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If you've spent time in a major city recently, you'll no doubt be well aware of how quickly our cities are changing.
Here in London in 2018, this global city is currently undergoing some of the most ambitious building projects it's seen in a generation.
From the Crossrail Tunnel that burrows underneath the whole city, to not one, but three new skyscrapers currently being built in the Square Mile.
But London is changing in far less spectacular ways, too.
It's happening on the city's countless housing estates, its many neighbourhood high streets, and in the parks and public spaces.
A number of terms have been used to describe these processes, including urban regeneration, revitalisation, and even place making.
But underlying all of these is the broader process of gentrification.
But what is gentrification?
And why is studying it so important?
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Hi Mike, what's happening?
Hi Harriet!
Oh, I'm just sitting here, reading a book.
So the term gentrification was first coined back in 1964 by Ruth Glass in this book called "London: Aspects of Change".
So she looked at some of the poorest communities in London and what was happening to their housing situation.
And her conclusion was that the richer people were buying into these properties where poorer people lived, and effectively pushing them out due to increases in rent and in property values.
So she likened this process to something that happened back in the 19th century, when the landed gentry or the aristocracy, commandeered land from peasants, hence the word gentrification.
Gentrification is about how the development of our cities by those in control, affects the lives of people that live, work, and play there.
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Building new houses in London is really important because the UK is experiencing a chronic housing shortage.
But the problem with London is that most of the city is already occupied and so the land is incredibly valuable.
So if you take an example of the Elephant Park in the Elephant and Castle, three bedroom flats are currently being sold for about £1.7 million.
And if you compare that to a city like Newcastle, three-bedroom properties there are going for less than £250,000.
So why is that?
Well often, property developers prefer to build more expensive housing to sell to wealthier people to make more profit.
But the problem with that is that local people who live here can't afford the new prices, so are forced to move away.
So this really is having a profound effect on the social, cultural, ethnic, and economic makeup of the area.
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This is Nine Elms in Battersea, on the south side of the River Thames in southwest London.
Around 20,000 new homes are being developed here, and the aim of this regeneration is to transform this brownfield, or former industrial site, into a globally renowned tourist destination, with a mix of retail, housing, and leisure.
Tell us a little bit about what's going on here.
Well, this is known as state-led gentrification because it's strongly encouraged by the city government and by the local authorities that govern Nine Elms and have given the planning permissions for this development to go ahead.
But, most of these properties are being marketed and sold quite often to buyers in far-flung places of the world, and at prices that are much higher than local residents can normally afford.
But what about affordable housing.
Well, local authorities can ask the developers to factor in a proportion of the housing as affordable housing to rent or to buy.
So for example behind us, one of these towers is purely what's known as affordable housing.
But in general, affordable housing is more of an issue for developers, as logically they're seeking to maximise their profit, and so they may wish to reduce the amount of affordable housing on their development, or cut it entirely.
So they can make more money from their build.
Yeah, exactly.
So gentrification doesn't only affect housing, it has wider social and economic impacts, often in response to the changing tastes of the new people living in the more expensive houses.
So the rents for shops, cafes, restaurants, and leisure facilities nearby will increase.
Existing businesses may not be able to stay, and bigger brands will be able to afford these high rents.
So gentrification often sees local, independent shops changing into chain stores, or more expensive retail outlets.
Along with these wider social and economic impacts of gentrification, spaces that are used for recreation and play can suddenly become very valuable.
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This area behind me is the Southbank Centre, a famous cultural venue, and one of the most visited open spaces in London.
If we look carefully, we can see skateboarders making use of the space below the Hayward Gallery.
An area called the Undercroft.
Hi, Oli!
Hey!
How's it going?
Alright, how are you?
Not bad, thank you.
Hey, can you tell us a bit about skateboarding on the South Bank.
Yeah, so the skateboarders have been here since about the 1970s and they've been creating a subculture ever since.
They've been hanging out with friends, and just enjoying the views and enjoying the space.
It's a space where locals and tourists can all mix together and enjoy the lovely views of the river, and they just stand and watch the skateboarders and listen to the sounds of the wheels on the concrete.
So it's a really famous site, it's renowned really throughout the skateboarding community over the entire world, and that's despite numerous attempts to remove them over the years.
But, why have there been attempts to remove the skateboarders?
Well really, this site is very valuable.
I mean, look at it, it's in the middle of London, it's surrounded by beautiful scenery.
So in 2013, the owners of the site wanted to demolish the skate spot and turn it into a row of cafes and restaurants, which they would have got lots of rent and lots of income from those chain stores that would have been based there.
Of course, the skateboarders didn't like this at all, they saw it as an act of gentrification, and so they clubbed together to form the Long Live Southbank campaign.
It was a campaign that lasted about 18 months, and in the end, they were successful.
They garnered huge public support, and now the skateboarders have clubbed together with the owners of the site in order to expand the skate spot and make it a far bigger place.
So, gentrification doesn't just affect where we live and our housing, it also affects these cultural spaces where we play and where we spend our leisure time.
So these examples show us how gentrification has economic, social, cultural, and political effects.
Gentrification is a controversial topic, and as geographers, we are interested in understanding its impacts.
And by understanding these impacts, we're better equipped to deal with the real, human consequences of our rapidly urbanising world.
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