Place-making or place-masking? The everyday political economy of “making place”

As redevelopment and gentrification strategies globally continue to be aimed at attracting wealthier residents and consumers in an effort to drive economic growth, concerns for and interventions in the interests of social equity appear decreasingly relevant. Government, private sector and community organisations have of course worked together in different times and places to implement programs that are more rather than less inclusive – the variations always depending on the spatial politics of the context. This paper examines contemporary discourses and practices of place-making in Melbourne, and asks whether ways of thinking about urban redevelopment as place-making in this time and place are likely to enable the inclusion of social equity in these urban “improvements”.     

Soft-selling gentrification?

This paper explores the rhetoric and reality of regeneration. It looks at wider issues through an examination of ongoing changes in Dundee, using a mixture of participant action research and a critical analysis of government documents and of previous policy-related research. These are combined to show how public debate is being dominated by a political spin that allows gentrifying policies to be portrayed as logical and progressive development.     

Integrating gentrification into the intrinsic logic discourse – Suggestions for linking the research agendas

Taking into account current discourses about urban spaces, this article argues for linking the research agenda on the intrinsic logic of cities with the gentrification debate. Hence, it is proposed that the intrinsic logic is reflected in the gentrification processes. Drawing on results from a research project in three gentrified neighbourhoods (Karmeliterviertel in Vienna, Wicker Park in Chicago and La Condesa in Mexico City), a selection of constitutive aspects is focused upon for a closer analysis. The ‘commodification of urban space’, the issue of ‘social inequality’ and the notion of ‘space as a contested resource’ were identified as examples of manifestations of latent structures that define the intrinsic logic of a city. As the results confirm the main proposition, it is suggested that this approach should be integrated into the research agenda on the intrinsic logic.     

From elevated freeways to surface boulevards: neighborhood and housing price impacts in San Francisco

Freeway “deconstruction” marks an abrupt shift in urban policy. Priorities are shifting away from designing cities to enhance mobility toward promoting livability. This paper investigates the neighborhood, traffic, and housing price impacts of replacing elevated freeways with surface boulevards in two corridors of San Francisco in California, USA: Embarcadero along the city's eastern waterfront and Central Freeway/Octavia Boulevard serving a predominantly residential neighborhood west of downtown. Using informant interviews, literature reviews, and statistical analyses, the research suggests that freeway conversions generally gentrifies neighborhoods, although policies like affordable housing mandates can temper displacement effects. Empirical evidence on residential sales transactions reveals that the disamenity effects of proximity to a freeway have for the most part given way to amenity benefits once roadways are converted to landscaped multiway boulevards. It is concluded that freeway‐to‐boulevard conversions have yielded net positive benefits without seriously sacrificing transportation performance.     

Commercial Gentrification and Entrepreneurial Governance in Shanghai: A Case Study of Taikang Road Creative Cluster

Commercial gentrification—based on the adaptive reuse of historic dwellings for upscale shopping, dining and culture—is emerging as a new model of neighbourhood regeneration in China. Through an analysis of Shanghai's urban restructuring and a case study of Taikang Road Creative Cluster, this article demonstrates that entrepreneurial local government is a key facilitator. Conscious of the synergistic value of restored urban heritage with conspicuous consumption, tourism and even the creative industries, local officials have utilised their urban planning authority to open up urban heritage to a host of gentrifiers including businesses, artists and creative firms. In terms of social outcomes, some local residents have capitalised on inflated property values and gained the opportunity to move out of poverty. Nevertheless, socially exclusive outcomes have also been evident, as commercialisation eroded the living environment of rural migrants and other poor residents.     

Neighbourhood Restructuring and Residential Relocation: Towards a Balanced Perspective on Relocation Processes and Outcomes

This introductory paper to this special issue of Housing Studies questions whether various characteristics of the debate and research on gentrification, displacement and restructuring justify a largely negative perspective on the processes and outcomes of ‘forced’ residential relocation. We argue that a proper and fuller consideration of issues around policy, context, process and outcomes enable researchers and commentators to avoid ready characterisations and self-fulfilling investigations of restructuring which serve to present it as a singular (and somewhat suspicious or conspiratorial) phenomenon. For this purpose, we present a broad conceptual framework for restructuring and relocation studies, based on these four themes. Subsequently, we review major issues in restructuring and gentrification discourses, and briefly reflect upon some of the factors underlying the negative loading of the term displacement. We also identify caveats in the evidence base of relocation studies, both in the United States and in Europe. Finally, we introduce the papers in this special issue. The overall aim of this issue is to offer a more open, balanced starting position for analysis of urban restructuring processes and relocation outcomes, particularly in relation to areas of social housing.     

乡村产业与空间的适应性营建策略研究——以遂昌县上下坪村为例

在当前转型期,大量乡村空间形态由传统型向现代型过渡,新旧风貌的不协调使乡村陷入产业发展与空间保护的对立困境。因此文章聚焦转型期乡村产业与空间的关系,通过回溯村落旅游产业与空间关系从相互依存到不可持续趋势的观念转变,获取产业与空间的关系认知及借鉴启发,结合村落自身适应性及规划设计干预的必要性,提出生态、经济、机制、文化维度的可持续乡村目标框架,建构“适应性更新”理念,梳理产业与空间的关系。并以典型过渡型乡村遂昌上下坪村为例,提出产业联动、季节性景观、主客共享节点等针对过程、时节、主体的精准适应性空间营建策略。     

不同收入阶层混合居住模式——价值评判与实施策略

分析了混合居住模式产生的现实背景及其价值理念 ,介绍了美国混合居住项目运作的主要方法及其成功的关键因素 ,并对中国实施混合居住模式的现实基础进行了思考     

中西方城市内部居住迁移研究述评

以城市地理学视角,梳理西方城市居住迁移特征、迁居影响因素、迁居与城市空间重构等核心问题的研究情况;以国内广州、北京等城市的实证研究为重点,介绍国内城市迁居研究的主要发现,总结既有研究中的问题与困难.研究发现:城市内部居住迁移是中西方城市中普遍存在的现象;具有不同年龄、种族、收入、家庭结构、住房属性等社会经济属性的群体在迁居频率、距离、方向和迁居原因上存在明显差异;我国“计划”与“市场”双轨制并存时期的城市居住迁移,与西方城市在迁居特征、模式、机制和社会空间结果方面存在显著不同.在此基础上,指出进一步开展城市居住迁移研究的理论与现实意义,并提出我国未来城市迁居研究展望.     

Taking the High Line: elevated parks,transforming neighbourhoods,and the ever-changing relationship between the urban and nature

The popularity and impact of the High Line in New York mirrors the complex reality of contemporary provision of public space. The development of the project, its relationship to its surroundings and the evolving trend of elevated parks are analyzed in relation to the role of urban green space and impacts of Landscape Urbanism.

The High Line shows the way to a new role for urban green space by utilizing abandoned infrastructure. In analysing the narrative of the High Line, this article stresses the importance of understanding localities and connectivity. Based on observations as well as a review of the literature and media, the article concludes that great landscaping does not create great places without careful consideration of the surrounding community and residents.