Who Is Being Displaced? Gentrification and Threatened Communities

2025/03/10

Have you ever felt that "the city has become cleaner" in your daily life? In recent years, redevelopment and station-front improvements have been progressing in various parts of cities. Generally, such redevelopment is often praised for improving convenience and brightening the atmosphere of the town. On the other hand, some people may have experienced long-standing local shops closing down, only to be replaced by chain stores or higher-priced establishments.

Cities are constantly changing, both in terms of "hard" aspects (buildings, etc.) and "soft" aspects (society). In this context, when we pause to consider how the changes brought about by redevelopment have affected society, the term "gentrification" provides a clue.

Gentrification generally refers to a phenomenon where working-class residential areas or low-income neighborhoods in urban centers, known as inner areas, are redeveloped. As new luxury housing and commercial facilities targeting the middle class and above open, a turnover of residents occurs, leading to an increase in higher-income inhabitants. This book traces the footsteps of Ruth Glass, the British sociologist who coined the term, while also examining low-income areas in Vancouver, Canada, and Yokohama to explore the problems gentrification causes in modern cities.

Until now, the term gentrification has not been widely known in Japan. However, in Western societies where housing shortages and soaring housing prices and rents have become social issues, gentrification is understood to lead to the displacement and eviction of socially vulnerable groups.

Turning back to Japanese cities, how should we think about gentrification? At present, even when looking at the same urban landscape, some people may view it as gentrification while others do not. By gaining a word to describe the phenomenon occurring before our eyes, people can "understand" it. When considering changes in cities and regions, gentrification will undoubtedly become an increasingly important term in the future.

Who Is Being Displaced? Gentrification and Threatened Communities

Kahoruko Yamamoto

Keio University Press

288 pages, 2,970 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.