Gentrification involves wealthier people moving into poorer urban areas, improving housing and attracting businesses. This often displaces current residents who can no longer afford increased housing costs. Gentrification has positive impacts like neighborhood improvements but also negative impacts like displacement of long-time residents. In London, the gentrification of Soho led to demolition of historical buildings and displacement despite opposition from organizations seeking to preserve the neighborhood's character. Gentrification occurs globally but also impacts developing countries through foreign investment that directs local development. In South Africa, gentrification has two phases - initial consumption-driven renovations and later government-led urban renewal efforts. Solutions are needed to address displacement challenges caused by gentrification.

1. GENTRIFICATION &
URBAN RENEWAL
BY Kgotsofalang Motsoko

2. GENTRIFICATION, URBAN
RENEWAL, AND ASSOCIATED
TERMS
o Since the 1980s, the urban restructuration process has had important effects on
cities. One of these is the transformation of urban residential space, which
includes processes such as urban renewal and gentrification (Uzun, 2018).
o Gentrification
o The process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier
people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, often
displacing current inhabitants in the process.
o According to Glaeser, Kim and Luca (2018) Gentrification involves the substantial
replacement of a neighborhood's lower-income residents with newcomers of
higher income who renovate and upgrade the neighborhood. Although
gentrification is first and foremost a residential process, it also entails commercial
redevelopment. As the socioeconomic composition of the neighborhood changes,
so it does the perception of acceptable land usesThis process involves
neighbourhood changes that include economic change in a historically disinvested
neighbourhood

3. URBAN RENEWAL
• Urban Renewal
• Urban renewal refers to the improvement of parts of urban areas that are run
down.
• Urban and inner city renewal programmes aim to speed up service delivery
and upgrade infrastructure such as roads. Fight urban decay and most
importantly develop skills and create jobs.

4. “YUPPIES”
• Yuppies are young and upcoming professionals.
• These young professionals go back and renovate their homes .
• They form part of the “Gentrified City”
• Improved city leads to displacement.

5. STEPS OR PROCESS OF GENTRIFICATION,
SYSTEMATICALLY.
• Invasion and succession occurs as the city grows and spreads out, leading to the
urban functions invading the rural functions.
• 1. The Initial stage
• This stage features a small group of pioneers who buy and renovate properties in an
area for their personal use.
• Little displacement as these pioneers buy vacant space and renovate. These
newcomers have certain skills.
• 2. The Second stage
• Similar to the initial stage as homes are renovated in this gentrification stage
• Houses purchased at this stage are a bit dispersed and most are vacant making
them easy to get/acquire.

6. • Governments agencies are attracted to this improving space.
• 3. Stage 3
• This new and gentrified space grabs the medias attention. Newspaper
articles, posts on social media etc.
• The pioneers are joined by the developers and this leads to the
urban renewal.
• Drastic improvements are experienced at this stage as new investors
developer undertake a lot of work.
• House prices increase and displacement occurs.
• Middle-class income residents fill these spaces as the low-income
slowly move out.

7. • 4. Final Stage
• A greater number of properties are gentrified, leading to more middle income
residence moving in.
• Non-residential building are converted to cater for the growing population on
middle-income residents.
• Small and specialized retail, professional services, and commercial activities
emerge.
• These all lead to increases in housing and rent prices which worsens the issue
of displacement.
• It is at this stage that other neighbourhoods in the city are identified to meet
the demand on the middle class population.

8. POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
IMPLICATIONS AND REAL-WORLD
CONSEQUENCES OF
GENTRIFICATION.
• Positive Implications
• According to Yoon and Park (2018), small houses and local houses in Seoul have
been westernized as they have been converted to cafes, western style restaurants,
and large chain store. In the Korean society, such changes are recognized as
commercial gentrification which is a big issue, however it also has positive elements
to it.
• There is evidence of improved neighbourhood images and better scenery.
• It also leads to changes in regional characteristics, landscape and industry
homogenization

9. • New store fronts and buildings emerge, this can
bring new jobs in communities which had no job
opportunities in the past.
• Cleaner streets due to the process of gentrification
will be evident, attracting the wealthy to buy
property in these communities.

10. GENTRIFICATION

11. NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS OF
GENTRIFICATION
• The area which is gentrified of renewed changes from a low-income residential area to a
middle-income or high-income residential area.
• This can be viewed as good but the previous residents need to be considered because they will
be displaced.
• These residence who were living in these areas have to relocate to less expensive areas, with
possibly even worse social problems because they can no longer afford to live where they lived.
• Local businesses which catered for the low-income residents will suffer greatly as they will no
have to compete with more prominent businesses.
• Displacement may be of economic benefit to cities as the rising property values increase the tax
base (Nesbitt, 2005; Phillips, 2018).

12. GENTRIFICATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN
THE UK (LONDON)
• Transmormation was experienced in Soho so much so that one
may notice the high amount of urban renewal and demolition
interventions.
• In 2007 the Westminster government presented the Soho action
plan that dictated actions to urban renewal to make necessary
physical improvements in the area

13. • Since then, old markets, historical bars and theatres and rundown buildings were
demolished to build new residential and office towers.
• Destroying historical monuments to construct new buildings did not sit well with
the residents on Soho in London. People share a connection with a place.
• Numerous organizations have been created which aim to protect Soho from
gentrification, the most famous one being “Save Soho”
• Despite unhappiness from the public local authorities and planning experts support
this plan but I would not expect this from the South African Council of Planner since
South Africa has a new and rich history.
• Although gentrifying the city of Soho and renewing it may bring enormous
improvements in the people's quality of life in the long run, as gentrified cities will
definitely receive better service delivery than previously. An issue that needed to be
considered was that Soho had some historical building that needed to be protected
and several activities that had been the heart of that neighbourhood for decades.
These activities needed to be bettered no banned.

14. • One of the main interventions that have been carried out in Soho during the study
period is the rebuilding of the Totenham Court Road station. As one may seeit has
had a great impact in the area since the Crossrail proposals for the western ticket
hall and the associated emergency escape and ventilation shaft at Tottenham Court
Road required the demolition of two blocks of buildings to the south of Oxford
Street, between Great Chapel Street to the west and Dean Street to the east

15. SOHO COURT DURING
GENTRIFICATION

16. ORGANIZATIONS AGAINST
GENTRIFICATION IN SOHO

17. GENTRIFICATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS
IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
• Since Africa has gained her independence, billions of dollar has been
poured into it through corrupt African governments who end up
misusing funds. China being the largest investor In Africa causing
development.
• According to Mocombe (2006), gentrification is the economic and
social strategy by which upper class owners who govern the
capitalist world system under-develop and then dependently develop
countries in attempt to accumulate capital through industrialization
as opposed to agricultural production which dominated the
industrial phase of the world system.
• Development through gentrification represents the means by which
foreign capital directs local capital to slow down and control the
economic development of underdeveloped countries.

18. • Globally, gentrification in terms of urban history refers to the devaluation
and revaluation of urban inner cities by capital.
• Resources such as land, labour and capital of developing countries are
gentrified by foreign capital (Smith, 1996).
• Brain drain

19. RELEVANT PHOTOS TO REFLECT THE
DAILY RHYTHMS AND NUANCES LINKED
TO GENTRIFICATION.

21. DISPLACEMENT

22. GENTRIFICATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
• Gentrification of inner city suburbs in South Africa (SA).
• In SA gentrification emerged in two distinct phases.
• 1ST phase was consumption driven as middle-class residents renovated their
dilapidated properties to increase their value (Kotze, 1998).
• This drove the working class people out of due to increased property values
• For Garside (1993), this phase was linked to the racial desegregation, with coloureds
replacing whites in Suburbs of Lower Woodstock.
• Black, coloured and Indian people in SA were and still are the agents of
gentrification, owing to the rise of the black-middle call and their demand for
housing.

23. GENTRIFICATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
• The 2nd phase came about as local governments came to view
gentrification as a means to combat inner city decline.
• The following image shows the gentrification of New Orleans,
Cape Town which resulted in better housing and increased
housing costs.
• Original residents of this area were unhappy, claiming that white
people came and upset their culture and status quo.

25. • The development of the Maboneng Precinct occurred in a space that was not
formally occupied. Despite the signs of gentrification, Maboneng cannot simply be
read through the traditional lens of gentrification, often derived from Western
settings (Nevin, 2014).
• Maboneng serves as a good example that gentrification is not always a bad
process.
JOHANNESBURG MABONENG

26. JOHANNESBURG MABONENG
• Its development has provided an important space for young,
black, upwardly-mobile professionals as we known them as
“yuppies”.
• It is also a space for black LGBTI youth who can afford to leave the
township to rent of buy property.
• A space for racial and sexual freedom in out post-apartheid city.

28. SOLUTIONS THAT COULD DIRECTLY
ADDRESS THE ISSUES AND/OR
CHALLENGES OF GENTRIFICATION.
• Issues associated with gentrification such as displacement of the low-income
workers needs to be addressed by government laws which will control rent
increases.
• Vacant properties need to be taxed, to prevent these spaces from being changed as
they may represent some historical area for some groups in society.

29. • Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)
houses to shelter the displaced low-income residence.

30. FOR MORE INQUIRIES EMAIL ME AT:
KGOTSOFALANGMOTSOKO12@GMAIL.COM