Acceso usuarios
Zürich, Suiza
In this article, we propose to examine the diversity of ‘gentrification’ trajectories takenby six neighbourhoods in the Île-de-France Region. To apprehend the dynamics of thedifferent gentrification processes, we investigate the manner in which changes in theurban environment render it accessible to certain residential aspirations and lifestylesand inaccessible to others. Our findings, based on a combination of a quantitative surveyand socio-historical analyses of six inner-city and suburban neighbourhoods, suggestthat ongoing gentrification largely depends on ways in which newcomers are able tomaintain their lifestyle, and consequently on the elements likely to disrupt this. Thwartedgentrification, observed for example in the Goutte d’Or, can only be understood if weconsider the not inconsiderable difficulties of daily life in such neighbourhoods and therelatively low level of social tolerance of newcomers. Static analyses attentive only to thestructure of the property market do not account for the nuisances that, over time, makean environment intolerable and drive residents away. The dynamics of multifacetedgentrification relate, therefore, not only to the diverse structural characteristics ofthe various neighbourhoods but also to the differentiated — functional, social andsensitive — everyday experiences, perceptions and evaluations of the built environment.
