From an urban sociological perspective, to outline one aspect of what a city is. Cities by their very nature are in a continual state of flux and transition, no sooner does one section of the city

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What is a city?

There are wide ranging definitions to answer this questions and will depend on the academic angle one uses. It will vary according to the town planner, economist, architect, sociologist etc, along with other view points of residents, politicians, and those working in the city. There are also many parts and functions of the city such as the inner-city, suburbia and central business district (CBD) containing residential, political, industrial and financial functions. All of which are inter related and dependent on each other for their position in the city mêlée. To attempt to answer such a question in a brief paper would not do justice to it. However, Mumford (1937) in his paper “what is a city” described it as a “geographic plexus, an economic organisation, an institutional process, a theatre of social action, a symbol of collective unity”. He also concluded that the physical organisation of the city must be subservient to social needs.  Certainly, the question requires a broad spectrum of academic analysis to piece together the plethora of research and provide an adequate answer.

As such this paper will only concentrate on describing one process being observed in a small section of the city, from an urban sociological perspective, to outline one aspect of what a city is. Cities by their very nature are in a continual state of flux and transition, no sooner does one section of the city settle into a recognisable form, it begins to change. Such processes usually take place over decades and centuries and thus can be recognised and researched. One such process is Gentrification, which predominantly takes place in small enclaves of the inner city in developed countries and provides an area to study the patterns of social urban transition due to the attitudes and culture of those involved in the process. It embodies economic, institutional and social processes but it’s not necessarily one of collective unity.

Gentrification is commonly accepted as being the process of higher income and social class of person moving back into the inner city. The term coined by Ruth Glass in the 1950s whilst studying the changes of housing stock in London has led to a wide range of research in the process.  Although, much debate has taken place, over how, when, where and why the process takes place, four main principals are noted.

  • Resettlement and social concentration entailing the displacement of one group of residents with another of higher social status.

  • The transformation of the built environment displaying some distinctive aesthetic features and the springing up of new local services.
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  • The gathering together of people sharing common culture, life-style and consumer goods and services.

  • Economic re-ordering of property values through increased private ownership and a decline in rental and social housing.

(Warde, 1993)

The remainder of the paper will look at these features together describing the process, the causes and how the city once again transforms itself.

Gentrification is based on a notion of invasion and succession. However, it does not have to involve a sort of violent displacement of the urban poor. For example it is estimated that 2 million, mostly white working-class residents being annually ...

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