Discuss The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Gentrification

Melbourne, Australia, is synonymous with progressivism, over-priced coffee, and a sleek upwardly mobile generation of so called ‘hipsters’ who are looking for anything with a bohemian vibe, have flooded the city and come to dominate the surrounding suburbs of Fitzroy, Carlton, and Kensington. Areas that used to have a demographic that consisted of predominantly white working-class factory workers, the people that Marx would define as the proletariat, those who owned no means of production, whose only value they had was the ability to sell their labour, had now been replaced with middle to upper class professionals and families. The subsequent gentrification of these inner suburbs has changed the landscape of Melbourne entirely; the working …show more content…
One of the major flaws with gentrification that is often highlighted as an example of its negative impacts is the fact that it pushes those in a lower-socioeconomic class out of their homes. However the actions that take place before this displacement can be even more unnerving an even more sinister, realtors will often demonise the poor populations of prime locations in order to make it appear fit for gentrification (Lance Freeman, 2011), prior to gentrification only the needs of the of the wealthy are taken into account, with little attention being payed to the lower-class who are being impacted the most by this process. Gentrification causes many of the previous occupants of a neighbourhood to experience temporary homelessness, when gentrification occurs, this may cause house prices, rates, and the overall cost of living to …show more content…
The wealthy in these areas have adopted the “hedonism associated with the working-class” (Elias Le Grande, 2008). The report from Le Grande also suggests an interesting connection between working-class culture and middle-class consumerism, they make the assertion that there has becoming a working class bland that takes advantage over real working-class experiences, this is a claim that is reinforced by English Sociologist Beverley Skeggs who claims that “middle-class culture is very much based on propertizing, that is, ‘stealing’ the cultural elements of the working class” (Beverley Skeggs, 2004). This concept is particularly applicable to the Melbourne brand of gentrification, which is based on individual, so-called ‘Hipster’ culture, where a working-class chic has taken hold, overalls are a common sight, as well as bicycles, in their rejection of upper-class customs the new professional Melbournian middle-class has taken away from the working class culture, thus causing a loss of working class identity and