Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis article is based on a study of Docklands in London, which was undertaken as part of a larger study of gentrification in inner London. Using interview and survey data, the article compares Docklands with the gentrification that has taken place elsewhere in inner London. Whilst there were important differences between these inner‐London study areas, all differ qualitatively from the process in Docklands. The article questions whether the distinction that is normally drawn between 'gentrification by capital' and 'gentrification by collective social action' is appropriate and argues that this disguises the nature of the urban regeneration being undertaken in Docklands. It is suggested that this is more a process of re‐urbanization in which some of the characteristics normally associated with suburban development are being brought to an area near the centre of the city, but in a context more normally reserved for gentrification. The data from the survey show that for many of the respondents in Docklands, the kind of life they are seeking is often associated with some conceptions of suburban life. It is suggested that both gentrification and suburbanization as concepts need to be used with care in understanding contemporary processes of re‐urbanization such as are occurring in Docklands and the central areas of other British cities.Résumé Cet article s'appuie sur une étude du quartier des Docks de Londres, menée dans le cadre de travaux plus vastes relatifs à l'embourgeoisement du centre londonien. Des données provenant d'entretiens et d'enquêtes permettent une comparaison entre cette zone et d'autres quartiers centraux ayant connu un embourgeoisement. S'il existe d'importantes différences entre ces quartiers du centre‐ville, tous divergent au plan qualitatif du processus des Docks. En s'interrogeant sur la pertinence de la distinction entre 'embourgeoisement par le capital' et 'embourgeoisement par l'action sociale collective', l'article avance que cette vision dissimule la nature de la régénération urbaine entreprise dans le quartier des Docks. Il s'agit davantage d'un processus de ré‐urbanisation dans lequel des caractéristiques associées habituellement à l'aménagement des banlieues sont apportées dans une zone située près du centre‐ville, bien que dans un contexte plus normalement réservéà l'embourgeoisement. Les résultats d'enquête montrent que, pour bon nombre des personnes interrogées, le genre de vie recherché dans le quartier des Docks se rapproche de certaines conceptions de la vie suburbaine. Il convient donc d'utiliser avec prudence les concepts d'embourgeoisement et de suburbanisation si l'on veut comprendre les processus contemporains de ré‐urbanisation, tels que ceux qui ont lieu dans le quartier des Docks et dans le centre d'autres grandes villes britanniques.

The paper advances the notion that there is 'metropolitan habitus' in large global cities such as London which distinguishes it from other conurbations in the United Kingdom. At the same time, it is argued that whilst London is becoming an increasingly middle-class city, this group is increasingly stratified along socio-spatial lines. Richard Sennett's work The Corrosion of Character is drawn upon to suggest that, to some extent, different gentrification strategies enable the metropolitan middle classes to compensate for the lack of a long term in contemporary middle-class life. Drawing on fieldwork, recently conducted in five gentrified areas of inner London north and south of the Thames, it is suggested that an important aspect of the socio spatial differentiation within the metropolitan middle class is whether it seeks to embrace or escape the contemporary globalization of consumer culture. Although this process is highly nuanced by individual strategies for negotiating the boundaries between the global and the local, which are exemplified by the distinction between residential areas and the centre of London, it is nevertheless suggested that these socio-spatial divisions account for variations within the metropolitan habitus to a greater extent than socio- demographic and occupational divisions which are only weakly associated with the global/non-global dichotomisation. The paper uses both quantitative and qualitative data to look at the different ways in which cultural, economic and social capital are drawn on in the gentrification of each area and how these reflect not only the capabilities but also the proclivities of the different groups concerned. It is suggested that metropolitan habitus is a concept that needs further analysis and research but which has considerable potential explanatory value in accounting for differences between the middle classes in London and other provincial cities and non urban areas.

'This is a book that should be read by anyone interested in class, inequality, poverty and politics. Actually, probably more importantly it should be read by people who think that those things do not matter! It provides a wonderful summation of the huge amount of work on these topics that now exists and it also offers its own distinctive perspectives on a set of issues that are - despite the claims of some influential commentators - still central to the sociological enterprise and, indeed to political life.'. Roger Burrows, University of York. 'With theoretical ease and the use of telling exam