"The Edge of the Island: Cultural Ideology and Neighbourhood Identity at the Gentrification Frontier"

I'm happy to report that my article on the geography of "fringe" or "first-wave" gentrification has been published in Urban Studies. As I've noted before, the ethnographic study focuses on the attitudes of newcomers to a part of Chicago's West Town community area that has long lacked for clear identity. It discusses the motivations these individuals have for seeking out the "edge of the island," a romanticized cultural space that is just far enough from established trendy areas. The article is in the December issue, vol. 49, no. 16, and available online here. The abstract follows.


The Edge of the Island
Cultural Ideology and Neighborhood Identity at the Gentrification Frontier

Building on recent ethnographic accounts that have drawn attention to the nuanced ideologies of contemporary gentrifiers, this article brings cultural considerations to bear on the geography of gentrification's fringes. Through a case study of a neighborhood at the gentrification frontier in Chicago, it examines the factors driving first-wave 'pioneers' into an area with little prior popular identity or interest. Conscious of the wider gentrification process, these individuals are essentially seeking (and creating) a particular time and place within it - they idealize the 'edge' itself. Yet while they are actively fleeing advanced gentrification, their actions pave the way for its further expansion. The study finds that gentrification's borders are subjective and relative in the minds of newcomers themselves, who frame the process in terms of their own ideologies. These sub-cultural ideals are central to understanding the expansion of the gentrification frontier today.