Table Of ContentPALGRAVE STUDIES
IN URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY
Gentrification around
the World, Volume II
Innovative Approaches
Edited by
Jerome Krase · Judith N. DeSena
Palgrave Studies in Urban Anthropology
Series Editors
Italo Pardo
School of Anthropology and Conservation
University of Kent
Canterbury, Kent, UK
Giuliana B. Prato
School of Anthropology and Conservation
University of Kent
Canterbury, Kent, UK
Half of humanity lives in towns and cities and that proportion is ex-
pectedtoincreaseinthecomingdecades.Society,bothWesternandnon-
Western, is fast becoming urban and mega-urban as existing cities and a
growing number of smaller towns are set on a path of demographic and
spatial expansion. Given the disciplinary commitment to an empirically-
based analysis, anthropology has a unique contribution to make to our
understanding of our evolving urban world. It is in such a belief that
we have established the Palgrave Studies in Urban Anthropology series.
In the awareness of the unique contribution that ethnography offers for
a better theoretical and practical grasp of our rapidly changing and in-
creasingly complex cities, the series will seek high-quality contributions
from anthropologists and other social scientists, such as geographers, po-
litical scientists, sociologists and others, engaged in empirical research in
diverseethnographicsettings.Proposedtopicsshouldsettheagendacon-
cerning new debates and chart new theoretical directions, encouraging
reflection on the significance of the anthropological paradigm in urban
research and its centrality to mainstream academic debates and to society
more broadly. The series aims to promote critical scholarship in interna-
tionalanthropology.Volumespublishedintheseriesshouldaddresstheo-
retical and methodological issues, showing the relevance of ethnographic
researchinunderstandingthesocio-cultural,demographic,economicand
geo-political changes of contemporary society.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14573
·
Jerome Krase Judith N. DeSena
Editors
Gentrification around
the World, Volume II
Innovative Approaches
Editors
Jerome Krase Judith N. DeSena
Brooklyn College St. John’s University
City University of New York Queens, NY, USA
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Palgrave Studies in Urban Anthropology
ISBN 978-3-030-41340-8 ISBN 978-3-030-41341-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41341-5
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Preface
Simply put, this book is about the process of gentrification with a global
perspective. It is a collection of scholarly but readable essays, which ana-
lyze the process of gentrification in cities around the world through the
lenses of various academic disciplines. The editors sought contributions
thatinvestigatedthesocial,political,andeconomicsignificanceofgentri-
ficationbasedonoriginalresearch.Thisparticularvolumeexaminesinno-
vative approaches in focus and/or methodology. The book is divided by
regions specifically, the Global North and Global South and continents
within them. Selections utilize primarily qualitative methodologies that
emphasize ethnographic, participatory, as well as visual approaches.
Gentrification, along with resultant displacement, has accelerated
within global cities and spread throughout the world. While the concept
originated more than a half-century ago from observations in London
by Ruth Glass (1964), gentrification is expressed today in a multitude of
occasionally bewildering forms. Capital, along with advanced communi-
cation systems, has literally created a gentrifying global village. Yet, there
appears to be greater homogeneity from place to place. This volume also
reflects the many themes and “types” of gentrification presented in re-
search. Examples are: commercial gentrification, corporate gentrification,
tourism gentrification, “greenification,” regeneration, and transnational
gentrification to name a few.
As ethnographers who often take visual approaches to their subjects,
the editors’ professional and personal travels in the world have allowed
v
vi PREFACE
them to observe and take note of changes that were similar to those they
were studying in Brooklyn and New York City. For example, in Paris,
glitzy coffee shops were found adjacent to tailor shops staffed by im-
migrants. In Dublin, upscale housing was being developed near older,
smaller, and more modest housing. In Palma de Mallorca, a restaurant
named “Brooklyn” was identified, while in Berlin there was a Brook-
lyn barbershop. A vintage clothing store named Williamsburg was seen
in Madrid, and in Lisbon, one noted the construction of luxury hous-
ing (studios to penthouse duplex apartments), advertised with views of
the Tagus River. Upscaling, trendy neighborhoods are found through-
out Rome in areas that were once avoided. Thus, the idea for this global
gentrification project evolved. We are certain that this collection of well-
craftedessayswillgeneratebroaddiscussionsofinternationalandcompar-
ative theoretical and practical issues.
DeSena would like to acknowledge the support of her family, friends,
andcolleagues.NeilSheehanofferedmanyideas,observations,andcom-
ments.FrancisSheehanservedastechnicalsupportfortheassorteddigital
platformsusedtocreatethemanuscript.PaulSheehanheightenedheren-
ergyasheenteredcollege.DeSenaalsothanksSt.John’sUniversityforin-
cluding“global”aspartofthemission.Inparticular,JeffreyFagen,Dean
ofSt.John’sCollegeofLiberalArtsandSciences,supportedherabilityto
“see” gentrification in cities in Europe. Furthermore, she would also like
to pay tribute to her colleagues in the Discover New York program for a
multidisciplinaryenvironmentallowingfortheintegrationofvariousper-
spectives in her research. Finally, DeSena would like to acknowledge her
co-editor(attimesco-author),mentor,andfriendforbeinganexemplary
scholar, while maintaining his sense of humor.
Krase acknowledges the patience of his wife Suzanne Nicoletti and his
many colleagues, family members and friends who have been collabora-
tors,andoccasionalsubjects,ofhisstudiesofurbanlifeandculturewhich
began shortly after Ruth Glass coined the term. As to thanks for institu-
tional support for his work on global gentrification, he has been the ben-
eficiary of grants from the Professional Staff Congress of the City Uni-
versity of New York, the Fulbright Foundation, the International Urban
Symposium, the Kosciuszko Foundation, Murray Koppelman, and the
Polish Ministry of Higher Education. Finally, DeSena and Krase would
like to express their gratitude to the anonymous reviewers of our two-
volume proposal on Gentrification around the World and the editorial
PREFACE vii
andsupportstaffofPalgraveMacmillanaswellasPalgraveStudiesinUr-
ban Anthropology book series editors Giuliana B. Prato and Italo Pardo.
Brooklyn, USA Jerome Krase
Queens, USA Judith N. DeSena
Reference
Glass,Ruth.1964.London,AspectsofChange.London:CenterforUrbanStudies.
Praise for Gentrificationaroundthe
World,Volume II
“These volumes are truly global in their analysis of gentrification and
related phenomena including marginalisation, exclusion and urban
change. Each contribution is accessible and sensitive to articulations of
thelocalandglobal.Collectively,thevolumescoverawiderangeofissues
bearing upon processes of gentrification, combining hard-won empirical
insightswithcompellingtheoreticalreflectionsondisplacementandurban
change.Theworkpresentedhereistestamenttotheongoingendeavours
of the International Urban Symposium (IUS) as a supportive and vibrant
scholarly community as well as the influence and reach of Urbanities:
Journal of Urban Ethnography.”
—James Rosbrook-Thompson, Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin
University, Cambridge, UK
“Krase and DeSena’s Volume II extends their first volume’s
gentrification case studies to a qualitative focus on ways to
comprehend the processes of gentrification. Divided simply by the
Global North and Global South, the editors created a collection
examining the deeper, underlying concepts behind gentrification. Using
case studies covering working-class Polish shopkeepers to hipsters, the
entertaining cases are sure to facilitate debates.”
—William G. Holt, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Urban
Environmental Studies, Birmingham-Southern College, USA
ix
x PRAISE FOR GENTRIFICATION AROUND THE WORLD, VOLUME II
“Krase and DeSena provide a timely and essential addition to the social
and cultural geography of gentrification with this remarkable collection
of accounts gentrification from across the globe. Through a variety of
innovative approaches, the contributors show the many ways
gentrification impacts cities, neighborhoods and individuals. They
also relate in detail how it reshapes the socioeconomic fabric, as well as
the iconography of places. From Helsinki’s housing estates to Buenos
Aires’ shantytowns, local perspectives allow the reader to understand the
power of gentrification as it transforms the physical fabric of our cities,
our behaviors, social norms, and even our mindsets.”
—Alessandro Busà, author of The Creative Destruction of New York
City: Engineering the City for the Elite (2017)