Revisiting the Diversity of Gentrification: Neighbourhood Renewal Processes in Brussels and Montreal

Abstract

This article provides a comparative analysis of neighbourhood renewal processes in Brussels and Montreal based on a typology of such processes wherein gentrification is precisely delimited. In this way, it seeks to break with the extensive use of a chaotic conception of gentrification referring to the classic stage model when dealing with the geographical diversity of neighbourhood renewal, within or between cities. In both Brussels and Montreal, the gentrification concept only adequatly describes the upward movement of very restricted parts of the inner city, while neighbourhood renewal in general more typically comprises marginal gentrification, upgrading and incumbent upgrading. Evidence drawn from the case studies suggests that each of these processes is relevant on its own-i.e. linked to a particular set of causal factors-rather than composing basically transitional states within a step-by-step progression towards a common gentrified fate. Empirical results achieved in Brussels and Montreal suggest that a typology such as the one implemented in this article could be used further in wider research aimed at building a geography of neighbourhood renewal throughout Western cities.