Displacement in Activities Space? Identification of Activity-Space-Based Gentrification via Mobile Phone Data

Abstract

This study introduces the notion of ‘activity-space-based gentrification’, emphasising the displacement and exclusion of low-income populations within activity spaces. Research on conventional gentrification primarily focuses on residential dimensions, neglecting the various forms of displacement risk encountered by individuals. Thus, we selected the waterfront areas of the ‘Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek’ in Shanghai as the focal point of our research and employed mobile phone data from China Unicom for the years 2017 and 2021 to demonstrate the phenomenon of activity-space-based gentrification. Our findings validate the occurrence of activity-space-based gentrification, evidenced by the improvement of spatial quality and subsequent increases in the socio-economic status of the participants in the activity. The proposed methodology also confirms that ICT big data techniques are applicable to gentrification research, identifying activity-based demographic shifts following urban redevelopment.