Gentrification and Social Unrest

The Blitz, Urban Change and the 2011 London Riots

Bibliographic Data

ID10071588
AuthorsGabriel Leon-Ablan (0000-0001-9826-7966, King's College London, corresponding author), J Kawalerowicz (0000-0002-8473-8031, Stockholm University)
Year2023
Volume68
Issue2-3
Pages484-508
Publication date2023-04-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00220027231163137
OpenAlexW4364375674
LanguageEN
References cited52

Many of the world’s major cities have recently seen large episodes of social unrest. What is the relationship between the changes these cities have experienced, particularly in the form of gentrification, and urban riots? We address this question by examining how local gentrification affected participation in the 2011 London riots. We use an instrumental variable strategy that exploits exogenous variation in the amount of local destruction caused by the Blitz; this is a strong predictor of local gentrification in London in 2001–2011. We find that gentrifying neighborhoods had a lower participation rate than other areas; this was a result of changes in the type of resident (a composition effect) and in the context in which the residents made their participation decisions (a contextual effect). Our findings are consistent with qualitative evidence from the United Kingdom and the United States, and highlight the effect that urban change can have on social order

Context (archaeology · Demographic economics · Economic geography · Economic growth · Economics · Gentrification · Geography · Political science · Politics · Social unrest · Sociology · Unrest · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access