By Vrej Haroutounian

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Gentrification is therefore not simply the product of a capitalist organization of space but of the specific needs of capital at a given time, and it is here that we must broaden our focus and look not at the rehabilitation of residential structures alone, but at the entire transformation of central cities

Smith &LeFaivre

The beginning of the twenty-first century marks a phase of extensive developmentin the center of Yerevan, as the country begins to stabilize after the Soviet collapse and financial investments increase.

During the Soviet Union, Republic Square provided the façade of strength, while right behind the government buildings of the square were some of the oldest houses and buildings of the city; some of them pre-soviet era buildings of historic importance. After independence this area was gentrified to create a mixed-use development named Northern Avenue which would be the first major mixed use residential/commercial space in Yerevan built specifically to soak up excess capital from tourists and Yerevan residents.

The Afrikyan Building would be the second project to elicit a major backlash from the community, and currently the Hin Yerevan (Old Yerevan) project seems to be continuing the controversial redesign of downtown Yerevan. Understanding gentrification in the context of globalization and neoliberal economic policies is fundamental to understanding the changes in the urban landscape of Yerevan, as the effects of these processes create social justice issues in the form of internal migration and resulting public health problems.

One of the definitions of the verb to gentrify is to renovate and improve, such as a house or district, to conform to middle-class (as opposed to working class) taste. Ruth Glass, a British sociologist, coined the term in the 1960s in response to socioeconomic forces that were replacing the working class neighborhoods of London (Glass, 1964).

“Shabby, modest mews and cottages-two rooms up and two down- have been taken over, when their leases have expired, and have become elegant, expensive residences...once this process of ‘gentrification’ starts in a district it goes on rapidly until all or most of the original working class occupiers are displaced and the whole social character of the district is changed” (Glass, 1964, p.193).

The process described by Glass (1964) indicates that in order for gentrification to take place, a neighborhood’s population is displaced and replaced by new inhabitants. Population increases, changing job structures, energy crises, rising house prices, and so forth, are some of the developments that occur within the process of gentrification.

"Gentrification is not just a physical process, it is also social, involving the movement of people and capital, and embodying many of the characteristics of the larger society in which it occurs (Smith & LeFaivre, 1984). During the gentrification process, people do not simply move out while others move into a neighborhood. The process is a battle of class interests that are fundamentally opposed." (Smith & LeFaivre, 1984).

"Gentrification is a system of development taking place within the broader social and economic context, that is, capitalism. Under this system, the main goal of the private owners of industry and trade is the creation of profit. In the economic context of capitalism, other goals and values become secondary, such as the rights of people living in gentrifying neighborhoods, ethnic values, previous social and cultural conditions already in place, and neighborhood-specific values that cannot be as easily quantifiable as the accumulation of financial wealth. Gentrification occurs when the gap is wide enough, so that developers can purchase shells cheaply, pay the builders' costs and profit for rehabilitation, pay interest on the mortgage and construction loans, and can then sell the end product for a sale price that leaves a satisfactory return to the developer. The entire ground rent, or a large portion of it, is now capitalized; the neighborhood has been "recycled" and begins a new cycle of use." (Smith, 1979, p.545).

There is direct cyclical relationship between gentrification and the real estate sector, which self-adjusts the value of real estate in a given neighborhood based on changing standards:

“Gentrification is therefore not simply the product of a capitalist organization of space but of the specific needs of capital at a given time, and it is here that we must broaden our focus and look not at the rehabilitation of residential structures alone, but at the entire transformation of central cities.”(Smith & LeFaivre, 1984, p.53).

"The benefits of gentrification are enjoyed by wealthy landowners who receive interest on the loans given to property owners and make money from leasing the buildings to business people." (Smith & LeFaivre, 1984).

The cost, on the other hand, falls almost entirely on the exact opposite end of society, onto those who are displaced from their homes in the process. Gentrification leads to:

“The rise of hotel and convention complexes and central city office developments, as well as the emergence of trendy retail and restaurant districts. Underlying all these changes in the urban landscape are specific economic, social and political forces that are responsible for a major reshaping of advanced capitalist societies: there is a restructured industrial base, a shift to service employment and a consequent transformation of the working class, and indeed of the class structure in general; and there are shifts in state intervention and political ideology aimed at the privatization of consumption and service provision.” (Smith & Williams, 1986, pg.3).

There are examples of gentrification taking place in major cities all over the world.

"Washington D.C.stands as an example of how the physical landscape changes with gentrification, and the class separation that is created in the process." (Knox,1990).

“The built environment is both the product of, and the mediator between, social relations. It is central to the socio-spatial dialectic of human geographies that are simultaneously contingent and conditioning, outcome and medium, product and premise.” (Knox,1990, p.182).

"Gentrification is the process by which the urban landscape is converted from its previous use into one that will allow for market penetration. Karaman writes about the processes that have taken place in Istanbul, in the reshaping of space to attract international market activity to the city. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is creating gentrification through the redevelopment of low-income squatter areas andthe city’s inner slums. The neoliberal-Islamic assemblage that seeks to reorder society around the primacy of the free market dispossesses poor people through the process of urban redevelopment, creating spatial inequalities in the process." (Karaman, 2010).

In Yerevan, social justice issues arise as a byproduct of rapid gentrification. It is a process that responds to neoliberalism and gentrification, another force present in the process of shaping the urban landscape. Social justice is a concept based on equality and human rights, with social equality and solidarity being its two main principles.

"The contemporary understanding of social justice has its roots in the early industrialization period of Britain and France in the 1940s. Social justice became the social cry of democratic parties operating in Europe, with heated debates on how it should be implemented. These debates, along with developments elsewhere, laid the foundation for social democratic principles following World War II— the strengthening of trade unions, a more equal distribution of wealth, and free, quality education and health services for all members of society. The principles of economic egalitarianism and progressive taxation were also implemented to an extent in the United States under the administrations of Roosevelt, Truman and Johnson." (Barry, 2005).

Northern Avenue - Recapturing Public Space

"The principal idea of social justice is based on the ability to mount a challenge to the owners of capital, noting the problematicpolarization of wealth created between employee and employer, and the role that money plays in the lives of people (Barry, 2005). Eduardo Galeano explains the inequalities that exist in modern society as social justice issues.He states "This world, which puts on a banquet for all, then slams the door in the noses of so many, is simultaneously equalizing and unequal: equalizing in the ideas and habits it imposes and unequal in the opportunities it offers." (Galeano, 2001, p. 25).

"Solidarity is the concept of integration that exists in a group, neighborhood, family, or any ties that bond the individual to other individuals." (Ahmed, 2004). "The basis for solidarity changes in different societies based on cultural norms; it understands the importance of horizontal interactions that necessarily exist between people." (Galeano, 2001). “Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.” (Ahmed, 2004, p.189).

Social justice is imperative in a democratic society. It is an ideology that reinstates the importance of solidarity in communities and the overall well-being of people. The principles of solidarity and social equality restore justice among people and reinstatetrust in government to represent the will of the people. In order for democracy to flourish in countries like Armenia,social justice must be restored and considered an important measure of the democratic process.

Sources:

Ahmed, S. (2004). The cultural politics of emotion. New York: Routledge.

Barry, B. (2005). Why social justice matters. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

Galeano, E.H., and Posada, J.G. (2001). Upside down: A primer for the looking-glass

            world. New York: Metropolitan.

Glass, R. (1964). Aspects of Change. In London University Center for Urban Studies      

            (Ed.), London: Aspects of change. London: Macgibbon and Kee.

Karaman, O. (2010). Remaking space for globalization: Dispossession through urban

            renewal in Istanbul. Minnesota: University of Minnesota.

Knox, L.P. (1990). The restless urban landscape: Economic and sociocultural change

            and the transformation of metropolitan Washington, DC.Annals of the

            Association of American Geographers81 (2).pp. 181-209.

Smith, N. and LeFaivre, M.(1984).A class analysis of gentrification, ingentrification,

            displacement, and neighborhood revitalization. Albany; State University of

            New York Press.

Smith, N. (1979).Toward a theory of gentrification: A back to the city movement by

            capital, not people.Journal of the American Planning Association45.

Smith, N. and Williams, P.(1986). Alternatives to orthodoxy: Invitation to a debate. In

            gentrification of the city. Boston: Allen&Unwin.