-sketch-of-nollywoods-metropolitan-new-style/21DD79D3A94E58E61B1483DD2D61D54D">industry</a>. </p>
<p>The effects soon become apparent. Producers could now hire the best cast and crew. Nollywood films appeared more often at international film festivals. Filmmakers increasingly began to target the diaspora, as well as unlocking new strategies to garner international audiences. Overseas premiers became more common. </p>
<p>Media anthropologist Alessandro Jedlowski <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F9781137282187_11">notes</a> that targeting diaspora audiences was a way to overcome the fatigue in the industry which began to manifest from 2017. Entertaining the elite, diaspora and non-African audiences came with its own activities. They include the exposure of filmmakers through film schools, international workshops and personal developments, interaction with Nigerian filmmakers in the diaspora, as well as the exploitation of linkages and contacts.</p>
<p>But did this these transformations mean the gentrification of the industry? </p>
<h2>Gentrification</h2>
<p>The gentrification process generally increases cost of living as well as housing, forcing original residents of the neighbourhood to relocate to less expensive areas. This invariably leads to their displacement. </p>
<p>The use of gentrification as a metaphor is deliberate. I wanted to avoid exploring the rise in the cost of production as a result of the influx of new and wealthy film professionals. Or the displacement of filmmakers or audiences. Instead, I wanted to explore whether the acceptance of Nollywood among the upper class or elite had led to a loss of dominance among poor people. </p>
<p>I did not find any displacement of either filmmakers or audiences. </p>
<p>But I did find that Nollywood had moved to catering to upper classes as much as it catered for the masses.</p>
<p>I concluded that gentrification in Nollywood wouldn’t lead to any permanent displacements as two disparate filmmaking models co-exist. If any, I anticipate a temporary displacement at the point of consumption. But, since films eventually end up on DVDs, audiences that have been displaced from consuming films distributed via the theatres will finally get to consume them when they’re released on DVD. </p>
<h2>The old and the new Nollywood</h2>
<p>Nollywood currently has two broad business models – one that has come to be called the Old Nollywood. And the other, New Nollywood. </p>
<p>While some have confused these to be classifications for films and filmmakers, in reality, they are both business choices available to the Nollywood filmmaker.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398034/original/file-20210430-13-yui3wf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tow women standing side by side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398034/original/file-20210430-13-yui3wf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398034/original/file-20210430-13-yui3wf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398034/original/file-20210430-13-yui3wf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398034/original/file-20210430-13-yui3wf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398034/original/file-20210430-13-yui3wf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=650&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398034/original/file-20210430-13-yui3wf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=650&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398034/original/file-20210430-13-yui3wf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=650&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Director-General of the WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Nigerian actress and filmmaker, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jemal Countess/TIME/Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These models cater to different audiences while some filmmakers continue to explore and experiment with new distribution channels.</p>
<p>The interesting question is: can the changes be sustained? </p>
<p>At the University of Nigeria we’re trying to ensure that they are. We’re doing this by guiding students to create authentic African stories. Chris Obi-Rapu, director of the classic film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGXs6Cd1jfA&ab_channel=OldiesTV"><em>Living in Bondage</em></a> (1992), maintains that story is the bedrock, the foundation of every film. A film created from a faulty foundation is doomed, no matter how large its budget is.</p>
<p>As one of the recurrent points of criticism against the industry, we are contributing to Nollywood’s transformation by ensuring that future industry players and scriptwriters are equipped with creative ingenuities to conceive and produce screenplays which are authentically African, well researched and thoroughly entertaining.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160001/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ezinne Ezepue does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the Nigerian film industry advances its methods, is it in danger of alienating its poorer audiences?Ezinne Ezepue, Lecturer, University of NigeriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.