Gentrification is popularly defined as a trend in the development of urban neighbourhoods that results in increased property values, and the displacement of lower-income families and existing small businesses. As a way of developing neighborhoods through urban projects, private development companies argue that the “ends justify the means” in their quest to “renew” and “revitalize” a “blighted” neighbourhood. This thesis asks what happens to those in the footprint of a development project. Taking a 22-acre multi-use urban megaproject in Brooklyn as a privileged site for inquiry, it documents and analyzes the experience of residents in initial and subsequent phases of the development process. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews with 28 individuals, the thesis argues that gentrification can be better understood by conceptualizing the social relations involved, in particular, those of corruption and community.

Since 1970, many inner-city neighbourhoods that were the domain of low-income groups occupying cheap, dilapidated housing have attracted higher socio-economic groups. As a consequence, capital invested has increased the condition and price of inner-city housing. This phenomenon is commonly called "gentrification." This thesis reviews the gentrification literature, analyzes gentrification within an economic framework, and uses regression analysis to test the following hypothesis: There is a lag between the first statge of gentrification, the start of demographic transition, and the second stage, rising real housing prices. An increase in real housing prices can, therefore, be predicted by observing which central neighbourhoods are beginning to undergo demographic change. The intra-urban gentrification model designed for this thesis regresses the change in real housing prices during the 1970s against the change in demographics during the 1960s. The sample is 95 inner-city census tracts from Vancouver, Ottawa-Hull, and Toronto. The conclusion from statistical analysis is that rising housing prices in gentrifying neighbourhoods can indeed be predicted by observing which inner-city neighbourhoods are starting to undergo demographic change. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

This dissertation seeks to examine whether neighborhood public parks have a relationship to neighborhood change, including gentrification outcomes, through the investigation of a city-wide study of the neighborhood parks system in Philadelphia. It addresses the gap in the literature that examines investments in existing neighborhood parks and examines how they effect the surrounding community. In this dissertation, I ask the following research questions: What does a multi-dimensional concept of public park accessibility look like? What effect does proximity to a small neighborhood park have on the demographics and quality of the surrounding built environment? What effect does park quality of small neighborhood parks have on the quality of the surrounding built environment? Four methodological tools were used in this study: analysis of policy documents, Google Street View remote surveying, geographic information system (GIS) analysis, and statistical analysis. This study is the first of its kind that examines existing neighborhood parks, their quality, and the relationship to demographics and development in neighborhoods at a city-wide scale. The findings expand existing green gentrification literature and finds that while parks themselves are associated with gentrification and increased built environment development, the number of amenities in a park is not associated with an increase in the gentrification of the surrounding neighborhood. This key finding opens the door for cities to invest into their existing neighborhood parks without fear that improvements will trigger gentrification and displacement in vulnerable neighborhoods as long as additional policy steps are enacted to keep residents in place. / Geography

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<p> This thesis examines the change in housing tenure in the City of Toronto. The trends of tenure are described briefly between 1951 to 1971, for the city, as well as for the CMA. Specifically examined is the period from 1971 to 1988, in the City of Toronto. </p> <p> There is a continual decline in the rate of home ownership from 1951 to 1971, even though the absolute number of homeowners is increasing. This can be seen in the city, as well as the suburbs, and outlying areas. The overall decline in the rate may be due to the apartment boom of the 1960's, which can be associated with the baby boom from a few years earlier. Also suburbanization was occurring which certainly had an effect on home ownership. </p> <p> Similarly, ownership rates continued to decline between 1971 to 1986, although the absolute numbers were higher than tenants, and was steadily increasing. Gentrification and condominium construction certainly was associated with this absolute increase in home ownership. A closer look at the city reveals certain census tracts are increasing in home ownership at a higher rate than others. By looking at certain demographic characteristics, it is possible to see the changing social geography of these areas. </p> <p>The period 1986 to 1988 incurred tremendous condominium construction. The city during this time increased in ownership rates. Changing lifestyles and desires of the people living in the city caused a demand for condominiums. </p> <p> It is important to examine these trends and patterns of the city and the outlying areas to be kept informed of the changing social and economic geography of the city. </p> / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy

GEOGRAPHY is a novel of the District of Columbia.

This thesis examines gentrification in the historic centre of the Syrian capital Damascus prior to the civil war beginning in spring 2011 and to what extent the authoritarian regime facilitated and benefited from gentrification and urban heritage as means of regime maintenance. In so doing it critically engages with and brings into dialogue bodies of literature that, on first sight, have not much in common: first, gentrification, the production of urban space for the better-off, a process which can now be observed globally; second, urban heritage (i.e. its use for economic, political or identity-related purposes); and third, authoritarian resilience, with a focus on the Middle East, a region where authoritarian regimes remained resilient to internal and external pressures for economic and political liberalization. The thesis identifies the advance of neoliberalism and alterations in Syria’s elite composition as the contexts in which the literatures as well as the processes under scrutiny overlap. Qualitative interviews with private and official stakeholders in gentrification and heritage preservation in Old Damascus form the empirical foundation of this study, complemented by the analysis of newspaper articles, internet sources and works of fiction. Until 2011, gentrification emerged mainly in the form of commercialized historic property, a trend mainly driven by members of the upper and upper-middle classes, who were both producers and consumers of a gentrified Old Damascus. Beside the sheer interest in capital accumulation, stakeholders “used” the old city as a source of identity and an element of a Damascene heritage discourse. In addition to upper-class Damascenes’ economic and identity-related interests this thesis argues that authoritarian resilience, and thus the interests of the authoritarian state, developed into an additional aspect of gentrification and heritage promotion in Old Damascus, as the regime benefited from and facilitated both processes. Providing affluent parts of the population with a commodified landscape of consumption enabled the regime to domestically gain the support of consumers and those co-opted by privileged access to lucrative business opportunities in the old city (i.e. regime cronies and loyal entrepreneurs). Additionally, the promotion of a gentrified Old Damascus and its heritage as a tourist attraction functioned as an opportunity to upgrade the country’s negative image abroad. In conclusion, approaching authoritarian resilience through the analytical lenses of gentrification and heritage contributes to a broader understanding of urban transformations in authoritarian states. However, in the face of coercion through urban warfare, destruction and ethnic cleansing, it is unclear to what extent gentrification and heritage are still of importance for regime maintenance in Syria’s cities.

Regent Park is Canada’s largest and among its oldest public housing developments. Like similar large-scale public housing developments across North America, Regent Park has come under considerable criticism for isolating low-income households and facilitating crime, among other things. As a result, an ambitious six-phase, one billion dollar revitalization project was initiated in 2005 to completely re-design Regent Park and integrate the neighbourhood into the urban fabric of Toronto. This qualitative study examines the impact of relocation on residents from phase 1 of this revitalization project. With demolition of the neighbourhood commencing in February of 2005, 370 households from Regent Park were dispersed; some stayed in Regent Park, some moved to surrounding neighbourhoods, and others moved further away in the Greater Toronto Area. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of 21 of these households in an effort to discover some of the more salient impacts of relocation on the lives of phase 1 residents. Both social and place-based impacts were assessed using the frameworks of social capital and place attachment, respectively. The study was conceived of as the first part of a longitudinal study of relocation and resettlement of public housing residents in Regent Park.

Regent Park is Canada’s largest and among its oldest public housing developments. Like similar large-scale public housing developments across North America, Regent Park has come under considerable criticism for isolating low-income households and facilitating crime, among other things. As a result, an ambitious six-phase, one billion dollar revitalization project was initiated in 2005 to completely re-design Regent Park and integrate the neighbourhood into the urban fabric of Toronto. This qualitative study examines the impact of relocation on residents from phase 1 of this revitalization project. With demolition of the neighbourhood commencing in February of 2005, 370 households from Regent Park were dispersed; some stayed in Regent Park, some moved to surrounding neighbourhoods, and others moved further away in the Greater Toronto Area. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of 21 of these households in an effort to discover some of the more salient impacts of relocation on the lives of phase 1 residents. Both social and place-based impacts were assessed using the frameworks of social capital and place attachment, respectively. The study was conceived of as the first part of a longitudinal study of relocation and resettlement of public housing residents in Regent Park.