Eco-gentrification in a Welfare State

How Sustainable City Development Gradually Reduces Social Equity

Bibliographic Data

ID6404429
AuthorsHelena Leino (0000-0003-3089-7739, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland, corresponding author), Antti Wallin (0000-0002-4839-717X, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland), Markus Laine (0000-0002-6541-7953, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland)
Year2025
Volume61
Issue1
Pages70-93
Publication date2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueUrban Affairs Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1078-0874 • E-ISSN: 1552-8332
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/10780874241241258
OpenAlexW4393157363
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited45

In Nordic welfare states, progressive planning and housing policies have prevented the most severe forms of gentrification-led displacement. In this paper, we argue that eco-gentrification as a phenomenon is entering the Nordic countries. We illustrate this with a case study of the fast-growing, medium-sized Finnish city of Tampere, where the transformation of a former welfare city into a “sustainable city” is creating unintended gentrification. In the analysis, we identify three inner-city neighborhoods facing eco-gentrification where an increasing drive for urban densification has replaced the welfare state ethos of social equality. We name the types of eco-gentrification as retrofitting, remaking, and preserving. In the concluding part, we elaborate on the serious and multifaceted challenges of keeping welfare state ideals alive in times of green growth urbanism

Economic growth · Economics · Equity (law · Gentrification · Market economy · Political science · Politics · Public economics · Social equality · Social Welfare · State (computer science · Sustainable development · Welfare · Welfare state · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Urban Planning and Governance

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