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“Let's beat cancer together”: A hidden curriculum of medical gentrification on the biomedical innovation frontier

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  • Lu, Joyce
  • Kinley, Pat M.
  • Feldman, Marina

Abstract

Literature on medical gentrification has examined the role of hospitals in the displacement of nearby low-income residents. This paper follows a case of medical gentrification in which a public school was demolished to construct a university cancer center. We describe the process through which spaces earmarked for redevelopment become portrayed as frontiers of biomedical innovation. Through collaborative, visual, and auto-ethnography, we demonstrate how developers instill a hidden curriculum of medical gentrification through visual and discursive devices such as advertisements, ceremonies, and urban planning efforts that conceal local histories of displacement, reinforce racial and economic segregation, and elevate biomedical innovation as a community good. Ultimately, the hidden curriculum of medical gentrification constrains possible narratives of collective futures, privileging the expansion of biomedical infrastructure at the expense of the local community.

Suggested Citation

  • Lu, Joyce & Kinley, Pat M. & Feldman, Marina, 2025. "“Let's beat cancer together”: A hidden curriculum of medical gentrification on the biomedical innovation frontier," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 383(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:383:y:2025:i:c:s0277953625004976
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118167
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stephen Danley & Rasheda Weaver, 2018. "“They’re Not Building It for Us”: Displacement Pressure, Unwelcomeness, and Protesting Neighborhood Investment," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Benjamin M. Hunter & Susan F. Murray, 2019. "Deconstructing the Financialization of Healthcare," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 50(5), pages 1263-1287, September.
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