The Social Deal: Urban regeneration as an opportunity for In-Place Social Mobility

Urban regeneration and its implications for issues such as housing, gentrification, and homeownership have been researched by numerous theorists, practitioners, and policy makers. However, this article challenges the perception that urban regeneration is primarily a policy driver that leads to the displacement of residents, and by proposing an investigation of how urban regeneration also constitutes an opportunity for homeowners to achieve ‘In-Place Social Mobility’ (IPSM) – that is, social mobility without leaving their homes and neighborhoods. At a time when the welfare and social service system is weakening, residential property values are increasing, and wages remain stagnant, individuals must turn their homes into investment assets in order to increase their social opportunities. Following the Planning Deal and the Regeneration Deal, the interpretative scheme of the ‘Social Deal’ incorporates two fields: the city as a growth machine, and the social mobility of the homeowners. Through the theoretical demonstration of the notion of IPSM through urban regeneration in Israel, we propose the Social Deal as a new way of understanding the rent gap discussion – i.e., not only as a result of the cultural preferences of consumers on the one hand, or of real estate developers and market supply on the other hand, but also as a means to the self-profit of the residents.