Developing Economies最新文献

The Emergent Roles of the Concept of Gentrification: Thinking Space and Fairness in East Asian Cities 士绅化概念的新兴作用：东亚城市的思考空间与公平

IF 1.4 4区经济学

Developing Economies Pub Date : 2026-02-02 DOI: 10.1111/deve.70015

Takashi Machimura

{"title":"The Emergent Roles of the Concept of Gentrification: Thinking Space and Fairness in East Asian Cities","authors":"Takashi Machimura","doi":"10.1111/deve.70015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/deve.70015","url":null,"abstract":"Every city has a location in time and space. Therefore, urban research, too, naturally bears the strong imprint of the specific time and space in which the city under study is located. Given this, should we aim for a general theory of cities, or should we emphasize theories that explain local particularities? This choice marks a major turning point for urban research. As the concept of “gentrification” is increasingly discussed in an expanded manner to cover cities around the world (see Brown-Saracino 2010 for a history of the debate)—as Ren and Ping (2026) state in their introduction—there is an increasing wavering about which of two opposing emphases should be prioritized.But why use a concept as distinctive as gentrification when trying to explain a worldwide urban phenomenon, rather than more generalized, abstract terms like hierarchical upgrading or displacement? While more generalized terms may lack conceptual depth due to their simplicity, they can offer a more neutral analytical base that is free from locational dependency. In contrast, when using the term gentrification, it is difficult to completely eliminate the inherent temporality and spatiality implied by the historical term “gentry.” It is certainly possible to define the meaning of the term gentrification more clearly. However, the more strictly we try to define the meaning of gentrification, the narrower the scope of its application becomes, and the less useful it becomes as an analytical tool.Yet, if such a distinctive concept as gentrification had not been introduced, the current boom in comparative studies (e.g., Lees et al. 2016) might have been more limited or might not have existed at all. This special issue also might not have been published. With neoliberalism and globalization, major cities around the world have undergone similar structural changes. There was a clear need for a term that could capture this reality. Gentrification played a part in fulfilling this structural requirement.At the end of their introductory study, the editors of this special issue refer to this controversial function of the concept of gentrification as a “common platform.” A platform implies a common base on which a variety of different cases are placed. However, its implications go beyond simple commonality. By connecting the different cases placed on this base, the platform can exert a unique power as a stage for generating previously unseen emergent effects. I believe that these characteristics of the platform are behind the fact that the concept of gentrification has become so widely used worldwide.So, what are the emergent effects that can be made possible when the unique concept of gentrification becomes a common platform? I would like to highlight three points here.First, the concept of gentrification has such powerful image-evoking power that it has attracted researchers from all over the world, regardless of t","PeriodicalId":46525,"journal":{"name":"Developing Economies","volume":"64 1","pages":"3-4"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146224049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}