ABSTRACT

Abandonment and gentrification seem polar opposites. Abandonment seems to result from drastically insufficient demand, gentrification from high and increasing demand; abandonment from a precipitous decline in property values, gentrification from a rapid increase. Yet in New York City (and not only there) the two processes seem to be going on simultaneously. How can gentrification and abandonment take place at the same time, often practically side by side? This chapter will try to answer this question, and in doing so will focus on the relationship of each to the problem of displacement.