Gentrification

The Meaning of Authenticity

Architecture critic John King reads Sharon Zukin's new book "Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Spaces" and ruminates on the meaning of authenticity in his own hometown, San Francisco.

March 6, 2010 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Tourism Trumps Residents in Egypt

The temple of Luxor is a must-see on the Egyptian tourism route, and city officials are clearing homes of locals out of the way to uncover an ancient parade route. Locals say the government is creating an excuse to clear low-income residents.

March 3, 2010 - Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS)

Gentrification Without Exodus in Bedford-Stuyvesant

The Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant is coming up in the world but is managing to preserve its African-American culture throughout.

February 28, 2010 - The New York Times

The Death and Gentrification of Great American Cities

Sharon Zukin's new book takes a different look at the urbanity championed in Jane Jacobs' seminal book "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", arguing that gentrification is tearing up the authenticity of places.

February 23, 2010 - The New York Times

Friday Funny: Gentrification, Coming to a Neighborhood Near You

A series of mock-advertisements herald the gentrification of Brooklyn.

January 29, 2010 - Flavorpill

Jane Jacobs, Gentrifier?

Prof. Sharon Zukin argues that Jacobs had "a gentrifier’s appreciation of urban authenticity" in her new book, Naked City.

January 11, 2010 - New York Post

Hamburg's Manifesto Against the 'Creative Class'

A new manifesto is being circulated in Hamburg, Germany, where city officials have used the concept of the "creative class" to rebrand the city and lure in creative people. The resulting gentrification of the city has many locals upset.

January 9, 2010 - Der Spiegel

Revitalization, Without Gentrification

That's the trick architect Gregory Henriquez is trying to pull off in a rundown section of Vancouver, in one of the biggest redevelopment projects the city has seen yet.

November 26, 2009 - The New York Times

More Jane Jacobs, Less Marc Jacobs

That's the slogan seen on t-shirts around Jane Jacobs beloved Greenwich Village, where some locals feel high-end chains are ruining the neighborhood.

October 19, 2009 - Jeremiah's Vanishing New York

Controversial Rezoning in Harlem, A Year Later

Controversy surrounded the 125th St. Rezoning, which locals thought would cause rampant gentrification. One year later, little has changed.

September 16, 2009 - City Limits

The Dangers of Mega-Events

2010 will bring with it a series of huge international events -- the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the World Cup in South Africa and the World Expo in Shanghai. Though seen as major opportunities for their hosts, these events can also be dangerous.

September 5, 2009 - Next American City

Accustomed to Decline, One Neighborhood in Flint Bucks Trend

Take two seemingly unrelated words: Flint and Gentrification. Now put them together. What you get is an unexpected rebirth in one part of the struggling city -- a neighborhood where home ownership and community investment are actually increasing.

August 21, 2009 - The New York Times

The Perils of Gentrification

In Bedford-Stuyvesant, the changes that gentrification have brought to the neighborhood are fundamental, not just cosmetic. One planner talks about how neighborhood character could be retained.

May 17, 2009 - The Brooklyn Rail (via Feministing)

Piecing Neighborhoods Together Out Of Foreclosures

In Detroit, a couple bought a foreclosure for $1900. They've been steadily piecing together a community out of their neighborhood ever since.

March 9, 2009 - The New York Times

New York City More Diverse Than Ever

New census data has given some insight on how New York City has been changing in the past eight years or so. Diversity is on the rise, as is the number of children being raised in Manhattan.

December 10, 2008 - The New York Times

New Rail Brings Opportunities and Fears to East L.A.

As rail expands into East L.A., residents are both excited about economic opportunities and worried about gentrification and the possible loss of the area's distinct Latino character.

December 2, 2008 - Los Angeles Times

Big Boxes Heading Downtown

With growth controls making suburban properties less attractive and wealth becoming concentrated in older centres, Canada's big box retailers are looking downtown for new locations.

September 17, 2008 - Globe and Mail

Community Calls for Involvement as Swaths of New York Land are Rezoned

One-sixth of the total land in New York has been rezoned under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and some say it's fueling widespread gentrification. Community members affected by the changes are calling for more say in the future of their neighborhoods.

September 2, 2008 - The Gotham Gazette

Church's Development Arm Under Fire in Harlem

A powerful Harlem church that has expanded its reach into local real estate development is coming under fire from locals who say their projects are damaging Harlem's small-town character and encouraging gentrification.

August 19, 2008 - The New York Times

A Move Back into Cities Indicates Changing Middle-Class Mores

Author Alan Ehrenhalt says that conditions are ripe for the permanent return of downtown residential neighborhoods, and that a "demographic inversion" has already begun in Manhattan, Chicago and Washington, DC, among other cities.

August 1, 2008 - The New Republic

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.