Why live anywhere else? A hyperlocal reflection on displacement, dislocation and ‘aversive racism’

In displacement beyond dislocation: Aversive racism in gentrification studies, Stefano Bloch and Dugan Meyers analyse how displacement in gentrification studies has been conceptualised. Following a critical examination of the literature, they argue for a more theoretically nuanced concept of how racism takes place. In doing so, they suggest that the role of racism has been under-acknowledged in studies on the processes of gentrification, making the point that geographers have been reluctant to talk about race. Outlining a concept of aversive racism – ‘an insidious mode of affective spatial practice’, they illustrate how place-making, and place-taking function through ambivalent racial encounters. I want to think through these important points, using my work on gentrification in Newham as a starting point.