Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Gentrifi cation is a process whereby older residential areas,
especially in the inner city, are refurbished and moved upwards
in the cycle of housing change and regeneration. Figure 14 shows
a gentrifi ed street in the Spitalfi elds district of London. The
three-storey houses have been re-furbished and modernized
within the original facades. Much gentrifi cation takes place in the
private sector, though there are major public-sector initiatives,
often linked with fl agship projects such as economic regeneration
of the inner city, major sports or cultural facilities, and docklands
projects. The process has encouraged a lively debate about causes
that covers many aspects of the interests of human geographers.
Is gentrifi cation a product of changing choices in the residential
market place and thus driven by consumer preferences? This
is partly true, and a changing labour market with its focus
on service jobs and a greater representation of women in the
professional workforce is one driver in the process of change. The
downside is that those able to make choices are the prime movers
and there has been a signifi cant displacement of low-income
households with the upgrading and re-costing that occurs under
these schemes. The other key factor is structural change and the
investment strategies of large agencies motivated by profi t returns.
Gentrifi cation is a complex process and involves residents, past
and future, landlords, investors, fi nancial institutions, planners,
and municipal authorities. It is the latter who have to mediate
between the ambitions of developers and the needs of local
populations.
Regional geography has been a traditional part of human
geography though it belongs to geography as a whole. Regional
geographies tend to refl ect analysis at a meso-scale with a
concern for aggregates and often descriptive narratives. Cultural
geographers have attempted to move the scale to the micro, with
an emphasis on body and self and the primacy of the individual.
It has been argued, for example, that traditional concerns for
regions, places, and landscapes became mediated through those
for self and body. It has also been proposed, for example, that
