Linking Gentrification and Labour Market Precarity in the Contemporary City: A Framework for Analysis

The interplay between intensifying labour market precarity and gentrification constitutes a hitherto under‐researched topic in the fields of labour and urban geography. To rectify this lacuna, we argue that gentrification and labour flexibilisation are both socio‐spatial manifestations of capital's efforts to confront crises of accumulation. Distinguishing between what we call “weak” and “strong” links between them, and drawing upon the concepts of “gentrification‐supporting” and “gentrification‐fostered” labour flexibility, we outline a framework for connecting gentrification and precarity. This allows us to make links between the restructuring of the built environment and the reorganisation of work in the post‐industrial city; it also allows us to show how workers, through their agency, can shape rent gaps in the contemporary city.     

城市中产阶层化研究进展回顾及未来展望

本文在回顾中西方中产阶层化的基础上,总结归纳中产阶层化的基本特征,强调中产阶层化具有周期性及时空性,从古典经济学角度、城市文化以及全球化角度对中产阶层化的理论流派进行研究,分析得出中产阶层化的主要研究内容包括:对中产阶层化的界定、中产阶层化的形成机理、过程、影响以及政府作用的研究,对中国中产阶层化研究未来进行展望,率先明确中国存在中产阶层化时空共轭性;中产阶层第一波普遍性等假设,并指出第二波的中国中产阶层化只有可能发生在某些特大城市中;在中国中产阶层化过程中,要正确处理好原住居民的动迁问题及后续的空间隔离问题。     

大城市中产阶层化与商娱场所的空间结构

自上个世纪70年代随着发达国家"后工业社会"转型以来,中产阶层化现象成为西方发达国家城市问题与空间规划方向的重要研究方面之一,发展至今日,中产阶层化成为了一种全球化的社会与空间现象(Bell,1999)。娱乐作为一种文化现象,可以反映国家生产力水平的高低,是与每个人的生存质量息息相关的领域。因而有关文化休闲娱乐场所的微区位研究也逐渐引起了中外地理学界和社会学界有关学者的极大兴趣。从城市社会空间结构的角度探讨中产阶层生活方式及其消费(娱乐消费)与娱乐场所形成的中产阶层化现象等的社会空间结构。     

Heritage and rural gentrification in Spain: the case of Santiago Millas

Although gentrification has been mostly understood as an urban phenomenon, the permanent establishment of urban dwellers in rural areas is becoming a widespread trend across the world. Despite its relevance to postindustrial societies, rural gentrification has been largely overlooked by heritage scholars, and has been explored very little in the context of Spain. In this article, I examine the relationship between heritage and rural gentrification through the case study of Santiago Millas, a village located in the Maragatería region of Spain. Based on long-term ethnographic engagement with different actors (newcomers, local residents, and public officials), I examine a specific instance of the globalizing phenomenon of rural gentrification, highlighting the key role heritage plays in this phenomenon, including (1) the impact on local governmentalities based on heritage discourse; (2) the refurbishing of houses and changes in the social spaces of villages; and (3) the transformation of social life and rituals into metacultural discourses of heritage. I emphasize the urgency to carry out more research in order to improve our understanding of the complex and multifaceted phenomenon of rural gentrification from a heritage perspective.     

中国绅士化研究的本土实践：特征、议题与展望

针对新世纪以来我国绅士化实证研究文献,系统回顾与整理其特征与议题,有以下发现：①我国绅士化实证研究逐渐被关注并重视,案例地区主要聚焦长三角和珠三角地区,并扩展到东北及西部重要省会城市和旅游景区等;研究机构则主要集中在南京、广州、上海、北京等主要中心城市;②研究内容涉及多类绅士化现象、绅士化与公共政策、绅士化群体与文化驱动、绅士化与多种城市现象、绅士化的公平正义与社会影响以及教育驱动的绅士化等六大议题;③在与国际接轨的同时,研究注重与中国语境和特殊制度及城市现象的结合,逐渐形成“本土化”特色,但仍存在“有广度,轻深度”的问题。随着我国学界对绅士化议题关注热度逐渐升温,期望中国绅士化研究能瞄准国际前沿与国内需求,构建属于中国语境的理论框架与话语体系。     

西方城市学生化研究进展综述

全球化竞争促使国家和地区不断扩大高等教育规模,加上住房市场的持续去管制化,欧美国家多数大学城镇出现“学生化”的现象,与此相应的城市地理学研究逐渐展开。从学生化概念的提出入手,回顾了西方尤其是英国学生化研究的简要历程,从学生化的现象特征、形成机理、后果影响、应对策略和学生化与中产阶层化关系等方面分析当前学生化研究的新特征。结合研究回顾,认为学生化的实证研究和理论构建尚处在探索阶段,且主要在中产阶层化的理论框架体系中进行。中国学生化研究应当结合自身背景进行概念界定与实证、理论研究。未来学生化研究将集中于四个方面：大数据等新技术方法在学生化研究中的应用、学生化理论体系的构建、学生化效应评估与应对机制研究以及学生化的国际比较研究。     

All aboard? Women working the spaces of gentrification in Toronto's Junction

Despite early attention being paid to the connections amongst ‘gender, work and gentrification’ in the urban geography literature, there have been few attempts to examine the experiences of women as workers in gentrifying neighbourhoods. This gap leaves open critical questions about the nature of the links between the production of gendered work practices and the production of gentrified urban landscapes. In this article, I explore how women working in a variety of differently precarious situations – as struggling small business owners, self-employed workers and part-time workers – manage the tensions and contradictions of struggling for economic survival while attempting to support community-building efforts and social reproduction needs in a gentrifying area. Using data drawn from interviews and urban ethnographic methods in Toronto's ‘Junction’ neighbourhood, I argue that precarious conditions of work in the context of gentrification engender a variety of diverse economic and social practices – developed through immaterial and affective labour – that, in turn, produce particular, and often contradictory, social and economic landscapes of gentrification. I will explore the ways in which gendered vulnerabilities and insecurities are ironically produced, in part, by the feminized consumption landscape, which primes neighbourhoods for widespread gentrification. Through examining these dynamics, we can begin to theorize the structural production of precarity, and in particular, gendered precarity, through urban processes such as gentrification.     

Bittersweet ambivalence: Austin’s street artists speak of gentrification

Both gentrification and street art are concerned with the conquest of urban space. Although historically, graffiti and street art have functioned to challenge the status quo, a growing appreciation for urban art unveils a far more collaborative attitude between some street artists and the elite. A familiar esthetic of gentrified terrains involves repurposing spaces that capture the urban experience. In some cities, urban redevelopment preserves original materials that capture that “urban feel” by highlighting exposed brick structures, rustic furnishings, industrial lofts, and urban art. In other cities, these styles are recreated consciously. This paper draws from in-depth interviews with street artists from Austin, Texas, one of the fastest growing urban landscapes in the U.S., to discuss street artists’ attitudes towards gentrification. Its examination of stories and personal narratives about gentrification shows the complexities of rapid urban expansion as perceived by Austin street artists, and concludes that street artists remain ambivalent towards gentrification. While street artists experience some negative effects resulting from gentrification, urban redevelopment also has another clear benefit for them: an expansion of their urban canvas. The growth of city space extends street artists’ creative playground, which advances the artists’ opportunities for paid work and exposure.     

中国大城市新建中产阶层化现象的供给端解析

中产阶层化是一个多元、复杂、变化的社会空间重构现象。作为我国大城市中产阶层化的主流模态,新建中产阶层化是由政府和资本力量主导,通过拆建实现的社区建成环境改善和社会结构跃升现象。以南京内城为例,分别从政府经营城市、资本循环增值和资源非均衡配置逻辑解读新建中产阶层化的驱动机理,进而从城市空间嬗变、社会阶层分化和被置换群体利益剥夺等方面探讨新建中产阶层化的多重效应,随后在分析中产阶层化模式将由“拆建型”向“侵替型”演进的趋势下,提出未来中产阶层化研究应更多强调供给与需求等多视角的互补与融合,构建符合中国特色的中产阶层化理论模型,并引导中产阶层化社会空间实践走向更加公平与可持续。     

西方城市绅士化理论纷争及启示

西方城市绅士化研究自20世纪60年代出现以来,历经近半个世纪,已经形成相对完整的学术流派和理论体系。其中最具代表性的要数NeilSmith从政治经济学角度提出的"地租落差"理论,强调内城区绅士化住宅的供给和生产,以及DavidLey从后工业社会城市转型角度强调绅士化群体的文化需求和住宅消费。不同理论学派在绅士化成因等问题上存在不同的理解与争议,了解西方主流绅士化理论流派,以及探讨绅士化概念与理论演进的脉络、特征和趋向,有助于更好地开展中国城市绅士化研究。     

Paths of Erasure and Trails of Resistance in a Neo-Settler-Colonial City

Urban displacement is receiving growing visibility within urban studies. However, most literature centres on the logic of late capitalism and tends to neglect colonial history and local resistance to displacement. This paper takes an alternative path: it relates (a) the history of colonialism and ethnic cleansing of the city of Jaffa with (b) the present-day gentrification and displacement caused by neoliberal urbanism. To unpack this entanglement, the article focuses on political city walking tours led by Internally Displaced Palestinians in Jaffa, alongside a broader repertoire of urban subaltern tactics to reclaim it—ranging from community meetings to more overtly politicised acts of protest and initiatives to disrupt gentrification. The article therefore advances debates on urban displacement and urban citizenship mobilisation through the lens of post-colonial theories, and by adopting a participatory interdisciplinary approach—from a novel perspective that centres local knowledge, lived experiences, and grassroots activism.     

西方乡村绅士化研究进展

绅士化概念自1990s年代被拓展应用到乡村地区的转型重构以来，引起地理学、社会学等学科的广泛关注和重视，已经成为乡村领域一条卓有成效的研究路径，而国内相关研究甚少。针对此，本文在研读西方相关文献的基础上，从概念和内涵、原因和动力、影响和效应等方面对西方乡村绅士化的研究成果进行系统梳理和归纳。然后从与城市绅士化的区别、与逆城市化的细微差异、认识的不断深入以及研究方法的演变等方面开展了乡村绅士化研究述评。最后指出西方乡村绅士化研究对我国的启示，尝试提出我国该领域亟需解决的问题及未来研究的方向，以期丰富和完善我国乡村领域的研究视野和内容体系，为顺利实施我国乡村振兴战略提供科学依据和经验借鉴。     

Hygienisation,Gentrification, and Urban Displacement in Brazil

This article engages recent debates over gentrification and urban displacement in the global South. While researchers increasingly suggest that gentrification is becoming widespread in “Southern” cities, others argue that such analyses overlook important differences in empirical context and privilege EuroAmerican theoretical frameworks. To respond to this debate, in this article, we outline the concept of higienização (hygienisation), arguing that it captures important contextual factors missed by gentrification. Hygienisation is a Brazilian term that describes a particular form of urban displacement, and is directly informed by legacies of colonialism, racial and class stigma, informality, and state violence. Our objective is to show how “Southern” concepts like hygienisation help urban researchers gain better insight into processes of urban displacement, while also responding to recent calls to decentre and provincialise urban theory.     

中产阶层化过程中的女性社会空间建构研究

20世纪60年代以来,中产阶层化现象逐渐得到学术界的关注。随着女性主义研究和社会运动的兴起,基于女性主义视角的中产阶层化研究日益得到众多地理学者的注意。本文希望将建构主义理论与女性主义地理学研究相结合,将之纳入一般化中产阶层化研究框架之内,继而构建女性主义视角的中产阶层化研究理论构架,以便进一步补充、完善一般中产阶层化理论体系。     

边缘化新白领的中产阶层化研究:内容、理论构架与未来

随着国际金融海啸后社会经济矛盾的地理大转移,广大新兴市场化国家内城市新白领阶层的社会经济生境边缘化趋势不可避免。边缘化的新白领必然导致其中产阶层化历程的异化,与常规的中产阶层化特征、机制与社会空间后果相异。本文将新白领及其边缘化中产阶层化机理纳入中产阶层化一般化研究之内,继而构建新白领中产阶层化研究理论构架,以便进一步补充、完善一般中产阶层化理论体系。最终,希望为"十二五"以来面临新转型的中国大城市内城再城市化、更新和转型提供一些发展引导思路。     

被动迁居后城市低收入原住民就业变动的成因及影响因素——以南京为例

城市绅士化引起的低收入原住民被动迁居及其行为响应一直受到学术界高度关注。以南京近1000名安置房社区居民就业变动调查数据为基础,系统分析了被动迁居后城市低收入原住民就业变动的成因及影响因素。研究结果表明:安置点与理想岗位空间错位是被动迁居后城市低收入原住民就业变动首因,个人或家庭以及单位等因素对就业变化亦产生重要作用;被动迁居后城市低收入原住民就业变动呈普遍性和差异性双重特征,城市绅士化运动在一定程度上可能导致弱势阶层内部发生分化。     

Normalizing urban inequality: cinematic imaginaries of difference in postcolonial Amsterdam

Combining insights from critical urban studies with geographies of race and racism, this article examines the role of spatial imaginaries in normalizing urban inequalities, showing how such imaginaries make the associations between places and populations appear natural. We extend analyses of the interplay between material landscapes and imaginative geographies to examine how these connections feature in processes of gentrification and displacement and emphasize the necessity of an intersectional approach in understanding the cultural underpinnings of urban change. We propose that such analyses of dominant spatial imaginaries benefit from attention to their colonial roots, given the persistence of monomythical explorer-hero narratives and the mapping of reworked colonial imaginative geographies onto contemporary postcolonial cities. Our analysis focuses on Amsterdam, the popular Dutch film Alleen Maar Nette Mensen and the spatiality of difference that its ‘monomyth’ narrative presents. It justifies an unequal urban order by contrasting Amsterdam’s city centre, which is depicted as White, middle-class and ‘civilized’, with the post-war urban periphery, which is cast as a mysterious place of racialized poverty, squalor and pathological behaviour. This culturally essentialist depiction contributes to the depoliticization of state-led gentrification and normalizes changes to the material cityscape.     

The Urban Injustices of New Labour's “New Urban Renewal”: The Case of the Aylesbury Estate in London

This paper discusses the urban injustices of New Labour's “new urban renewal”, that is the state‐led gentrification of British council estates, undertaken through the guise of mixed communities policy, on the Aylesbury estate in Southwark, London, one of the largest council estates in Europe. In this particular case of post‐political planning I show how the tenant support for the regeneration programme was manipulated and misrepresented and how choices were closed down for them, leaving them ultimately with a “false choice” between a regeneration they did not want or the further decline of their estate. I look at what the estate residents thought/think about the whole process and how they have resisted, and are resisting, the gentrification of their estate. I show revanchist and post‐political practices, but ultimately I refuse to succumb to these dystopian narratives, very attractive as they are, for conflict/dissent has not been completely smothered and resistance to gentrification in and around the Aylesbury is alive and well. I argue that we urgently need to re‐establish the city as the driver of democratic politics with an emancipatory agenda, rather than one that ratifies the status quo or gets mired in a dystopic post‐justice city.     

Environmentalism and Chinese urban order: The ecological control line policy in Shenzhen,China

There has been growing research interest in processes of selective ‘ecological gentrification’ and ‘environmental enclosure’ in cities where environmental controls are used to attract and retain more affluent residents and attract higher value economic development. This dimension of urban policy might be increasingly relevant to major Chinese cities, which are facing increasing competitive pressures to reorient modes of growth and development around ecological security and quality of life in social and environmental domains. In that context, we examine the development and implementation of the ‘basic ecological control line’ policy (BECL) in the fast-growing city of Shenzhen. In essence the BECL marks a rezoning of the city to enhance ecology and reverse previous environmental degradation, but in doing so it also does political work in reordering space in line with changing economic and social priorities. The question we ask is how the BECL might be read in the context of ecological gentrification and the wider political context of Chinese urban policy. Through detailed empirical investigation, we trace the political economy of the BECL and draw out the insights it offers on transitional urban economy-ecology relations in China and theories of urban environmentalism more generally.     

Policy Impact and House Price Development at the Neighbourhood-level—a Comparison of Four Urban Regeneration Areas using the Concept of “Artificial” Value Creation

Urban planning measures and restructuring policies tend to cause unintended increases in house prices. The study compares urban renewal areas with respect to such policy impact on housing and neighbourhood quality and house prices in two city-contexts: Amsterdam and Budapest. It shows how four neighbourhoods that have been subject to various forms of urban regeneration differ in their trajectories of house price development. The results tie with well-documented, mostly Anglo-American experiences of related phenomena such as New Urbanism, Neo-traditional communities and gentrification. Furthermore, the study merges two research objectives that often are seen as incompatible: housing markets and urban regeneration.