Gentrification – developing city districts in a socially responsible manner

Gentrification describes that process of upgrading of neighborhoods/residential quarters which goes hand in hand with the displacement of the local residents hitherto. The result are fast-rising rents and property prices as well as the displacement of inhabitants and local companies. All growing cities both in Germany and worldwide currently face this issue or similar problems.

Gentrification is therefore also the result of a shift in the appreciation of downtown urban areas in economically prospering regions. From an urban development and ecological point of view this kind of population growth in core cities is essentially regarded as positive as it helps foster compact cities where things are close at hand.

In Frankfurt/Main, the first wave of gentrification took place as early as the 1970s. There are indications gentrification processes have appreciably picked up again in some neighborhoods at present. In particular, areas close to downtown are feeling great pressure to upgrade facilities. The continuing influx of new residents, the tight housing market and surging rents (in particular in areas close to downtown) have triggered fears in many people. These concerns have been driven by high property prices owing to strong price and sales increases in the residential property market along with the conversion of rented accommodation into owner-occupied apartments. All of this has led to many people being worried that they may lose their homes and familiar neighborhoods.

Achieving a balance in urban development

However, the focus on gentrification must not distract from those areas that are moving in the opposite direction, becoming neighborhoods whose emerging problems call for special remedial action. For urban planning also has the task of stabilizing those neighborhoods that have a significant need for renewal. Enhancing facilities, in particular as part of promoting urban development in these quarters, is both desirable and necessary and therefore receives funding.

Strategy at two levels

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to handling the negative impacts of upgrading and gentrification processes. It is crucial that we identify and understand what causes such processes and how they evolve better, for example when the intended enhancement will result in undesired displacement. Only in this way can effective management instruments be developed and mistakes prevented.

A strategy that will handle gentrification processes successfully thus needs to address the issue on two levels: First, in existing neighborhoods that are affected the strategy must cover a set of measures, such as issuing statutes to protect social environments or granting rights of preemption to the local authority. Second, it has to ensure that in an expanding city, additional residential areas and new dwellings (including social housing units) are developed to accommodate new residents and meet the increased demand for residential space.

Additional information

The City Executive has issued milieu protection statutes in order to dampen undesirable pressure to change in specific quarters of the city through exaggerated upgrading processes.

Preservation statutes as per section 172 (1) sentence 1 no. 2 of BauGB, the German Construction Code, seek to protect the composition of a specific urban quarter’s inhabitants in order to prevent intensified crowding out and further reduction in mixed population structures. Alongside the individual consequences for the groups of inhabitants in question, the process can be expected to have disadvantageous impacts on urban development for the city, too.

These urban planning statutes to preserve the composition of inhabitants in specific quarters of the city as per section 172 (1) no. 2 BauGB can be consulted online by clicking planAS the planning information system.

For further information on milieu protection please consult the information given online by the Frankfurt Buildings Inspectorate and the Dept. of Housing (central section: Tenant Protection).