Gentrification and the Everyday

By Edward Sanderson

Part 2
In the previous part, I ended by providing a definition of gentrification, as I believe it is generally understood. But, going beyond this and thinking affectively, my original comment on Michael’s post suggests:

“…an insidious insinuation and transformation of a situation, initially through a process of ‘filling a gap’ or perhaps ‘taking advantage of an opportunity.’ At that stage not necessarily a negative activity, but one which opens the door—provides justification—for the ‘real’ ‘gentry’ to usurp those conditions which initiated it…”

In that comment I went on to question whether the Heyri community in Seoul was gentrification per se. This broader definition of gentrification is something I’ve begun to come to terms with in my alternate example of New Malden (brought up in Part 1 of this series).

I also suggested that the nature of the changes typical of the strict definition of gentrification perhaps more applicable to the Beijing situation in which HomeShop finds itself (a subject that Michael began to deal with in his original post), in terms of the socio-economic changes that it represents.

(more…)

Gentrification and the Everyday

By Edward Sanderson

Part 1

After commenting on his original post about his visit to South Korea’s Heyri village, Michael Eddy asked me to contribute further on the subject of gentrification as part of the “Gentrification Disco” series. I was happy to oblige as I think gentrification is an interesting subject, touching on our roles in the development of psycho-geographical areas and how we can relate that to broader (psycho-?)political changes.

I’m writing this in two parts, as I got a bit carried away and the piece is getting way too long to sustain attention in a single post. Firstly, I’ll talk about my hometown of New Malden, on the outskirts of London, which has seen its own forms of gentrification.

I’ll talk about two stages of gentrification in the life of New Malden (there have undoubtedly been many others). To begin with I’ll quickly touch on its original development in the 1850s and its more recent social changes in the 1990s onward.

The second part will move its focus back to Beijing, and deal with HomeShop’s own situation and the potential effects it might have on the area, and how this can be seen to relate to its own programme.

(more…)

Where to begin with the topic of gentrification?
Of course, in our city, right here in our very neighborhood where we are implicated.
No.
We will get to that.

Suppose we start in a future-primitive state: something beginning from a point far too under-urbanized than we conventionally conceive in such a process, resulting in something far too over-developed, centrally-marketed and artificial, not to mention out of the city, to speak the gentrified language.

(more…)