| dc.description.abstract | "Gentrification is as Cortie and Van de Ven (1981) once put it, the moving in of capital into an area. Basically, people with capital move to a disparaged neighborhood and start a business there because they couldn t do so in a more well-situated area. The idea behind gentrification is moving capital somewhere in the hopes of making said area a more well-situated area. Sometimes this fails, but when gentrification happens on a bigger scale and more capital moves into an area, it tends to succeed. The classical definition of gentrification typically involves the physical pricing out of original inhabitants of an area, by making the land they live on more valuable because it is now more well-situated. We were able to find no evidence of this kind of displacement in Finnieston, although we did find that people were being culturally displaced.
Finnieston transformed, from a neighbourhood that had little to offer the people that were living there and where tourism didn t exist, to a thriving one with everything to please the people that visit and live there. A slew of new restaurants and shops opened, that all follow their own trendy formula to compete with each other. The opening of The Hydro played another important role in the success story of the urban regeneration of FInnieston. Next to Finnieston however is the Hidden Lane situated. A remarkable part, separate from the main road that hosts over a 100 studios for artists. Many of them have shops to sell their wares.
This mix of a transforming neighbourhood in combination with the artscene right next to it made us wonder, what is the influence of the gentrification of Finnieston on the Hidden Lane and visa versa? This is why we went to Glasgow for two months to conduct our research on this phenomenon. It is of interest for us to find out what made the change happen in Finnieston, who are responsible and why did they pick this particular neighbourhood? Well, the reason why is partly because of the Hydro opening, the other part is that Finnieston is located between the already manifested West End and City Centre, Price, of course was another reason. Because Finnieston was rundown the prices for real estate were cheap. Businessmen bought these and turned them into bars and restaurants.
At the same time Glasgow started to open up internationally by opening a few new universities, which meant an influx of international students found their way into Glasgow looking for a place to live. Student accomodations became a profitable business. In Finnieston flats and apartments have been renovated and adjusted to house students, there are also more student flats underway. Project planners and housing associations are happy with the situation because the tenants will go out and eat and entertain themselves with the new facilities that are being built for them. The students make money in more way than one.
The Hidden Lane in the meantime has its own history. As a place with cheap studios it attracted art students. Later it became a place for postgraduates to stay. Now retail is a big part of the Hidden Lane. Even in this commercialization, the Lane has managed to stay a tight community. People that move in receive help and support in the form of helpful neighbors that are willing to lend tools and whatnot to newcomers. They do their own advertising, mostly through social media and the like. Whereas the Hidden Lane seems to be for more established artists, Glasgow is home to many artists that live outside of the Hidden Lane. For them making the right connections and supporting each other is even more important.
So far the positive, disparity is an issue that pops up when the urban regeneration becomes gentrification. When the rent increases by too much because of the popularity of the area. Not everyone can afford to stay. What we found was that the rent is increasing in Finnieston but has not yet resulted in displacement. However the rapid changes give way to alienate the original citizens of the neighbourhood. The influx of international students does not help in this regard. The Community Council incorporates the needs of people that have lower incomes and tries to combat homelessness and poverty.
Ultimately, this thesis looks at three aspects of gentrification. The first aspect is how the gentrification in Finnieston came to be. This means identifying the actors who made it all possible in the first place but also how it transformed the neighborhood and why they chose Finnieston, of all places. The second aspect will focus on how the cultural transformation of the neighborhood is perceived by the original population of Finnieston. Many people feel like they have been somewhat ignored by the recent developments. People feel like their original culture is being somewhat taken away from them. We have identified this problem as a sort of cultural displacement . Finally, our thesis focuses on the Hidden Lane, and how this artistic community has been affected by the larger changes that are happening in Finnieston.
We hope other scholars follow our precedent and study the continued effects of gentrification in the area and the consequences for the residents of Finnieston. Cultural displacement and retail gentrification deserve further attention, for they are bound to continue." | |
