Urban Economics: Li & Fung Case Study, Gentrification and Uneven Development
The following pages will focus on expressing a critique opinion regarding the phenomenon of gentrification and uneven development, one of its repercussions. To begin with, one should clearly define gentrification, as it is generally defined, since several definitions can be found, expressing different characteristics of the term. Generally, gentrification, also referred to as urban gentrification, is a part of the urban housing cycle where significant investments are made in order to perform physical renovation on physically deteriorated neighborhoods, leading to increased property market values (Wikipedia, 2008). The first immediate effect of gentrification is the fact that these neighborhoods' initial residents, characterized by low incomes, can no longer afford these properties.However, there is a variety of different acceptances of gentrification. Many people consider gentrification to be a redevelopment, a revitalization, or a renaissance process. In his paper, Neil Smith feels obliged to make a clear distinction between the gentrification process and redevelopment. In his opinion, gentrification basically consists in a rehabilitation process performed by middle class home buyers, landlords, and professional developers on
This movement is usually referred to as the back-to-the-city movement. Also in Smith's opinion, redevelopment consists in constructing new buildings on previously developed land, and not the rehabilitation of old structures. In practice, things are rarely so, as urban development does not, or cannot take place everywhere, in the same direction, and at the same pace. Residents with low incomes that can no longer afford these modernized neighborhoods have to move to other neighborhoods they can afford, neighborhoods that are similar to the initial, modernized ones. Uneven development cannot be avoided anyway, but it is fastened and amplified by gentrification. In certain cases, it seems that this de-vitalization is the result of gentrification, as Neil Smith argues. As a result of this property value significant increase, property taxes must also increase proportionally. Another frequent opinion consists in the fact that gentrification is basically only a part of a larger revitalization of the core and the inner city, and a recentralization of a series of urban activities. Another negative aspect related to the gentrification process is the fact that gentrification is associated with race. Equalization of conditions and levels of development aims towards making this development more even. Furthermore, in such cases, crime is more difficult to keep under observation and to keep under control. working class residential neighborhoods. As mentioned above, the problem is not solved, but it is moved to another location. However, this uneven development does not only characterize the construction and housing sectors, but the economy as a whole, and not only nationally, but on an international level also. This is one of the most criticized aspects of gentrification.
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