Urban Branding, Gentrification, and Homelessness

Major metropolitan cities like Toronto, New York, and Vancouver pride themselves on being cultural melting pots that are inclusive to everyone. We can see 'new' burgeoning neighbourhoods erected from the ruins of old ones, casting out its previous residents in favour of a new, younger, and wealthier social class. To attract potential wealthy residents, cities attach labels to these new neighbourhoods to appeal to the desired social class. Terms like 'organic' get added to restaurants and supermarkets. Lofts and old apartment buildings become 'historic,' and shops become 'local,' as if they were not before. With this new influx of revenue from wealthy residents, prices of everything, from food to housing, increase. The new residents of this neighbourhood thrive, and a chain reaction is set off, spreading these ideals to more and more neighbourhoods around the cities.

Meanwhile, the old residents struggle to look for affordable housing as they get pushed out of cities by the increased cost of living generated by these 'new' neighbourhoods. Some may never find housing and eventually end up on the street. This is a prime example of how Urban Branding is used in the gentrification of old neighbourhoods, causing increased homelessness within a city.

Urban branding refers to using labels to create a specific identity for a city. (Mesuda et al, 2018, 171). This is often done by creating new neighbourhoods and assigning labels to the particular area to conform to the intended identity of the city. Various strategies and practices focus on specific cultural producers to attract potential investors and residents (Mesuda et al., 2018, 171). This ultimately encourages economic development within a given area, resulting in a higher cost of living. Some urban analysts even argue that it acts as a social control, relegating who lives in the area and who does not (Mesuda et al., 2018, 173). Those of lower socioeconomic status and marginalised people are often the victims of this type of development due to not being able to live in a given space sustainably.

We see this increasingly with new revitalised neighbourhoods appearing, especially within a major metropolitan city. Walking through Toronto alone, it is easy to spot shops and businesses marketing themselves as organic, sustainable, and local. To the conscious consumer, shopping here is a no-brainer. However, these labels are a form of urban branding implemented by the city or business to attract a specific customer base. With these labels in place, access to goods and services becomes narrowed for many people as these institutions often charge more for their services, limiting who has access to them. This can be seen in 'organic' labelled supermarkets often in these neighbourhoods. Due to higher demand, Organics alone is "one of the fastest growing agriculture sectors" (Johnston et al., 2009, 510). Funny enough, however, many organic manufacturers mimic the same production process of large industrial farms on a smaller scale, thus driving up the price of the goods sold (Johnston et al., 2009, 513). With access to food limited to only a select few in these areas due to price, some people can no longer afford to live in these areas and are forced to move out. With these ideals spreading and gentrification running rampant, it becomes increasingly more complex for people of lower socioeconomic status to find a place to live, ultimately resulting in many of them ending up on the street.

Gentrification is not inherently a bad thing, and in some instances, it can be beneficial to a community. However, in many cases, it can drive out current residents for newer, wealthier ones. Aside from economic reasons, gentrification driven by urban branding also aims to create a more extensive social mix of people in the area (Walks et al., 2008, 294). The belief is that the city could be branded as harmonious and inclusive with a more extensive social mix. However, studies showed that areas that experienced little to no gentrification retained a higher social mix than those that did (Walks et al., 2008, 320). Urban branding can be a powerful tool, especially in gentrification.

References

Masuda, J. R., & Bookman, S. (2018). Neighbourhood branding and the right to the city. Progress in Human Geography, 42(2), 165–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132516671822

Johnston, J., Biro, A., & MacKendrick, N. (2009). Lost in the Supermarket: The Corporate-Organic Foodscape and the Struggle for Food Democracy. Antipode, 41(3), 509–532. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2009.00685.x

Walks, R. A., & Maaranen, R. (2008). Gentrification, Social Mix, and Social Polarization: Testing the Linkages in Large Canadian Cities. Urban Geography, 29(4), 293–326. https://doi.org/10.2747/0272-3638.29.4.293

Sangosti, R. (2021). A single-family home sandwiched between two multifamily developments in Denver in 2015. VOX. Getty images. Retrieved January 15, 2024, from https://www.vox.com/22650806/gentrification-affordable-housing-low-income-housing.