IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v55y2018i16p3631-3649.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

‘At least it’s not a ghetto anymore’: Experiencing gentrification and ‘false choice urbanism’ in Rotterdam’s Afrikaanderwijk

Author

Listed:
  • Brian Doucet

    (School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada)

  • Daphne Koenders

    (Freelance Urban Geographer and Communications Professional, Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Abstract

Gentrification has become a central pillar of urban policy in cities around the world. Proponents often frame it as a necessity and the sole alternative to neighbourhood decline. Critics call this a ‘false choice’ as it ignores other possibilities for improvement without gentrification. But how do working-class residents who live through the process of gentrification view the impact it has on their neighbourhood? Do they see it in such a stark binary way? This article addresses these questions by using qualitative interviews with long-term residents of the Afrikaanderwijk, a multicultural neighbourhood in Rotterdam where municipally-led gentrification is taking place. In contrast to much of the Anglo-Saxon literature on experiencing gentrification, our respondents had far more mixed, complex and ambivalent perspectives on the process. To some extent, this was due to the neighbourhood’s recent history as a stigmatised ‘ghetto’ and the expectation that the arrival of white, ethnically Dutch middle-class people would help to improve the neighbourhood, which was ranked worst in the country in 2000. We also stress the role of local context, such as the early phase of gentrification and the comparatively strong social housing sector and tenant protection laws in the Netherlands, in contributing towards a more nuanced experience of gentrification.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian Doucet & Daphne Koenders, 2018. "‘At least it’s not a ghetto anymore’: Experiencing gentrification and ‘false choice urbanism’ in Rotterdam’s Afrikaanderwijk," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(16), pages 3631-3649, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:55:y:2018:i:16:p:3631-3649
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098018761853
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098018761853
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0042098018761853?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tom Slater, 2014. "Unravelling false choice urbanism," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4-5), pages 517-524, October.
    2. Chiara Valli, 2015. "A Sense of Displacement: Long-time Residents' Feelings of Displacement in Gentrifying Bushwick, New York," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 1191-1208, November.
    3. Brian Doucet, 2013. "Variations of the Entrepreneurial City: Goals, roles and visions in Rotterdam's Kop van Zuid and the Glasgow Harbour Megaprojects," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(6), pages 2035-2051, November.
    4. Carla Huisman, 2014. "Displacement Through Participation," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(2), pages 161-174, April.
    5. Brian Doucet, 2014. "A Process of Change and a Changing Process: Introduction to the Special Issue on Contemporary Gentrification," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(2), pages 125-139, April.
    6. Daniel Sullivan, 2006. "Assessing residents’ opinions on changes in a gentrifying neighborhood: A case study of the Alberta neighborhood in Portland, Oregon," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 595-624.
    7. Brian Doucet & Ronald Van Kempen & Jan Van Weesep, 2011. "Resident Perceptions Of Flagship Waterfront Regeneration: The Case Of The Kop Van Zuid In Rotterdam," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 102(2), pages 125-145, April.
    8. Jason Hackworth & Neil Smith, 2001. "The changing state of gentrification," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 92(4), pages 464-477, November.
    9. Willem R Boterman, 2012. "Residential Mobility of Urban Middle Classes in the Field of Parenthood," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(10), pages 2397-2412, October.
    10. Tom Slater, 2006. "The Eviction of Critical Perspectives from Gentrification Research," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 737-757, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Brian Doucet, 2014. "A Process of Change and a Changing Process: Introduction to the Special Issue on Contemporary Gentrification," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(2), pages 125-139, April.
    2. Megan Nethercote, 2017. "When Social Infrastructure Deficits Create Displacement Pressures: Inner City Schools and the Suburbanization of Families in Melbourne," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 443-463, May.
    3. Gary Bridge, 2014. "Afterword: The Times and Spaces of Gentrification," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(2), pages 231-236, April.
    4. Olaf Ernst & Brian Doucet, 2014. "A Window on the (Changing) Neighbourhood: The Role of Pubs in the Contested Spaces of Gentrification," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(2), pages 189-205, April.
    5. Ingmar Pastak & Anneli KÄHRIK, 2021. "SYMBOLIC DISPLACEMENT REVISITED: Place‐making Narratives in Gentrifying Neighbourhoods of Tallinn," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 814-834, September.
    6. Ingmar Pastak & Eneli Kindsiko & Tiit Tammaru & Reinout Kleinhans & Maarten Van Ham, 2019. "Commercial Gentrification in Post‐Industrial Neighbourhoods: A Dynamic View From an Entrepreneur’s Perspective," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 110(5), pages 588-604, December.
    7. Andrew Harris, 2008. "From London to Mumbai and Back Again: Gentrification and Public Policy in Comparative Perspective," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(12), pages 2407-2428, November.
    8. Mark Davidson, 2008. "Spoiled Mixture: Where Does State-led `Positive' Gentrification End?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(12), pages 2385-2405, November.
    9. Lance Freeman, 2008. "Comment on ‘The Eviction of Critical Perspectives from Gentrification Research’," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 186-191, March.
    10. Carl Grodach & Nicole Foster & James Murdoch, 2018. "Gentrification, displacement and the arts: Untangling the relationship between arts industries and place change," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(4), pages 807-825, March.
    11. Mark Davidson, 2011. "Critical Commentary. Gentrification in Crisis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(10), pages 1987-1996, August.
    12. Arnoud Lagendijk & Rianne Melik & Freek Haan & Huib Ernste & Huub Ploegmakers & Serap Kayasu, 2014. "Comparative Approaches to Gentrification: A Research Framework," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 105(3), pages 358-365, July.
    13. Loretta Lees & David Ley, 2008. "Introduction to Special Issue on Gentrification and Public Policy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(12), pages 2379-2384, November.
    14. Kate S. Shaw & Iris W. Hagemans, 2015. "‘Gentrification Without Displacement' and the Consequent Loss of Place: The Effects of Class Transition on Low-income Residents of Secure Housing in Gentrifying Areas," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(2), pages 323-341, March.
    15. Thomas Sigler & David Wachsmuth, 2016. "Transnational gentrification: Globalisation and neighbourhood change in Panama’s Casco Antiguo," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(4), pages 705-722, March.
    16. Matthias Bernt, 2012. "The ‘Double Movements’ of Neighbourhood Change: Gentrification and Public Policy in Harlem and Prenzlauer Berg," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(14), pages 3045-3062, November.
    17. 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.
    18. Ad Coenen & Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe & Bart Van de Putte, 2018. "Should I stay or should I go? The association between upward socio-economic neighbourhood change and moving propensities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(2), pages 370-390, March.
    19. Maarten Loopmans, 2008. "Relevance, Gentrification and the Development of a New Hegemony on Urban Policies in Antwerp, Belgium," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(12), pages 2499-2519, November.
    20. Seth A. Williams & John R. Hipp, 2022. "The shape of neighborhoods to come: Examining patterns of gentrification and holistic neighborhood change in Los Angeles County, 1980–2010," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 54(2), pages 265-294, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:55:y:2018:i:16:p:3631-3649. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.