Gentrification Case Study

One critique of gentrification is that it does not assimilate the lower class into the new middle class environment. Lee (2008) sights that there is a poor evidence base for 'positive gentrification’. She believes that although the new middle classes' desire for diversity and difference, they tend to self-segregate. “Gentrification is part of an aggressive, revanchist ideology designed to retake the inner city for the middle classes” (Lee, p.1, 2008). Lee highlights a major critic of gentrification, the displacement of the lower-class. Although this displacement may be true, with the closure of the General Motors the previous basis of Elizabeth’s economy no longer functions. This displacement of the lower-class is inevitable, and with gentrification being the new basis of Elizabeth’s economy it may be unavoidable. However, systems are in place to aid the displaced. The SAHT (South Australian Housing Trust) and a strong welfare system should adequately manage the displacement. …show more content…
To re-quote Anderson (2009) “traces often remain in ‘place’ as shadows and echoes of the past” (Anderson. J, 2009, p.11). This is most relevant in the case of Elizabeth. The echoes of a time when Elizabeth was seen as the most dangerous place in Adelaide, still brand the city today, regardless of the gentrification efforts. Daher (1999) argues that through gentrification, the more affluent residents with higher capital are able carve out new identities for the ‘space’ (Daher, p.34, 1999). Today, children are growing up in the new suburbs of Blake’s Crossing, free of the crime, drug, welfare culture that plagued the area previously. They will enjoy the perks of a middle-class upbringing, with plentiful job opportunities from the construction and information boom planned for the area. Most notably, they will not associate with the labelling and stigma of the 80’s. According to Daher (1999) theory, this should give Elizabeth a new