The paper explores the diversity of gentrification, which involves various types of agents and processes in driving Houston's urban renaissance. The research advances a technique that enables a broader analysis of gentrification, consistent with the approaches of Damaris Rose, Robert Beauregard, and Eric Clark to studying this process. A principal components analysis and a K-means cluster analysis revealed a grouping of fifty-four tracts in Houston, consisting of some 75 km2 just within the 610 loop (Houston's urban core), experiencing similar levels of upgrading. A qualitative analysis was developed around three case-study neighborhoods, captured from this one cluster, identifying similar scales of gentrification, but showing the internal diversity of the process: the ‘chaos' and the ‘complexity’ of gentrification. The authors explore different mechanisms of redevelopment, used in different combinations throughout the city by different types of agents, in driving reinvestment and displacement throughout Houston's urban core and surrounding neighborhoods. The research suggests that no one income group in Houston is secure in maintaining its socio-economic neighborhood composition, including the rich.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BeauregardR, 1986, “The chaos and complexity of gentrification”, in Gentrification of the City Eds SmithNWilliamP (Allen and Unwin, Boston, MA) pp 35–55.
2.
BeauregardR, 1990, “Trajectories of neighborhood change: The case of gentrification”Environment and Planning A22855–874.
3.
BerryB, 1985, “Islands of renewal in seas of decay”, in The New Urban Reality Ed. PetersonP (Brookings Institution, Washington, DC) pp 69–96.
4.
BirchE, 2002, “Having a longer view on downtown living”Journal of the American Planning Association685–21.
5.
BourneL, 1993a, “The demise of gentrification? A commentary and prospective view”Urban Geography1495–107.
6.
BourneL, 1993b, “The myth and reality of gentrification: A commentary on emerging urban forms”Urban Studies30183–189.
7.
ButlerTLeesL, 2006, “Super-gentrification in Barnsbury, London: Globalization and gentrifying global elites at the neighborhood level”Transaction of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series31467–487.
8.
CastellsM, 1983The City and the Grass Roots (University of California Press, Berkeley, CA).
9.
City of Houston, Houston, TX1992Culture and History ProfileDepartment of Planning and Development.
10.
City of Houston, Houston, TX1994Economic Profile of Houston TexasDepartment of Planning and Development.
11.
City of Houston, Houston, TX2000Main Street Corridor Master Plan: Design Concepts for Main StreetsDepartment of Planning and Development.
12.
City of Houston, Houston, TX2001City Highlights.
13.
ClarkE, 1995, “The rent gap re-examined”Urban Studies321489–1503.
14.
ClarkE, 2005, “The order and simplicity of gentrification—a political challenge”, in Gentrification in a Global Context: The New Urban Colonialism Eds AtkinsonRBridgeG (Routledge, London) pp 256–264.
15.
CronkrightP, 1983, “West University: Housing hotbed for redevelopers”Houston Business Journal 12 December, section A1, page 16.
Main Street Coalition, 2001Main Street Strategic PlanMain Street Coalition, Houston.
33.
PendergrastE, 1981Suburbanizing the Central CityDepartment of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Toronto.
34.
PodagrosiAVojnovicI, 2008, “Tearing down Freedmen's Town and African American displacement in Houston: The good, the bad, and the ugly of urban revival”Urban Geography29371–401.
35.
RoseD, 1984, “Rethinking gentrification: Beyond the uneven development of marxist urban theory”Environment and Planning D: Society and Space247–74.
SlaterT, 2006, “The eviction of critical perspectives from gentrification research”International Journal of Urban and Regional Research30737–757.
38.
SmithB, 2007Houston's Twin Booms: Energy and HousingCenter for Public Policy, University of Houston.
39.
SmithDHoltL, 2007, “Studentification and ‘apprentice’ gentrifiers within Britain's provincial towns and cities: Extending the meaning of gentrification”Environment and Planning A39142–161.
40.
SmithN, 1979, “Gentrification and capital: Theory, practice, and ideology in society hill”Antipode1124–35.
41.
SmithN, 1996The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City (Routledge, New York).
42.
Thompson Design Group Inc, 2002Buffalo Bayou and Beyond, Master PlanThompson Design Group Inc, Houston.
43.
VigdorJ, 2002, “Does gentrification harm the poor?”Brookings–Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs133–173.
44.
VojnovicI, 2003a, “Laissez-faire governance and the archetype laissez-faire city in the USA: Exploring Houston”Geografiska Annaler, Series B8519–38.
45.
VojnovicI, 2003b, “Governance in Houston: Growth theories and urban pressures”Journal of Urban Affairs25589–624.
46.
VojnovicI, 2007, “Government and urban management in the 20th century: Policies, contradictions, and weaknesses of the New Right”GeoJournal69271–300.
