Dissertation•
Business Improvement Areas and the Justification of Urban Revitalization: Using the Pragmatic Sociology of Critique to Understand Neoliberal Urban Governance
01 Sep 2019-
About: The article was published on 2019-09-01 and is currently open access. It has received None citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Urban sociology & Social order.
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TL;DR: In this article, a case study illustrates the weak role played by capital accumulation strategies in the production of a loft landscape in Montreal and highlights the importance of a North-Americawide cultural construction of the SoHo loft and its reproduction in other cities.
Abstract: Over the past two decades, converted loft spaces have emerged as an important element of the North American inner-city landscape. Originating within the specific social and economic conditions of Manhattan's SoHo (South of Houston) District in the 1970s, lofts have come to exemplify a conjunction between culture and economy in the restructuring of the contemporary city. In the gentrification literature, however, the idea of ‘culture’ and its role in urban change remains weakly conceptualized as ‘arts-related investment’ and ‘heritage preservation’. In this paper I untangle this relationship and realign the cultural with socio-spatial practice to examine the production of a loft landscape in inner-city Montreal. This case study illustrates the weak role played by capital accumulation strategies in the production of this landscape in Montreal and highlights the importance of a North-America-wide cultural construction of the SoHo loft and its reproduction in other cities. I argue that the media serves as a site and agent in the re-coding of inner city industrial landscapes by repeatedly representing lofts as the ‘authentic’ domain of the avant-garde. In the case of Montreal, the reconstruction of a loft landscape further depends on local cultural forms that map and translate the loft lifestyle and aesthetic in the local material environment and build relationships between local conditions and identities, and SoHo. Finally, drawing on interviews with Montreal loft tenants, I illustrate how inner-city identities are constructed through socio-spatial practices.
Durant les deux dernieres decennies, les espaces de lofts amenages sont devenus un element important du paysage des centres-villes d'Amerique du Nord. Ayant leur origine dans les conditions economiques et sociales specifiques au district de SoHo a Manhattan (au Sud de Houston) dans les annees 1970, les lofts en sont venus a exemplifier une conjonction entre la culture et l'economie dans la restructuration de la ville contemporaine. Cependant, dans la litterature sur l'embourgeoisement, l'idee de ‘culture’ et son role dans le changement urbain ne sont que peu theorises en tant que ‘investissement qui se rapporte aux arts’ et ‘preservation du patrimoine’. Dans cet article, j'eclaircis ce rapport et realigne le cultural a la pratique socio-spatiale afin d'examiner la production d'un paysage de lofts dans le centre de la ville de Montreal. Ce cas d'etude illustre le role minime des strategies d'accumulation du capital dans la production de ce paysage a Montreal et souligne l'importance d'une construction culturelle du loft de SoHo, connue dans toute l'Amerique du Nord, et de sa reproduction dans d'autres villes. Je soutiens que les medias servent de lieu et d'agent de recodification des paysages industriels des centres-villes en representant regulierement les lofts comme le domaine ‘authentique’ de l'avant-garde. Dans le cas de Montreal, la reconstruction d'un paysage de lofts depend aussi des formes culturelles locales qui tracent et traduisent le mode de vie et l'esthetique du loft dans l'environnement materiel local et qui construisent des rapports entre les conditions et identites locales et SoHo. Finalement, me basant sur des entrevues avec des occupants de loft a Montreal, je montre comment les identites du centre-ville sont construites par les pratiques socio-spatiales.
103 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an overview of the burgeoning literature on business improvement districts (BID) by highlighting its historical underpinnings, identifying the economic and political factors that explain its transnational proliferation, and demonstrating how the model varies within and across nations.
Abstract: This article presents an o verview of the burgeoning literature on business improvement districts (BID) by highlighting its historical underpinnings, identifying the economic and political factors that explain its transnational proliferation, and demonstrating how the model varies within and across nations. It also provides a balanced review of the key debates associated with this relatively new urban revitalization strategy by asking the following questions: Are BIDs democratic? Are BIDs accountable? Do BIDs create wealth-based inequalities in the delivery of public services? Do BIDs create spillover effects? Do BIDs over-regulate public space?
100 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors address the opportunities of cities, big and small, in the experience economy and propose an understanding of "experience economy" which encompasses not only entertainment and culture, but also services and places.
Abstract: This article addresses the opportunities of cities, big and small, in the experience economy. It proposes an understanding of “experience economy”, which encompasses not only entertainment and culture, but also services and places. To territorial development, the most interesting kind of experience consumption is the one co-located with its production. It is interesting because it invites people to stay and spend their money, either as residents or as tourists. Art and culture is known to cluster, and in big cities, the variety of the experience offer is an attraction in itself. Nevertheless, small cities embark on experience-based strategies, for example, related to events and branding. The article develops a theoretical framework that unfolds the territorial aspects of the experience economy. It does so in a comparative perspective, with a view to earlier (and coexisting paradigms), namely the industrial and the knowledge economy. Based on literature review it analyses the location patterns, the role of...
100 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual framework was developed to examine the linkages between crime theories and business improvement district services and measure the impact of BID organizations on criminal activity in and around commercial areas.
Abstract: The business improvement district (BID) is an international, yet controversial, model for urban revitalization. This article contributes to the BID debate by identifying the theories that underpin the model, developing a conceptual framework that examines the linkages between crime theories and BID services, and—through the use of spatial and statistical methods of analysis—measuring the impact of BID organizations on criminal activity in and around commercial areas. Results show that lower property crime rates differentiate commercial areas with BID organizations from those without BIDs and that the lower rates are not matched by higher crime in surrounding blocks.
99 citations
TL;DR: This article found that the presence of poor and marginalized residents of the Downtown Eastside is one of the reasons for consumers' decisions to visit new upscale establishments in the area, and that this trend toward poverty tourism signals a shift from the simple displacement of low-income residents to a more complex form of gentrification in which residents face spatial management.
Abstract: The Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, remains one of the poorest neighborhoods in Canada, yet is also a site of rapid gentrification. Both new and revitalized restaurants have created new spaces of consumption, transforming the neighborhood into a dining destination. Site visits and an analysis of the discourses used in newspaper articles and magazine features, as well as on blogs and in other online spaces, indicate that the presence of poor and marginalized residents of the Downtown Eastside is one of the reasons for some consumers’ decisions to visit new upscale establishments in the area. Analysis of advertisements and other primary documents indicates that the presence of poor and marginalized residents has become a competitive niche for the promotion of distinctive and authentic culinary adventures. This trend toward poverty tourism signals a shift from the simple displacement of low-income residents to a more complex form of gentrification in which residents face spatial management ...
98 citations