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Megaprojects, Gentrification, and Tourism. A Systematic Review on Intertwined Phenomena

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Marcus Hübscher at Technische Universität Dresden
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Abstract

Within the neoliberal context of today's urbanism, a growing number of inner-city mega-projects aim to transform brownfield sites-accompanied by gentrification and tourism. However, there is no systematic review exploring the interplay between these phenomena. This paper aims to systemize the existing scientific contributions by means of a literature review. Using different databases , a total number of 797 scientific documents have been identified. After several screening steps, a final set of 66 studies was included in the review. I present an analysis from a quantitative and a qualitative perspective, exploring bibliometric aspects, concepts, methods, and relevant lines of discussion. The area studied is a relatively young and emerging field. Within the discussion, there is a strong dominance of countries located in the global north, with Spain, the UK, and the U.S. at the forefront. From a methodological point of view, qualitative and mixed methods are mostly applied. The discussion of megaprojects, gentrification, and tourism has an important descriptive focus, with main topics such as planning, justice, and motivations. There are considerable conceptual deficits, as one-quarter of the studies do not clearly explain their methods. Future research needs to find ways to enable knowledge transfer to planning practice.
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Sustainability2021,13,12827.https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212827www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
Review
Megaprojects,Gentrification,andTourism.ASystematic
ReviewonIntertwinedPhenomena
MarcusHübscher
InstituteofUrbanDevelopmentandConstructionManagement,LeipzigUniversity,04109Leipzig,Germany;
huebscher@wifa.uni‐leipzig.de;Tel.:+49‐3419‐733‐768
Abstract:Withintheneoliberalcontextoftoday’surbanism,agrowingnumberofinner‐citymega‐
projectsaimtotransformbrownfieldsites—accompaniedbygentrificationandtourism.However,
thereisnosystematicreviewexploringtheinterplaybetweenthesephenomena.Thispaperaimsto
systemizetheexistingscientificcontributionsbymeansofaliteraturereview.Usingdifferentdata‐
bases,atotalnumberof797scientificdocumentshavebeenidentified.Afterseveralscreeningsteps,
afinalsetof66studieswasincludedinthereview.Ipresentananalysisfromaquantitativeanda
qualitativeperspective,exploringbibliometricaspects,concepts,methods,andrelevantlinesofdis‐
cussion.Theareastudiedisarelativelyyoungandemergingfield.Withinthediscussion,thereisa
strongdominanceofcountrieslocatedintheglobalnorth,withSpain,theUK,andtheU.S.atthe
forefront.Fromamethodologicalpointofview,qualitativeandmixedmethodsaremostlyapplied.
Thediscussionofmegaprojects,gentrification,andtourismhasanimportantdescriptivefocus,with
maintopicssuchasplanning,justice,andmotivations.Thereareconsiderableconceptualdeficits,
asone‐quarterofthestudiesdonotclearlyexplaintheirmethods.Futureresearchneedstofind
waystoenableknowledgetransfertoplanningpractice.
Keywords:megaprojects;brownfield;large‐scaleurbandevelopmentprojects;gentrification;
tourism;literaturereview
1.Introduction:AnEmergingFieldofStudy
Large‐scaleurbanprojectsareanessentialelementintheneoliberalcity.Megapro‐
jectsworldwidedocumentthis,reportingfromtheGuggenheimMuseumandthe“Cin‐
derellatransformation”ofBilbao[1],tothebusiness‐friendlyCanaryWharf,London[2]
andtheexporthit“BarcelonaModel”[3].
Therisingnumberofsuchprojectsgoesbacktotwoparallelandoverlappingtrends.
First,theeconomictransitiontowardpost‐industrialsocietiesturnsformerlyindustrially
usedareasintobrownfieldsites,which,oftenlocatedinstrategicallyimportantdistricts,
citiesneedtocopewith[4].Second,theadvancingneoliberalizationhassharpenedcom‐
petitionbetweencitiesonaglobalscale[5].Inthiscontext,urbanmegaprojectsarere‐
gardedaswelcomeopportunitiestogivethesecitiesafacelift,establishamarketableim‐
age,andboosttheurbaneconomy[6].Bydefinition,theseprojectsseektorenew,regen‐
erate,orupgradetheareawheretheyarebuilt.Simultaneously,theyoftenfostertouristi‐
fication,segregation,orgentrificationthat,onceunleashed,aredifficulttotame.
Giventheobviousrelevanceofthistopicincitiesworldwide,itisnotsurprisingthat
researchonlarge‐scaleurbandevelopmentsisalsoskyrocketing.Thenumberofscientific
publications(searchtermswere“megaprojects”AND“large‐scaleurbandevelopment
projects”AND“brownfield”)hasoctuplicatedfromonly76in2010to610in2020onthe
WebofScience[7].Theexpandingscientificinteresthasfueledvariouskeyworksinthe
literaturefromdifferentbackgrounds,forexample,management[8],planning[9],archi‐
tecture[10],orurbanism[6].Althoughadjacentfieldsofresearchsuchasgentrificationor
Citation:Hübscher,M.
Megaprojects,Gentrification,and
Tourism.ASystematicReviewon
IntertwinedPhenomena.
Sustainability2021,13,12827.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212827
AcademicEditors:NađaBeretić,
ArnaldoCecchiniandValentina
Talu
Received:19October2021
Accepted:16November2021
Published:19November2021
Publisher’sNote:MDPIstaysneu‐
tralwithregardtojurisdictional
claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitu‐
tionalaffiliations.
Copyright:©2021bytheauthor.Li‐
censeeMDPI,Basel,Switzerland.
Thisarticleisanopenaccessarticle
distributedunderthetermsandcon‐
ditionsoftheCreativeCommonsAt‐
tribution(CCBY)license(https://cre‐
ativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Sustainability2021,13,128272of23
urbantourismaremuchmoreestablished,theintersectionbetweenthesetwofieldsand
megaprojectsisrelativelynew.Thisisthegapthatthispapershallhelptofillbysystem‐
izingthealreadyexistingknowledge,whichexpandsatastrongpace.Todate,therehas
beennosystematicreviewofstudiesabouttherelationshipbetweenlargeurbanprojects,
gentrification,andtourism,whichiswhyIarguethatanoverviewcontributestoabetter
understanding.
Theaimofthispaperisnottodiscusstherelationshipbetweenmegaprojects,tour‐
ism,andgentrificationindepth.Rather,itistosystemizecontributionsthathavealready
beenmadeandserveasasummarizingguidethroughtheongoingdiscussionthattakes
placeintheseincludedstudies.Iwillstructurethisdescriptivereviewasfollows.Section
twopresentsthestepstakenduringtheliteraturereview.Sectionthreediscussesthere‐
sultsandcontainsbothabibliometricandacontent‐relatedanalysis.Itisfirstlyrevealing
toobtaininsightsintothe“when,whereandhow”ofthesestudies.Iwillparticularly
documentthespatialdimensionsinthediscussions.Secondly,withregardtocontents,
theobjectiveistoidentifythemostrelevanttopics,conceptsandframespresentedand
exploretheexistinglinesofdiscussion.Sectionfourdrawsaconclusionbasedonthese
findings.
2.MaterialsandMethods:ConductingtheReview
Conductingasystematicliteraturereviewconsistsofseveralsteps.Istronglyrelied
onthesuggestionsmadebyGreenetal.[11],RowleyandSlack[12],andparticularlyXiao
andWatson[13],whoprovidedguidanceonreviewsinplanningresearch.Apartfrom
that,IalsofollowedthePRISMA2020guidelines,whichareasetofrequirementstofacil‐
itatesystematicreviews[14].Onthatbasis,Iunderstandsystematicreviewsasaproce‐
dureto“collateandsynthesizefindingsofstudies”[14]inorderto“distilltheexisting
literatureinasubjectfield”[12].
Thefirststepsinareviewaretodefinetheproblemanddevelopareviewprotocol
[13].Basedonmyresearchquestionpresentedinsectionone,thispaperaimstoexplore
therelationshipbetweenmegaprojects,gentrification,andtourism.Hence,theseterms
arethekeywordsthatIusedinsearchengines.Myunderstandingoftheseconceptsis
basedonDiazOruetaandFainstein[6],Flyvbjerg[8],andSwyngedouw[15],whomade
importantcontributionstothesephenomena.Inthispreliminaryresearch,Ialsofound
thattermsarenotusedconsistently—particularlyinthecaseofmegaprojects.Thereare
othertermsapplied,notalwaysinasynonymouswaythough,suchas“large‐scaleurban
developmentprojects”[15].Theremightevenbecaseswheretheauthorsdescribemega‐
projectswithoutclearlylabellingthemassuch,asisthecasein“brownfield”redevelop‐
mentprojects.Idecidedtoalsoincludethesetwokeywordsinmysearchandlookedfor
scientificcontributionsthatcontain“gentrification”,“tourism”,and“megaprojects”(or
oneoftheabove‐mentionedsynonyms)byconnectingthesetermswith“AND”operators.
Withregardtoconductingthereview,theelectronicdatabasesmustbeselected.Ac‐
cordingtoGreenetal.[11],itisessentialtocombineseveralsearchenginessincenoneof
themcontainalloftherelevantdocuments.Inthisliteraturereview,IcombinedGoogle
Scholar,WebofScience,ProQuest,SocIndex,andtwouniversitylibrarydatabasesthatI
hadaccessto.Incasethereweremanyresults,Iselectedthefirst100hits,sortedbyrele‐
vance.
AsFigure1shows,Istartedthereviewwith797hits,whichIfoundinAugust2021.
Allofthemwereimportedtoaliteraturemanagementprogram(Endnote,versionX9.3.3),
whichdetected192duplicates.Inthefollowingscreeningprocess,Iappliedatwo‐stage
protocol[13].Fortheremaining605entries,Iscannedthetitle,abstract,andkeywords,
andexcludedrecordsthatwerenotrelevanttomyresearchquestion.IncaseIwasunsure,
Ikeptthetextinthereview,basedonXiao’sandWatson’s[13]recommendation.
Sustainability2021,13,128273of23
Figure1.FlowdiagramforthesystematicreviewbasedonPRISMAprinciples.Note:UniversityLibrariesareanony‐
mized.
Theremaining308recordswerescreenedforretrievalandeligibility,basedontheir
fulltexts.Exclusioncriteriawere,forexample,non‐Englishlanguageandalackofacces‐
sibilityorquality(Figure1).Textsthatdidnotundergopeer‐reviewedprocedureswere
alsoeliminated.IexcludedstudieswhereIparticipated,toreducepersonalbias,butI
addedthemwhenputtingtheresultsintoabroadercontext.
Apartfromthat,rulesforinclusionwereapplied.Ionlyincludedthosetextsinmy
reviewthathadobviouslinkstothethreemainconcepts(megaprojects,gentrification,
tourism).With66finaltexts,Iperceivedthatthenumberofstudiesincludedwasalready
high,whichiswhyaback‐and‐forthsearchwasnotadded.
Thisprocedureimplicatesseverallimitations.Basedonthestrictselectionofthe
searchterms,thereviewdoesnotincludestudiesthatmighthavethesameresearchin‐
terestbutusesdifferentwording.Moreover,onlyopenaccesscontributionsandstudies
availableviatheuniversity’slibrarycouldbeaccessed,whichreducedthenumberofpos‐
siblerecordsby22%.Afurtherpointofdiscussionisthedecisiontoonlyincludepeer‐
reviewedandhigh‐qualitycontributions.Thatmeansthatmostoftheconferenceproceed‐
ingsandgreyliteraturewereexcluded.Hence,thereviewpresentedherecannotclaimto
discoverthebreadthofstudiesbutratherrepresentsaspecificsection.Inthisrespect,a
literaturereviewcontainsthesubjectivedecisionsmadebytheresearcherandtheresults
willdifferifanyoftheabovementionedfactorsarealtered.However,revealingthechosen
Sustainability2021,13,128274of23
procedureincreasesthereplicabilityofthisreviewandthisiswhatIregardasgoodsci‐
entificpractice.
Thefinalstepwastoanalyzethedocumentsincludedandreportthefindings[13].
Here,IappliedtechniquesofaqualitativecontentanalysisbasedonMayring[16].To
developthecategorysystem,Iappliedtwoapproaches(deductiveandinductive).Iset
upcategoriesthatderivefromtheresearchquestionandthebasicliteraturethatIusedto
determinethekeywords(deductive)[17].Therewereseveralframeworkcodesthatwere
setupbeforethereviewwascompiled,forexample,theplaceofthecasestudies,methods
applied,objectives,projectdescriptions,etc.[11].Istartedanalyzingthedocumentsand
completedthecategorysystembasedonthematerial(inductive)[17].Thesecodeswere
rathercontent‐related.Afterthefirsttenpapers,thecodesystemseemedsaturated;itdid
notgrowextensivelyfromthatpointon.Consequently,Icheckedthesefirstpapersagain,
whichshouldbeperformedafterhavingatleast10%ofthematerialcoded[18].Apart
fromthat,Ialsoworkedwithmemos,whichmeanttakingnotesduringtheentireprocess,
andlaterusedthesethoughtsfortheanalysis[12].Iusedthecodesinordertodefine
overarchingthemesamongthedocumentsandalsotodrawcomparisonsbetweenthetext
segments[19].Inthisprocess,Ideductedgeneraldescriptions,alsoknownasabstraction
“throughgeneratingcategories”[20].
3.Results
Referringtothefindings,thispapercontainsbothaquantitativeandqualitativeap‐
proach.Firstly,aspectssuchasthepublicationframeworks(yearofpublication,medium,
placesofthecasestudies,etc.)wereassessedusingdescriptivestatistics(Section3.1).Sec‐
ondly,Igatheredthestudies’conceptsandplaces(Section3.2),ontheonehand,andover‐
archingtopics[13],linesofdiscussion,aswellasdifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenthe
studies[11],ontheotherhand(Section3.3).
3.1.BibliographicAnalysis
Thebibliometricanalysisexploresthedocumentsincludedfromaquantitativepoint
ofview[21].Idosoinadescriptivewayandputthefocusonthetypesofpublications,
thegeographicalplaceofthecasestudies,andthetopicsnamedinabstractsandkey‐
words.
3.1.1.Publications
Researchonmegaproject,gentrification,andtourismisadynamicfield,withacon‐
siderableincreaseincontributionsduringthelastfewyears.Thisgrowthsetinafter2010.
Between2011and2021,85%ofallthestudiesincludedwerepublished.Indeed,similar
evolutionshavebeenobservedinotherliteraturereviews,forexample,oneaboutgentri‐
ficationresearch[22].Thismightbelinkedtothegeneralincreaseincontributionsinthe
fieldofgentrification.Thisgrowthmightbetracedbacktotheimpactsof2008′sfinancial
crisis.Indeed,researchershavearguedthatlarge‐scaleurbanprojectswereusedinthe
crisis’aftermathtopromotegrowth[23,24].Asimilarlogicisobservedwithregardto
tourism,forexample,inSpanishcities[25].Thisprovesthetopicalityofthesephenomena,
particularlyagainstthebackgroundofthecurrentCOVID‐19crisis.Duringthelasttwo
decades,2019standsoutmost:21%ofallthestudieswerepublishedinthisyear[26].The
searchenginesconsulteddidnotfindcontributionspublishedpriorto2002.Ofcourse,
thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatthephenomenondidnotoccuruntilthen.Rather,it
indicatesthatthekeywordsproposedinthisreviewdidnotaddressolderstudies,which
showsanotherlimitationofmyapproach.
Comparingtheauthorshipsofthetextsrevealedaquitebalancedresearchlandscape,
evenwhencomparedtootherreviewsonneighboringtopics[22].Therewasonlyone
author(Doucet)whoappearedthreetimesinthereview[27–29].Fiveauthorshadtwo
Sustainability2021,13,128275of23
records.Onthecontrary,avastmajority—morethan80%—waswrittenbyauthorswith
onlyonestudy.
Withregardtothetypeofpublication,83%ofalltherecordsarepapersinscientific
journals,only17%arebookchapters(Figure2).Aboutone‐thirdofthesepapers(64%)
werepublishedinjournalsthatonlyoccuronceinthereview.Again,thisunderlinesthe
diversityofthefield,asthereare40differentjournalsintotal.Furthermore,journalspos‐
sessarangeofimpactfactors.Althoughaboutone‐fifthofthejournalsarenotlistedon
theWebofScience,thereisalargeshareofcontributionswithlowerfactors(35%under
2.0),andaconsiderablesharewithahighfactor(28%over4).
Figure2.Detailsonincludedpublications.Note:impactfactor(right)onlyreferstojournalpapers.
Ialsoreflectedonwhichofthesearchenginesprovidedthebestresults.Figure3
revealsthatGoogleScholar,ProQuest,andUniversityLibrary#1foundlargesharesof
thetotalnumberofrecords.Moreover,thedatabasesperformdifferentlywhenitcomes
toefficiency,i.e.,theshareofrecordsincludedinthereview.WhileGoogleScholar,Uni‐
versityLibrary#1,andtheWebofScienceevenslightlyincreasedtheirshareinthefinal
review,ProQuest,UniversityLibrary#2,andSocIndexdecreased.Intotal,theWebofSci‐
encehadthemostefficientperformanceofall,asithadahitrateof16%.GoogleScholar’s
hitratewasonly8%;however,itfoundthelargestnumberofstudies,whichstillcontrib‐
utessignificantlytothisreview.Norrisetal.drewthesameconclusionintheircompara‐
tiveanalysisofdifferentsearchengines,namelythatGoogleScholarperformsthebest
[30].However,otherauthors[13]andFigure3showthatusingavarietyofsearchtools
contributessignificantlytofindingadiversesetofrelevantdocuments.
83%
17%
Not listed on Web of Science
Imp a ct Fa ct or < 2 .0
Imp a ct Fa ct or 2.0 < 4.0
Impact Factor 4.0 < 6 .0
Imp a ct Fa ct or > 6.0
Paper in Journals
Type of Publication Impact Factor
Book chapters
35%
22%
20%
15%
8%
Sustainability2021,13,128276of23
Figure3.Hitsondatabases.Left:totalrecords,beforescreening.Right:recordsincludedinthelit‐
eraturereview,afterscreening.
3.1.2.PlacesandProjects
Thisparagraphlooksatthegeographicalscaleofstudiesincludedinthereview.
Therearetwodimensionstothat.Iwillfirstinvestigatethecitiesandprojectsthatare
citedwithinthedocumentsofthisreview.Theaimhereistoidentifythemostvisible
megaprojectsworldwideandtheirspatialdistribution.Secondly,Iwillchangetheper‐
spectiveandfocusoncitiesandprojectsthatserveascasestudiesintheliterature.
Figure4revealsthevisibilityoflarge‐scaleurbanprojectswithintheacademicdis‐
course.Morethanone‐quarterofalltheprojectscited(26%)arelocatedinMediterranean
countries,wheretourismtypicallyplaysanessentialroleinurbandevelopment.The
mapsalsoshowthatcountriesoftheso‐called“globalnorth”accountfortwo‐thirdsofall
theprojectsnamed.AlthoughAsiancountries(14%)andtheGulfregion(11%)haveim‐
portantshares,otherareas,suchasSouthAmerica(2%)orSub‐SaharanAfrica(1%),rarely
appear.
Sustainability2021,13,128277of23
Figure4.Thegeographiesofstudiesincludedinthereview.Thenumberofcitedprojectspercountry(bubbles)andnum‐
berofcasestudiespercountryinthereview(dots).Ownelaboration.
ThecountrieswithmostcitationsareSpain,theU.S.,andtheUnitedKingdom.In
particular,thecaseofSpainspeaksforitself.Asarelativelysmallnationwithonly14%of
thepopulationoftheU.S.,itisthecountrythatreachesthehighestnumberofproject
referenceswithinthisreview.ThisalsogoesfortheUnitedArabEmirates,acountrywith
barely10millioninhabitants,butaconsiderablenumberofcitationsbasedonAbu
Dhabi’sandDubai’smegaprojects.
Thisisalsoreflectedinthestatisticsonthecitiescited(Table1)—withLondon,Bil‐
bao,andBarcelonabeingthetopthreecitiesdiscussed,allofwhicharelocatedinEurope.
Themost‐referencedprojectsareBilbao’sGuggenheimMuseum,followedbyCanary
Wharf,London.
Table1.Mostcitedcitiesandprojectswithinthereview.Ownelaboration.
MostCitedCitiesMostCitedProjects
#CityHits#ProjectHits
#1London25#1Guggenheim,Bilbao16
#2Bilbao22#2CanaryWharf,London8
#3Barcelona16#3Docklands,London5
#4NewYork15#4HafenCity,Hamburg4
#5Dubai11#5InnerHarbor,Baltimore4
#6Istanbul9#6LaDefense,Paris4
#7AbuDhabi9#7AtlanticYard,NewYork3
#8Paris7#8GoldenHorn,Istanbul3
#9Shanghai7#9Guggenheim,AbuDhabi3
#10Singapore6#10PudongDistrict,Shanghai3
Apartfromthecitedcities,Ialsoexploredwhichcitiesareanalyzedbymeansofcase
studieswithinthereview.Intotal,78projectsarediscussed.Almosthalfofthisgroup
(49%)isstudiedatleasttwotimes,therestarestudiedonlyonce.Again,thestatistics
Sustainability2021,13,128278of23
revealthestrongroleoftheUK,theU.S.,andSpain(Table2).Althoughitwasthecity
mostcited(Table1),Bilbaodoesnotdominatetheranking(Table2).Incontrast,itisRot‐
terdamandtheNetherlandsthatreachthetoppositionsinbothtables,butneitherofthem
belonginthetop10listofthecitedprojectsorcities.Here,thedominanceofcasestudies
inthe“globalnorth”isevenmoreobviouscomparedtothereferencesmade:70%ofthe
casestudiestakeplacethere.
Table2.Citiesandcountriesanalyzedbymeansofcasestudieswithinthereview.
CitiesAnalyzedinCaseStudiesCountriesAnalyzedinCaseStud‐
ies
#CityCountryHits#ProjectHits
#1LondonUK4#1Spain11
#2RotterdamTheNetherlands4#2UK10
#3ValenciaSpain4#3USA6
#4BarcelonaSpain3#4TheNetherlands5
#5BilbaoSpain3#5China4
#6HongKongChina3#6Germany4
#7MexicoCityMexico3#7Mexico4
#8BelgradeSerbia2#8Turkey4
#9DohaQatar2#9France3
#10GlasgowUK2#10Qatar3
Figure5insinuatesarelationshipbetweenthenumberofcasestudiespercountry
includedintheliteraturereview,ontheonehand,andthenumberofcitedreferencepro‐
jects,ontheotherhand.Thisservesasacontrolproxyfortherepresentativenessofthe
casestudiesselected.Forexample,thereisnocountrywithmanycitationsthatdidnot
alsoappearinacasestudywithinthereview.Thecountrieslocatedabovethetrendline
haveacasestudysurpluscomparedtothosecountriesbelowtheline.Thismeansthatthe
U.S.ortheUnitedArabEmirates(UAE),forexample,arecitedquiteoften,althoughthere
arenotasmanycasestudiesinthesecountriescomparedtoothers.Thissuggeststhat
projectssuchasBurjKhalifa(Dubai)orAtlanticYards(NewYork)havehighvisibility
withintheacademicdiscussion.Contrarily,megaprojectsinTheNetherlands,Germany,
andtheUK,appearinarelativelyhighnumberofcasestudiesbuthavelessvisibility
withintheacademicdiscussion.Figure5alsoprovesthepolarizedsettingofthecasestud‐
ies.Spain,theUK,andtheU.S.areaheadofallothercountries,ontheonehand,while
thereisalargegroupofcountrieswithonlyoneortwocasestudies,ontheotherhand.
OnlytheUAEassumesamedialposition.
Sustainability2021,13,128279of23
Figure5.Megaprojectspercountry.Referencestoothercasesvs.projectsanalyzedincasestudies.Ownelaboration.
3.1.3.KeywordsandAbstracts
Exploringkeywordsandabstractsquantitativelyisafirststeptoapproachthecon‐
tentsoftherecordsincluded.Bothtypesofdatarevealwhichkeytermsandconceptsare
linkedtothetexts—fromtheauthors’perspectives.Inthispaper,Iassesstheseaspectsin
ordertoextractcategoriesforthequalitativeanalysis(inductive)andgatherfirstimpres‐
sionsofrelevantresearchtopics.
Withregardtokeywords,theterm“urban”isusedmost.Outofthe699keywords
included,itappeared65times,andalmosttwo‐thirdsofalltherecordsuseit(Table3).I
explainthishighfrequencywiththemultiplemeaningsoftheterm.“Urban”isunder‐
stoodasthespatialscale,wheretheresearchedphenomenatakeplace.Apartfromthat,it
alsoentailsaconceptualmeaning,andiscombinedasanadjectivewithotherterms,such
as“renewal”or“project”.
Table3.Statisticsonkeywordsused.Ownelaboration.
RankKeywordFrequencyRelativeFrequency
[%]Documents
Shareof
Documents
[%]
1Urban659.33465.4
2Planning233.32038.5
3Social131.91223.1
4City142.01121.2
5Development121.71019.2
6Regeneration111.61019.2
6Sciences111.61019.2
7Waterfront101.41019.2
8Megaprojects91.3917.3
9Public91.3815.4
10Gentrification81.1815.4
11Redevelopment81.1713.5
12Politics71.0713.5
13Studies91.3611.5
Sustainability2021,13,1282710of23
14Geography71.0611.5
14Renewal71.0611.5
15Cities60.9611.5
15Mega60.9611.5
15Project60.9611.5
15Regional60.9611.5
15Space60.9611.5
||||||
18Tourism40.647.7
24Brownfield20.323.8
Interestingly,thesecondmostimportantkeywordis“planning”(usedby39%ofthe
records),whichindicatestheimportanceofthisfieldasaresearchperspective.Thefirst
place‐relatedkeywordis“waterfront”(rank7),whichindicatestherelevanceofconver‐
sionareasnearblueinfrastructuresinone‐fifthofthetextsincluded.
AnotherstrikingfactisthatthekeywordsIusedinsearchenginestofindtherelevant
literature(seeSection2)playminorrolesinTable3.Theterm“brownfield”onlyoccurs
in4%ofthedocumentsandtourismin8%.Outofallthekeywords,“gentrification”
reachesthehighestposition(rank10).Thisobservationinsinuatesthatgentrification,
tourism,andmegaprojectsmightindeedbetheconceptualframeworkofmanystudies,
whileotherspecificaspectsareresearchedindetail.
Regardingthekeywords,IalsousedtheVOSviewertoanalyzetheappearances(Fig‐
ure6).VOSviewerisaprogramdesignedtovisualizebibliometricitems[31].Thevolume
ofthelabelsisdeterminedbytheweightofeachitem.Moreover,thealgorithmclusters
theitemsaccordingtotheirco‐occurrence.Thismeansthatclosenessrepresentsstronger
relatedness[32],butthelinesalsorepresentlinksbetweenthekeywords.
Sustainability2021,13,1282711of23
Figure6.Termmapshowingtheco‐occurrenceofkeywordsused.Top:Networkclusteredbythematicgroups.Bottom:
Networkclusteredaccordingtotheiryearofappearance.OwnelaborationbasedonVOSviewer(version1.6.17)[32].
Forthistermmap,316keywordswereusedintotal.ContrarytoTable3,thekey‐
wordswerenotsplitup,whichmeansthatforexample“urbanplanning”wasnotdivided
into“urban”and“planning”.Theminimumnumberofappearanceswasthree,which
meansthat17keywordsmetthethreshold.Theclustersdonotmatchperfectlyfroma
thematicperspective,astheyaregeneratedautomatically.However,Iusedthismapasa
Sustainability2021,13,1282712of23
complementarytooltoenrichtheanalysis.InthetopmapinFigure6,threethematicclus‐
tersareidentified.Clusterone(red)mainlycontainsstudyareassuchassocialsciencesor
urbanstudies,showingthebackgroundofthedocumentsusedinthereview.Clustertwo
(black)isalarge,butratherdispersegroupthatcontainsplaces(cities),andalsoprocesses
suchasurbanrenewalandurbanplanning.Clusterthree(blue)onlyincludesthreecon‐
cepts,namely,megaprojects,gentrification,andurbanregeneration,representingthose
studiesthatanalyzeprojectsinthecontextoftheircity’sdevelopment.
ThesecondmapdisplayedatthebottominFigure6containsthesamekeywordsbut
theyarereferencedbytheiryearofpublication.Withonly66documentsincluded,the
datasetisrelativelysmallandrepresentativitymustbequestioned.However,thismap
indicatesashiftintheusageofterms.Theolderkeywords(around2010)mainlycontain
disciplines(urbanstudies,socialsciences),whiletheyoungerkeywords(around2014)
focusonobjectsorprocesses(megaprojects,cities,urbanplanning).Thistrendmightbe
confirmedforlargersamplesinfutureresearch.
Figure7visualizesthequantitativeanalysisoftheabstractsandcontainswordsthat
occurredatleasttentimes.Thesewordsareclassifiedintothefollowingfivegroups:
stakeholder,process,scale,concept,andproject.ComparedtotheVOSviewermapabove,
IfindFigure7lessconceptual,buteasiertointerpret.Hence,Iusedtheseumbrellaterms
tobeginconstructingthecategorysystem,onwhichthefurtherqualitativeanalysiswas
based(seeSection3.3.).
Figure7.Wordcloudbasedonallabstractsincludedinthereview.Ownelaboration.
3.2.Concepts
ApartfromthemorequantitativeaspectsdescribedinSection3.1,Iwantedtocover
theconceptualaspectsofthisreview,referringtomethods,researchobjectives,thetheo‐
reticalframe,andthelocationoftheprojectscitedwithinthecities.
3.2.1.Methods
Iwillfirstlyillustratewhichconceptstheincludedstudieshave.Thereisaclearma‐
jorityofcasestudies(Figure8),whichaccountforalmost82%ofthetextsanalyzed.Con‐
trarytothat,onlyabout10%aremeretheoreticalcontributions.Thisindicateshowthe
discussiononmegaprojects,gentrification,andtourismhasastrongproject‐relatedap‐
proach.Itracedthisbacktotheemergingcharacterofthisfieldofresearch(Section3.1.1).
Itseemslogicalthat,inaninitialphaseofthediscussion,researchersexplorethephenom‐
enabymeansofcasestudies,whilethetheoreticbackgroundisyettoevolve.However,
35%ofallthecasestudiesapplyacomparativeapproachincludingprojectsinatleasttwo
differentcities,whichseemstobethefirststepingeneratingconceptualideas.
Figure8alsoshowsthathalfofthecasestudiesrelyonqualitativemethods.Only
11%ofthecasestudieshaveaquantitativeapproach.About26%usedocumentanalyses,
Sustainability2021,13,1282713of23
butonly6%applyitasasinglemethod,therestcombineitwithotherinstruments.In
fact,conductingbothdocumentanalysisandinterviewsisthemostcommonapproachto
thecasestudies—almostone‐fifthchoosethiscombination.About28%ofthestudiesdo
notspecifynordiscusstheirmethods.
Figure8.Methodsandconcepts.Left:conceptsofallincludedstudies.Right:methodsappliedincasestudies.Note:per‐
centagevaluescannotbeaddedbecauseacasestudymightuseacombinationofmethods.Ownelaboration.
3.2.2.Objectives
Scanningthroughtheresearchconceptsofthestudiesselected,Iidentifiedthefol‐
lowingthreegroupsofobjectivesthataretypicallypursued:descriptions,evaluations,
andreflections.Theseobjectivesoverlapinsomestudies,inothers,theyoccurseparately.
Firstly,ascasestudiesrepresentthemajorityofcontributionsinthereview,itisnot
surprisingthatonemainobjectiveistodescribetheprojects.However,emphasisvaries
strongly.Manystudies“describeandanalyzethetransformation”[33]provokedbylarge‐
scaleprojects.Furtheraspectsrangefromplanningprocesses[34],stakeholders[27],and
motivations[35],tothedesignofmegaprojects[36].
Secondly,thereisanimportantbodyofliteraturethataimstoevaluatetheimpacts
oftheseprojects.Byplacingthemegaprojectsintotheircities’contexts,theresearchfocus
isput,forexample,on(socialandenvironmental)justiceandpublicprotests.Inthisre‐
spect,someresearchersexplicitlyexploretherelationshipbetween“urbanpublicpolicy
andgentrification”[37].Furthermore,theexpectedpositiveimpactsarealsoresearched.
Theso‐called“trickle‐downeffect”isanarrativethatmanymegaprojectsprovide,butit
isalsoonethatisquestionedbyscholars[38].
Thirdly,studiescriticallyreflectnotonlytheprojectsbutalsotheframesandcondi‐
tions,wheresuchlarge‐scaledevelopmentsemerge.Here,megaprojectsaredescribedas
“localproductionsoftheglobal”[39],referringtoglobalizedtrendssuchastheentrepre‐
neurialturn[40,41],theneoliberalurbanhegemony[42],inter‐citycompetition[43],or
financialization[3].
3.2.3.TheoreticalFrame
Analyzingthetheoreticalframesusedbythestudiesisanotherwaytoapproachthe
review.Thereisalargevarietyoftheoriesusedandnotallthestudiesclearlyindicatethe
frametheyhaveapplied.Table4summarizesthefourmostimportantframesused.
Firstly,thetheoreticalumbrellaconceptwiththemostcontributionsis,byfar,neolib‐
eralization.RepresentativessuchasMoulaert(55%),Harvey(55%),orSwyngedouw
(59%)arecitedamongmorethanhalfofthedocumentseach.Withinthisframe,Iidenti‐
case studies other concepts
theoretical discussions
0
10
20
30
40
50[%]
qualitative methods unclear document analysis quantitative quantitative &
qualitative
50.0
81.8
7.6
10.6
27.8 25.9
11.1
3.7
concepts methods used in case studies
Sustainability2021,13,1282714of23
fiedthelargestvarietyofaspects.Thelinkagebetweenmegaprojects,tourism,andgen‐
trificationisassociatedwithurbanentrepreneurialism[27]andprivatization[44],the
globalcompetitionbetweencities[45],orformsofgovernance[23].
Secondly,asmaller,butstillimportantframeiscultureandimage,withmainauthors
suchasSharonZukinandRichardFlorida.Botharecitedbyaboutone‐quarterofthe
documents.Thestudiesthatrefertothisframeinterpretlarge‐scaleprojectsasameansto
re‐shapeor“re‐imagine”[36]thecity,orhighlighttheessentialroleofcultureinurban
development[40].
Urbanjusticeisathirdframeusedbythestudies,whichexplores“questionsthat
pertaintothegeographicscaleatwhichjusticemaybeproduced,thenatureofeconomic
versusotherformsofinjustice,theuniversalityoftheconcept,andtheimportanceofpro‐
cessversusoutcomes”[34].WithauthorssuchasPeterMarcuse(16%)andEdwardSoja
(11%),theseconceptsareratherspecificandnotappliedasoftencomparedtoothercon‐
cepts.However,thisframecontainssomestrongandvisibleaspectssuchasenvironmen‐
taljustice[46]orgentrificationasaquestionofsocialandspatialjustice[47].
Fourthly,anotherperspectivedealswithplanningandpolicyfromaverypractical
pointofview.Here,large‐scaleprojectsareintegratedwithinurbanprogramstostopur‐
bandecline[48],initiatebrownfieldregeneration[49],or“makecitiescompetitivewith
suburbs”[50].
Table4.Importantframesusedinstudiesandtheirsubtopics.Ownelaboration.
FrameAspectsSources
Neoliberalization
Competition[45,51]
Entrepreneurialism[27,52,53]
Privatization[44]
Governance[23]
Worldingcities[54]
Neo‐Gramscianperspective[55]
Post‐politicsandpost‐democracy[56]
CultureandImage
Urbanimageries [57]
“re‐imagining”or“re‐imaging” [36]
“brandingcampaigns” [58]
Creativecities[40]
Landscape[46]
Culturalregeneration [59]
(Urban)Justice
Distributivejustice [50]
Gentrification[47,60]
Environmentaljustice [46]
Socialjustice [34,61]
PolicyandPlanning
Revitalization [38]
(Inner‐city)regeneration[62]
(Brownfield)regeneration[2,49]
Redevelopment [50]
Anotherpartofunderstandingthetheoreticalframeistoanalyzethekeytermsused
todescribetheprojects.Ibeganthisliteraturereviewbydetermining“megaprojects”,
“large‐scaleurbandevelopmentprojects”,and“brownfield”askeytermsandusedthem
Sustainability2021,13,1282715of23
tosearchforliteratureindifferentdatabases.Itisrevealingtoseehowthefinal66docu‐
mentsactuallyusetheseterms.Figure9revealsthataminorityofrecordsappliesonly
oneoftheconcepts.Onthecontrary,halfofthetextsuseboth“megaproject”and“large‐
scaleurbandevelopmentproject”synonymously.About12%evenadd“brownfield”asa
thirddescription.Comparingthethreetermswitheachother,“brownfield”istheonethat
islessused.Apartfromthat,only14outofthe66studies(21%)explicitlyofferadefinition
ofwhattheyunderstandundertheconceptsapplied.
Figure9.Conceptterms.Ownelaboration.
3.2.4.Projects’LocationswithinCities
Ialsotaggedeachcasestudywithregardtotheircity‐specificlocation.Almosthalf
ofallthelocationtagsbelongtothecategory“waterfront”(44%),whichindicatesthelarge
shareofmegaprojectsrelatedtoblueinfrastructures.About31%ofthetagsareinthe
category“brownfield”.Thisisquitesurprisingbecauseitprovestherelevanceofsuch
conversionprojectsfortheresearchinterestpresentedinthispaper,ontheonehand.Con‐
versely,Figure9andTable3clearlyshowhowthespecificterm“brownfield”onlyplays
aminorroleasakeywordorconcept.Thismeansthatthereisagapbetweentheactual
relevanceofconversionprojectsandthelabelingofsuchasbrownfieldsites.Apartfrom
that,therearealsoothersitesnamed,suchasneighborhoods(17%),anddevelopmentson
thegreenfield(7%).
Comparingthesefindingstotheliteraturerevealsthatotherscholarshaveobserved
asimilardevelopment.DiazOruetaandFainstein[6]evenspeakofanewgenerationof
megaprojectsandseeintheirlocationonwaterfrontsoroldmanufacturingareasthemain
elementsoftheirdefinition.Theyaddtothediscussionthatbuildingtheseprojectson
derelictlandincreasespublicacceptancebecause,apparently,nooneisdisplacedfrom
there[6].Hence,thiscanbeinterpretedasastrategypromotedbytheprojects’initiators
toavoidprotest[43].Italsogoesbacktotheongoingeconomictransitiontowardthepost‐
industrialcity,whichleavesmanyformerindustriallyusedplaceswithoutafunction[63].
3.3.TopicsandContents
Thissectiondigsdeeperintothecontentsdiscussedbythedocumentsincludedin
thisliteraturereview.Idosobypresentingthecodesystem,andthreeselectedtopics,
namelygentrification,tourism,andplanning.
Table5containsaselectionofcodes,whichhelpstogiveafirstoverviewofthemost
relevantandoverarchingtopicsdealtwith.Thetabledoesnotshowconcept‐relatedcodes
suchasmethods,projects’descriptions,orobjectives,itratherfocusesoncontents.
Sustainability2021,13,1282716of23
Table5.Codesystemwithmostrelevanttopic‐relatedcodesandreferences.Ownelaboration.
Project‐Related
Information
0Motivations55Planning42
Description(contents) 143Revitalization/regeneration6Participation25
Numbers/statistics17Power3Transparency13
Scale41Economicreasons33Concepts9
Costs25Image/marketing48Public–privatepartnerships23
Discussionofresults98localreasons13Stakeholders53
Successfactors27Trickledown5Roleofthestate51
Positiveaspects29Accesstothespace8Problems8
Negativeaspects110 Financialmodel24

Justice40OtherTopics 0Reactions10
Socialissues7Tourism100Themedia11
Segregation4Localconditions56Protests39
Gentrification81Architecture41
Industrial
Gentrification
3Lessonslearnt
42
Greengentrification8Sustainability
25
Neoliberalism22
History18
SomeofthecodesIhadalreadypreparedbasedonpreviousknowledgeandwhat
wastobeexpectedbasedonotherliteratureandtheanalysisofkeywordsandabstracts
(project‐relateddata,planning,justice).Additionally,manysubcategorieswerebuilton
thematerial.Forexample,71%ofallthestudiesexplainthediversemotivationsforthe
megaprojectsdescribed.ThisisacategorythatIdidnotexpect.Nextto“planning”(80%)
and“justice”(79%),itisevenoneofthelargestcategories,atleastconsideringthenumber
ofdocumentswheretheyappear.
3.3.1.Gentrification
Large‐scaledevelopmentprojectscanproducegentrificationinmultipleways,and
thisalsoreflectstheliteratureanalyzed.New‐buildgentrificationisindeedoneofthe
mostcommonphenomena,whichoccursifprojectsaredevelopedonaformerlyunused
area[29].Apartfromthat,suchdevelopmentsobviouslyinfluenceadjacentneighbor‐
hoods.Thismightoccurbytheintentionoftheproject’sinitiators,suchasintheValencia
Plan[40].Itcanalsooccurunintended,iftherearestrongmarketforces,suchasa“self‐
financingimperative”[64]andno“carefulpublicinterference”againstgentrificationis
proposed[65].
Inanycase,projectsthatlackspatialandfunctionalintegrationwithinthedistrict
willprovokeastrongdisparityandhighpricedifferences[66].Moreover,newfacilities
suchas“shoppingmalls,parks,luxurioushotels,andconventioncentres”[1]arepartof
aprojecttoattractothersocialgroups,suchastourists.Thisisalsoobservedingreen
gentrificationprocesses[67],whichterritorialize“thosespacesasinvitingtocapital,elites,
andtourists”[68].WithexamplessuchastheAnacostiaRiverinWashingtonD.C.[34]or
Medellín’sGreenbelt[68],thediscussionongreengentrificationisquiteyounganddy‐
namic[69].Greengentrificationaccountsfor10%ofallthecodeswithinthegentrification
categoryandprovestobearelevantonebecauseitexemplifieshowenvironmentalup‐
gradingduetomegaprojectsdoesnotalwaysbenefitallneighbors.
Marcuse’sconceptofexclusionarydisplacementhasbeenappliedtothisdiscussion,
becausethenewhousingunitsbuiltinsuchmegaprojectsarerarelyaccessibletogroups
Sustainability2021,13,1282717of23
withlessincome[44].Megaprojectsalsoproduceafearofdisplacementduetotheex‐
pectedneighborhoodchanges[44].However,theexampleofRotterdam’sKopvanZuid
showshowgentrificationhasnotspread“farbeyonditsboundaries”[28];therefore,the
processisnotaself‐fulfillingprophecyperse.
Furthermore,thegroupofdisplacedpersonsismoreheterogeneousthanonewould
supposeatfirstglance.Itisnotonlyinhabitantsevictedfromtheirhouses,butalso“driv‐
ers,informalvenders,andoccupants”fromthepublicspaces[70].Insomecases,even
industriesare(actively)evictedtoreplacethemwithservice‐orientedfunctions.Thispar‐
allelismofdeindustrializationandupgradingisobservedinBerlin[71],wherethecity
centerisintendedtobeshiftedtotheeast.Similarprocessesoccurifmarketforcesdrive
industrialusesfromthewaterfront,suchasinHongKong[72]orinSeoul[73].
Apartfromthat,injusticeisnotonlyseenasaproductofdisplacement.InTurkish
cities,low‐incomegroupsweredisplacedfromtheir(informal)settlementsbutwereof‐
ferednewapartmentswithinthemegaprojects,whichappearedtobeamovetointegrate
localinhabitants.However,theywerealsoincorporatedinto“agloballyarticulatedmort‐
gagemarketwhichmeansalong‐termdispossessiontotheirlabor”[55].
Insummary,therelationshipbetweenmegaprojectsandgentrificationiscomplex.It
isworthnotingthattheliteratureincludedinthisreviewrathertakesananalyticalpoint
ofview,eitherdescribingorexploringtheseprocesses,ratherthanproposingsolutionsto
theproblem.Gentrificationisnotonlytoberegardedasathreattoaneighborhood’ssus‐
tainability,butevenendangerstheactualgoaloftheprojects:Itmightphysicallyregen‐
erateadistrictbutdoesnotultimatelycontributetothelocalpeople’swellbeing[74].If
so,gentrificationcanbecomeatinderboxevenforprojects’developers,becauseitfuels
protestagainsttheplans[1].
3.3.2.Tourism
Tourismisstudiedfromvariouspointsofviewintheliterature.Whilemoststudies
confirmtourismasonekeydriverformegaprojects,onlysomeexploretheconflictsthat
thegrowingtourismbringsabout[75].
Thischangeswithregardtotheinitiators’pointofviewabouttheirmegaprojects.In
mostcases,thepredominantnarrativeistoattractmoretouristsorevenpositionthecity
onthetourists’consciousnessbymeansofmegaprojects.Inthisliteraturereview,thereis
oneexception:InthecaseoftheBarcelonamodel,megaprojectswerealsointendedto
diversifytheeconomytobelessreliantonmasstourism[3].
Theauthorsexplainthehighattractivenessoftouristfunctionswithitsprofitability.
Apartfromluxuryresidences,offices,andshoppingfacilities,tourism(e.g.,hotels)isone
ofthemostprofitableusesinmegaprojects[76],letalonetheadditionalbenefitsoftour‐
ists’spendinginthecity.Thequestionisalso,whatroletourismplayshistoricallyinthe
region’sorcountry’seconomy.Insomecases,“statesusetourismtodefinenationaliden‐
titythroughsymbols,attributes,andplaces,anddevelopanimportanturbaninfrastruc‐
turetoassertglobalrecognition”[77].Usingtheglobalvisibilityoflarge‐scaleurbande‐
velopmentprojectsisthusalogicalconsequence.
Toaddressthisvisibility,thereareatleasttwoformsinwhichtourismformsapart
ofmegaprojects.Firstly,therearethoseprojectswheretourismisoneelementamongoth‐
ersinamixed‐useprogram.ThevarietyofexamplesreachesfromBilbao’sAbandoibarra
[64]toKingsWaterfrontinLiverpool[49]ortheBelgradeWaterfront[57].
Secondly,insomemegaprojects,tourismisthemainfunction.Again,therearedif‐
ferentformsofsuchprojects,forexample,theAmerica’sCupin2007inValencia,which
clearlyadvocateshigh‐endtourism[56].Verypopularexamplesarethespectacularmu‐
seums(Guggenheim,Bilbao)[37]ortheoperahousesinOslo[35]andSantaCruzdeTen‐
erife[78].Such“spectacular”buildings“tendtoconfirmonecity’scosmopolitanorienta‐
tionoratleasttourism‐friendlyidentity”[58]andrevealtheconnectionbetweenglobal
imageandtourism.
Sustainability2021,13,1282718of23
Apartfromculturalflagshipprojects,tourismcanbepromotedinmanyotherways,
allofthemconcentratedintheexampleofCostadelSol,Málaga[75].Inthiscase,acom‐
binationofdirectlarge‐scaleinvestmentintoaccommodation,theregenerationofthehis‐
toriccenter,andawaterfrontregenerationwasproposed.
Itisparticularlythelatterexample,namely,waterfrontprojects,wheretourismfunc‐
tionsarepromising,asproveninMelbourne:“thekeytoitssuccesswasthatthedevelop‐
mentprovidedanorth‐facing,sunnyexposureonthewaterfront,withabrand‐newpan‐
oramaofthecityskyline”[33].
Withregardtotheimpactoftourismontheconceptofmegaprojectsandlateron
urbandevelopmentingeneral,theliteratureincludedinthisreviewassumesarathercrit‐
icalposition.Thisisbasicallybecauseofthe“competingdemandbetweenaplacefortour‐
ismandaplaceforlocalpeople”[72].Inmanycases,theneedsofthelocalpeopleare
neglectedcompletely.Thisisdiscussedbytheconceptof“containertourism”,whichre‐
ferstospectaculararchitecturethatisemptyofcontents[51].Inmoreintegrativecases,
thereisatleastsomeheritageconservation,whichhasbothavalueforthelocalidentity
andisalsoattractivefortourists[69].Preservinglocalpeculiaritiesisaneffectivestrategy,
giventhefactthatfromthetourists’perspective,itcanbedisappointingtofindjustan‐
otherglobalizedurbanformintheirtraveldestination[69].
Overall,theliteraturecitedinthisreviewdocumentsthestrongbeliefthatgovern‐
anceandplanningbasedonlarge‐scaleinfrastructureswouldfosterbothtourismandthe
imageofthecityitself[40]—akeyassumptionundertheentrepreneurialturn.
3.3.3.Planning
AthirdtopicthatIwilldiscussisplanning,asithasobviouspracticalrelevance.In
general,Iobserveacriticalperspectiveinthesedocuments.Thisisbecauseplanninglarge‐
scaleurbandevelopmentprojectsposessevereproblemstotheexistingplanningframe‐
work[24].Apartfromthat,mostoftheobservedplanningprocessesareseenas“darkand
secret”[1],where“speed”and“urgency”[79]reign,althoughthesearenotgoodplanning
principles.
Whenanalyzingplanningprocessesinmegaprojects,thestudiesincludedplacea
strongemphasisonstakeholders.Thissub‐categoryaloneaccountsfor45%ofallthe
codesincludedinthecategory“planning”.Therefore,Iwilldescribesomegeneralaspects
andlaterfocusonpublic–privatepartnershipsandtheroleofthestate,whichareboth
highlydiscussedissues.
Animportantstepthatmanystudiesproposeistodisentanglethenetworkofstake‐
holdersinamegaproject,as“acomplexsetofpowerrelations”[69].Thereisaneedtodo
sobecausetheserelationsareregardedascomplexduetothenon‐transparentinterna‐
tionallinksofcapitalandpower[57].Forexample,personalrelationsandnepotismare
describedascommonproblems[23].Morethanhalfofthestudiesalsorefertothe“elite”
asafuzzyandpartiallyhiddengroupthattriestoreachitsinterestsbymeansofamega‐
project[34,70].Itisparticularlythiselitethathasbeeninfluencedbyveryvisibleandap‐
parentlysuccessfultransformationsduetomegaprojects[1].Contrarily,thestudiesdonot
somuchfocusoncivicgroups,neighborhoodrepresentatives,orotherassociations.This
isprobablybecausethesegroupsareneitherinchargenordotheycontributetotheun‐
democraticcharacterofprojects.
Instead,theoutstandingfocusisplacedonpublic–privatepartnershipsasthepre‐
vailingmodelbehindmegaprojects[6].Somestudiesexplainthemotivationsforthis
model,whichservestomobilizeactorsapartfromgovernmentalentitiesbyentrepreneur‐
ialstrategies[27].Othersfocusontheimplicationsofpublic–privatepartnerships,suchas
DiazOruetaandFainstein[6].Theycriticizethattheproducedspacesoftenputprofits
firstandurbanitysecond.Moreover,planningrulesaremodifiedtomakethemfitwith
logicfromtheprivatesector[57].Thishasledto“decentralizedformsofgovernance[…]
whilerelyingonstate‐issuedexceptionalrules”[54].Insomecases,megaprojectsareeven
Sustainability2021,13,1282719of23
usedtointroducepublic–privatepartnershipstothecityonalargescaleasthenewform
ofgovernance[66].
Apartfromthat,theauthorsalsocriticallyinvestigatetheroleofthestate.About49%
ofallthecodesdealingwithstakeholdersconcentrateonpublicdecision‐makers.Thestate
isseenas“akeyarticulatorinspeculativecitydevelopmentschemes”[53].Despitethe
popularityofpublic–privatepartnerships,manyofthemegaprojectsarestate‐led.Thisis
notonlythecaseinautocraticsystems[57]butalsoinmoredemocraticenvironments[28].
However,itwouldbewrongtoassumethatthereisjustasingularstakeholderbehind
theterm“state”.Itrathermustbedifferentiatedbetweennational,regional,andlocalen‐
tities[57],orevenotherpublicbodiessuchasthearmy,portauthorities,etc.[69].This
turnsthestateintoahighlyrelevantbutcomplexaspecttostudy,asthepublicstakehold‐
ersoftenpursuecontradictinggoals[80].
4.Conclusions
Thisliteraturereviewsoughttosystemizetheexistingknowledgeabouttheinter‐
twiningfieldsofurbanmegaprojects,gentrification,andtourism.Despitethelimitsofthe
chosenprocedure(e.g.,limitedrangeofkeywords,focusonEnglish‐speakingdiscourse),
Iwanttohighlightthefollowingthreeaspectsthatthisreviewhasshown:
Researchinterest:Theareastudiedisanemergingfieldwithanumberofcontribu‐
tionsthatgrowsteadily.TheglobalnorthandcountriessuchasSpain,theUK,and
theU.S.dominatethediscussion.Journalsarethetypeofpublicationwheremost
discussionstakeplace.Studiesstronglyrelyonqualitativeapproachesormixed
methods
Format:Casestudiescontributesignificantlytothediscussion,whichemphasizesthe
existingknowledgeabouthowtoapproachmegaprojects,whichmethodstoapply
andhowtointerpretthem.
Contents:Withregardtocontents,topicssuchasplanning,motivationsbehindpro‐
jects,(social)justice,theimpactsonthecity,andreactionsinsocietyprevail.Halfof
thetextsrefertoauthorsrepresentingconceptsonneoliberalism,andaboutone‐
quarterdrawsontheoriesaboutcultureandimage.Contributionsfrompracticalper‐
spectivesrepresentaminority.
However,Iidentifythefollowingthreegapsintheliteraturethatfutureresearch
shouldtrytofill:
Methodologicalgap:Morethanone‐quarterofallthestudiesdidnotclearlyexplain
theirmethods.Thisisproblematicforthefollowingtworeasons:(1)Itreducesthe
qualityoftheresultsbecausethereadercannotunderstandhowthefindingswere
produced.(2)Italsomakesitimpossibletoreplicateresearchdesignsandthusvio‐
latestheprinciplesofgoodscientificpractice[81].
Transfergap:Fromamorepracticalperspective,itisnotclearatallhowtobring
existingknowledgeabouttherelationshipbetweenmegaprojects,gentrification,and
tourismtopolicymakersandstakeholdersinthecities.Thisisprovenbythegrowing
numberofcasestudies,showingthatnolearningprocessesaretakingplacebetween
theprojects.
Spatialgap:Fromaconceptualperspective,thereisaspatialgapwiththeglobal
northdominatingthediscussion.Hence,anunreflectedtransferofconceptsfromthe
globalnorthtothesouthmustbeavoided.Thelargenumberofstudiesthattake
placeinthenorthdealingwithhighlyvisiblemegaprojectseasilyoutweighsexam‐
plesfromthesouth.Ofcourse,newandemergingstudieswilltaketheexistingcon‐
ceptsintoconsideration,butnotreflectingonthelocalpeculiaritiesofeachphenom‐
enonwouldbeamistake(seeforexampleLópez‐Morales[82]foracriticaldiscussion
ofnorth–southtrajectoriesingentrificationresearch).
Onthatbasis,Idrawseveralconclusionsthatserveasguidanceforfurtherresearch.
Sustainability2021,13,1282720of23
Firstly,toadvancethediscussion,Iproposeaconceptualsharpening.Thisrefers,for
example,totheclearuseofkeywordssuchasmegaprojectsorgentrification,andalso
includestheirtransparentdefinitions.Thisisnecessarytoavoidsofteningtheexisting
concepts.Italsocontributestoaclearunderstandingoftheseterms,asitisclaimedinthe
neighboringdiscussionbetweengentrificationandtouristification[83].Regardingthe
highshareofcasestudieswithinthisdiscussion,moretheoreticalandconceptualcontri‐
butionsshouldcomplementthefield.Apartfromthat,byconceptualsharpening,Ialso
refertoprovidingacomprehensibledescriptionanddiscussionofthemethodsapplied.
Secondly,someoftheflagshipprojectshavesignificantlyhighvisibility,notonlyin
thescientificdiscoursebutalsoinpracticeandplanning.Citiesaroundtheglobecopy
BarcelonaorBilbaoandhopetobenefitfromasimilar“successful”development.Acriti‐
calreflectionoftheseurbandevelopmentmodelstakesplaceinacademiabutfailstofind
itswaytothestakeholdersinplanningandpolicy.Howcanthistransferofknowledge
takeplace?Theaimhereisnottoavoidfurthermegaprojects,butratherenablelearning
processesbetweenthem—anareathathasnotattractedenoughinterestthusfar[84].
Hence,moreresearchmustbeconductedonhowtocopewiththesephenomena.Weal‐
readyknowwhythenarrativesofsuccessfulmegaprojectsarelinkedtogentrificationand
tourismfromtheperspectiveofprojectinitiators.Wealsoknowwheretheseprocesses
takeplaceandhowtoframetheobservationswithinthecontextofneoliberalization,the
entrepreneurialturn,etc.However,thereisfarlessknowledgeofhowtomakeitbetter—
bybothcontributingtofindingacity’splaceintheglobalurbannetwork,butwithout
fosteringpolarization,segregation,andotherconflictsintheirurbanarenas.Themain
problemhereisthattheplanningofmegaprojectsissocomplexthataddingsocialsus‐
tainabilityasafurthercriterioneasilyoverloadstheprocess,althoughitshouldbethe
mainrationaleofplanninganyway.
Thirdly,akeyquestionishowCOVID‐19willaffecttherelationshipbetweenmega‐
projects,gentrification,andtourism.Iseeseveralpandemic‐inducedturningpoints,with
animpactoneachofthesephenomena.Duetothecurrenteconomicrecession[85],anum‐
berofprojectsunderconstructionmightfacefinancialdifficulties,whichendangerstheir
success.Paradoxically,itcanbeassumedthatmanycitieswillfeeltheneedtoboosttheir
economiesbymeansofmegaprojects,justasintheaftermathof2008′seconomiccrisis[24]
ortheAsianfinancialcrisis[80].Ialsoexpecttourismtoplayafundamentalroleinthese
futureprojects,basedonthestrongturntowardtourismasagrowthstrategyincountries
suchasSpainafter2008.Withregardtogentrification,somescholarsexpectaneven
strongernewwaveoftheprocessintheaftermathofCOVID‐19.Thisso‐called“disaster
gentrification”[86]willrolloverneighborhoodsthatareleftsociallyvulnerablenotonly
duetotheeconomiccrisis,butalsoduetorenewedausterityprograms.Thisproblemisa
futurelineofresearchwithimmediaterelevance.Wewillnotonlyneedtoinvestigate
howtoprovideappropriatepolicyinstrumentstocopewiththepossibleimpactsbutalso
howtomakelarge‐scaleurbandevelopmentprojects(socially)moresustainableinthe
firstplace.
Funding:Thisresearchreceivednoexternalfunding.IacknowledgesupportfromLeipzigUniver‐
sityforOpenAccessPublishing.
InstitutionalReviewBoardStatement:Notapplicable.
InformedConsentStatement:Notapplicable.
ConflictsofInterest:Theauthordeclaresnoconflictofinterest.
Sustainability2021,13,1282721of23
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... It has been found that the social effects of tourism gentrification are related to the economic effects, such as increasing housing prices in the real estate market [16][17][18]. The economic effects of tourism gentrification contribute to urban revitalization in tourist cities [19,20]. However, they also cause housing affordability risks for the local communities. ...
Housing Affordability Risk and Tourism Gentrification in Kyoto City
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2023
Before the Coronavirus Disease pandemic of 2019, many tourist cities suffered from over-tourism, and tourism gentrification seriously impacted the living environment for residents. This study aimed to clarify the statistical relationship between the increase in the number of accommodations―hotels and simple accommodations―and housing prices in Kyoto City, one of the world’s most famous tourist cities. As a key result, this study clarified that the price change in houses for sale was significantly related to the number of hotels in the historical center of Kyoto City. Specifically, it was found that the average price of houses for sale increased by JPY 2,013,957/USD 18,382 per hotel in a neighborhood district. In addition, the average price of houses for sale increased by JPY 6,412,102/USD 58,526 from 2015 to 2019. Compared to previous studies, in the historical center of Kyoto City, the novelty of our finding is that the cause for increasing housing prices was not simple accommodations but hotels, and the effect of housing prices was not on houses for rent but those for sale. These results are significant because they indicate that tourism gentrification causes housing affordability risk for the local communities, including young households.
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... Spain is the country with the highest number of urban megaprojects debated, at least in the English-speaking discussion (Hübscher 2021). This comes as no surprise, considering projects such as Guggenheim (Bilbao) or Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (Valencia, Fig. 12.2). ...
Two Megaprojects—One City. Learning between Large-Scale Urban Development Projects on Tenerife, Spain
Chapter
  • Aug 2023
Inner-city megaprojects have become a typical element in the neoliberal city and are associated with multiple conflicts such as undemocratic planning, cost explosions and (green) gentrification. This chapter analyzes two neighboring megaprojects (Cabo-Llanos Plan and Santa Cruz Verde 2030) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain) and explores if there are learning processes of primary and secondary stakeholders between the two projects. I conducted 18 qualitative interviews with the town hall, architects, neighborhood associations and real estate experts. The results indicate how each stakeholder group learned particularly in the area that affects them most, for example with regard to urbanism, housing, and public spaces. The project’s initiators show a clear learning process, as the new megaproject (Santa Cruz Verde 2030) takes up several deficits revealed by the former megaproject (Cabo-Llanos Plan). However, this chapter questions the motivation behind this learning, as the apparently sustainable mask of the project rather conceals the entrepreneurial logics. Hence, this study reveals the potential of integrating stakeholders into planning processes, but it also shows how spatial injustices are reproduced.KeywordsMegaprojectsPlanningLocal stakeholdersLearning processSanta Cruz de Tenerife
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... Among the effects of tourism gentrification, many researchers have discussed the specific social effects of displacement [7]. The severe problem of tourism gentrification unexpectedly results in the displacement of socioeconomically vulnerable local communities [8]. ...
Population Decline and Urban Transformation by Tourism Gentrification in Kyoto City
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2023
In recent years, tourist cities worldwide have experienced rapid tourism gentrification, which was caused by the spread of P2P accommodation-matching digital platforms. The research problem is set as follows: whether tourism gentrification caused a population decline in the historical center area of tourist cities. Therefore, this study aims to clarify the causal statistical relationship between population decline and tourism gentrification, focusing on urban transformation by accommodation. As a case, this study analyzes Kyoto City, a world-class tourist city. In summary, we conclude that tourism gentrification caused population decline through displacement in the historical center of Kyoto City. On the other hand, it was found that population decline occurred from factors other than tourism gentrification in the outside area of Kyoto City. The academic contribution is to clarify the effect of population decline on the cause of urban transformation through time precedence with statistical correlation. For tourist cities where the population is declining, the distinction between cause and effect is critical for policymaking toward sustainable tourism where the population is declining. The practical implication is the need for urban planning against tourism gentrification toward sustainability tourism in the historical center of Kyoto City.
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... Carefully crafted around the streamlined criteria of livability indexes and scripted around the all too familiar narratives of health, wellness and sustainability (Klingmann, 2022) to capture a maximum share of mobile wealth, megaprojects are marketed strategically to members of the transnational capitalist class. Hübscher (2021), in this regard, has demonstrated that green gentrification accounts for 10% of all gentrification categories, exemplifying how environmental upgrading in megaprojects and so-called "enhanced quality of life" may not necessarily benefit low-income communities, people of color and migrant communities, because of rising property values and displacing long term residents while building resilient properties for urban elites. Despite changing narratives, it can be argued, therefore, that the global economic positioning and marketing of Rescripting Riyadh megaprojects toward a globally mobile elite still prevail over the concern of local issues and an egalitarian construct of livability. ...
Rescripting Riyadh: how the capital of Saudi Arabia employs urban megaprojects as catalysts to enhance the quality of life within the city’s neighborhoods
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2022
  • J Place Manag Dev
Purpose This study aims to investigate whether the correlation between Saudi Arabia’s social and economic reforms, urban megaprojects and sustainable urbanism can lead to an increased quality of life (QoL) in the capital, create a comprehensive lifestyle setup for Riyadh’s residents while also aiming to attract foreign investment. Design/methodology/approach This research examines five government-sponsored mega-destinations and their master plans against the objectives of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030’s Quality of Life Program. Furthermore, the author analyzed to what extent the proposed projects fulfill global mandates of sustainable urban development and how they might help raise the QoL for Riyadh’s residents. The author’s methodology rests primarily on detailed policy evaluation proposed by Vision 2030, literature research and data collected from proposed urban development plans. In parallel, the author conducted informal conversations with people living in affected areas and architectural offices who are involved in the design of the five megaprojects. After collecting the data for each project, the author compared the QoL Program criteria to the data of the proposed megaprojects to examine to what extent the proposed designs implement the QoL criteria of Vision 2030. In the last step, the author evaluated whether and how the proposed plans adhere to globally established guidelines of sustainable urban revitalization by studying possible overlaps and contingencies on an urban level. Findings The analysis reveals that although each case study project targets one or more specific lifestyle domains, the projects combined fulfill all lifestyle categories specified in Saudi Arabia’s QoL program. In addition, each project contributes measures to improve livability in the categories of urban design and environment, infrastructure and transport, social engagement and safety while also providing a range of economic and educational opportunities for different demographics. In terms of sustainable development criteria, the analysis demonstrates that all case studies provide ample measures to enhance Riyadh’s mobility by providing greenways for pedestrians and cyclists, which connect to public transport. Furthermore, when strategically combined as a series of urban layers, the projects demonstrate potential to form urban synergies among different lifestyle domains that could positively affect existing and proposed neighborhoods, particularly when extended through an inclusive, participatory planning framework, which, in turn, could significantly raise the QoL for a broad socioeconomic demographic. Research limitations/implications This research reveals the complex role of megaprojects as change agents for socioeconomic reforms, as signifiers of livability and as planning frameworks to implement sustainable urbanism in Saudi Arabia’s capital, while also creating a lifestyle infrastructure for Riyadh’s residents. Practical implications With their sensitive approach to climate, ecologically driven landscape projects and regionalist architecture inspired by the traditional Arab city, these case study projects may serve as an example to other countries in hot arid zones on sustainably revitalizing their urban environments. Social implications This study demonstrates how social and economic reforms intertwine with sustainable urban planning and placemaking to create a comprehensive lifestyle setup for Riyadh’s residents that has not previously existed. On the planning side, this includes creating a massive public infrastructure that encourages walkability and residents’ active participation in recreational, cultural, entertainment and sports activities. However, as the analysis has also revealed, while offering a large number of public facilities, the projects do not embrace a mixed-income project model, which would allow low-income families to live within a market-rate environment. In addition, one of the projects entails the displacement of benefit low-income and migrant communities. Although the government has a separate program that specifically aims at providing affordable housing in other areas of the city, these model destinations primarily target luxury tourists and affluent Saudis, potentially cementing existing socio-spatial divides in the city. Consequently, the megaprojects demonstrate Saudi Arabia’s conflicted response to the logic of entrepreneurial neoliberalism: on the one side, progressive attempts to promote an egalitarian approach to urban livability; on the other, strategic efforts to use megaprojects as spectacular showcases in the global marketplace. Originality/value The correlation between Saudi Arabia’s socioeconomic reforms, megaprojects and sustainable urbanism in Riyadh has not been previously explored. Compared to Western countries’ cities, few attempts have been made to investigate the role of livability in the context of emerging countries’ fast-growing urban areas. This paper presents a considerable case study in Saudi Arabia that ties into a more extensive debate on cultural globalization where cities, particularly in the developing world, use megaprojects as change agents to reconstruct their urban territories according to standardized livability indices to elevate their image in the global marketplace.
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... In Hubscher [11], a systematic review is shown that explores the interaction from a neoliberal context of current urbanism of how an increasing number of megaprojects in cities aim to transform vacant land, accompanied by gentrification and tourism. ...
Neoliberal Urban Development vs. Rural Communities: Land Management Challenges in San Andrés Cholula, Mexico
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2022
Since the 1980s, the municipality of San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, has been a territory with constant clashes between its rural population and the official land use policy. In this context, the rural community and its millenary bio-cultural traditions have collided with neoliberal political and economic interests, new urbanism, and land speculation, commodification of local culture and privatization of the public space. The above-mentioned facts represent a challenge for sustainable land management of the territory and for socio-spatial justice, as a large portion of the land is becoming a private asset, meanwhile the large extension of rural land has been for communal use. The present work aims to discuss the processes triggered by neoliberal urban development logic in the area, and how these dynamics have affected the identity of the place, endangered its bio-cultural heritage and jeopardized the local communal right to the land. It will also examine the possibilities for a creation of a collaborative instrument to enhance the participation of the local community (or pueblos originarios—original people—as they identify themselves), in sustainable land management processes, in order to obtain a balance between the community, the public policy and the economic forces in urban development.
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Technological Innovations in Tourism Businesses: A Study on Contemporary Trends
Chapter
  • Apr 2023
Technological innovations are bringing major breakthroughs and radical changes in the way businesses function. These technological innovations are helping all the industries to smooth their functions and provide better experiences to the customers. The tourism industry is also witnessing tremendous improvements in technological innovations. The chapter aims to study the different types of technologies that have emerged in recent times in tourism businesses. This study is conceptual in nature and uses various secondary sources for data collection along with the study of various cases to comprehend the usage of technology. The study concludes in supporting the statement made by world's largest and nodal tourism organization, United Nations World Tourism Organization, that technology and digitization are emerging, disrupting, and affecting our lives in such a way that augurs the begging of the next generation industrial revolution.
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On the relationship between short-term rentals and gentrification: the case of Airbnb in Munich (Germany)
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2022
This paper explores the relationship between Airbnb and gentrification by studying Munich, which is at the forefront of the short-term rental market in Germany. We investigate both the Airbnb market and the functional rent gap, providing a spatial comparison. The results show an overlapping of gentrification and Airbnb in the central districts, but there are also functional rent gaps in the peripheries. However, high Airbnb densities do not always go hand in hand with gentrification. We also identify a considerable seasonality on the Airbnb market, that adds a temporal dimension to the phenomena. Drawing on this, we call for a city-wide monitoring of these aspects to increase transparency and provide a database for urban policy. By exploring the case of Munich, we contribute to the ongoing discussion, as other (German) cities develop in the same direction on the Airbnb market as the Bavarian capital. Apart from that, our quantitative model is also transferable to other cases.
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Geographien der Enteignung: Die Analyse einer touristischen Stadt (Puerto de la Cruz, Kanarische Inseln)
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2022
  • MITT OSTERR GEOGR G
In 2008, when real estate prices in Spain fell rapidly (real estate bubble), an economic crisis was triggered that led to a fast increase in unemployment and evictions. We build on Harvey’s idea of accumulation by dispossession and examine the urban distribution of evictions that took place between 2008 and 2016 in the inner-city area of Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife, Canary Islands). For this purpose, we analyse a database and conduct guideline interviews with a member of the city’s social services department and two local real estate agents. The study shows that the Spanish real estate crisis has exacerbated socio-spatial disparities in the city of Puerto de la Cruz and that the number of dispossessions in the years 2008 to 2016, compared with the period of 1995 to 2007, rose substantially. Inner-city areas with high numbers of tourists and tourism infrastructure were particularly affected. Our analysis offers different aspects which allow a comparison with the growing number of case studies in Spain.
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Casablanca’s Megaprojects: Neoliberal Urban Planning and Socio-Spatial Transformations
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2020
The first decade of the 21st century marked a change in the design and implementation of urban strategies in Morocco through the introduction of sectorial policies and reforms of various kinds aimed at encouraging investment and stimulating economic growth. Megaprojects have emerged as the preferred implementation tool of these urban strategies. In this article, we examine this development through the case of large-scale projects in Casablanca, Morocco‘s economic capital. We argue that these changes are as much a result of structural reforms as they are indicative of global and transnational neoliberalisation logics. Together, these act as the main drivers for the city‘s ambitions to increase economic productivity and become a regional business and financial hub. We further argue that this is being effected through a proliferation of ‚supply‘ strategies that have led to a standardisation of urban development policies and planning forms at the expense of local needs. We follow these developments on three levels: megaproject governance, influence on regulatory frameworks, and the transformation of local socio-spatial fabrics.
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PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: Updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2021
  • Br Med J
The methods and results of systematic reviews should be reported in sufficient detail to allow users to assess the trustworthiness and applicability of the review findings. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was developed to facilitate transparent and complete reporting of systematic reviews and has been updated (to PRISMA 2020) to reflect recent advances in systematic review methodology and terminology. Here, we present the explanation and elaboration paper for PRISMA 2020, where we explain why reporting of each item is recommended, present bullet points that detail the reporting recommendations, and present examples from published reviews. We hope that changes to the content and structure of PRISMA 2020 will facilitate uptake of the guideline and lead to more transparent, complete, and accurate reporting of systematic reviews.
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Opaque Urban Planning. The Megaproject Santa Cruz Verde 2030 Seen from the Local Perspective (Tenerife, Spain)
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2021
Megaprojects, as a part of neoliberal urbanism, have become an important element of cities worldwide. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, the megaproject Santa Cruz Verde 2030 represents this type of project. The ambitious plan seeks to transform the city's oil refinery into an urban quarter. However, since its announcement in summer 2018, no critical public discussion has taken place, although the project is expected to reconfigure the city's waterfront and its tourist model. In this context, it is particularly the stakeholders' point of view that is neglected. We thus offer a qualitative analysis of five interviews with local stakeholders from the real estate sector, politics, urban planning and an environmental association. The analysis shows that the interviewees feel insufficiently informed by the project's initiators. The project is interpreted as an elitist symbol of how the project's initiators understand urban development. While some of the stakeholders want to accelerate the whole process, others call for a more integrative and participative planning approach. Moreover, the observed marketing campaign is directly linked to the upcoming elections. The interviewees observe a simple top-down planning process, which contradicts the promises of the initiators to enable civic participation and integration.
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Quality of life in neighbourhoods undergoing renewal: Evidence from Mashhad, Iran
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2020
Urban decay is one of the most critical challenges in urban development, whereby old urban districts fall into decrepitude and face serious social, economic, and physical problems. Governments thus implement renewal projects to revitalize physical and functional structures, restore socioeconomic capacity, and improve residents' quality of life. However, ignoring the complex nature of intervention in old urban areas may have undesirable consequences , including an additional decline in residents' quality of life. This article assesses residents' quality of life in neighbourhoods undergoing renewal, supported by experience from Mashhad, Iran. Using a mixed-methods design, it combines quantitative and qualitative methods of impact assessment, including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews , georeferenced data, and direct observation. The results show that a lack of sustainable financing for the Samen Renewal Project has had undesirable physical, sociocultural, and economic effects in the historical district of Mashhad and significantly reduced residents' quality of life due to focusing on the interests of tourists, pilgrims, and especially private developers.
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De-Gentrification or Disaster Gentrification? Debating the Impact of COVID-19 on Anglo-American Urban Gentrification
Chapter
  • Jul 2021
This chapter analyzes two possible futures of gentrification in the post-COVID-19 city. It talks about de-gentrification, which suggests that the forces driving gentrification will cause the process to reverse, and disaster gentrification, wherein capital exploits the situation caused by the pandemic and gentrification continues. It also argues that the health and financial disasters of the COVID-19 pandemic create new opportunities for capitalism to exploit the situation. The chapter discusses the predictions of doom for the center of Anglo-American cities as the gentrifier classes move out to the suburbs or small towns or rural locations and of the continuation of ongoing waves of gentrification that find creative ways to exploit the urban. It determines whether gentrification in post-COVID-19 will die a sudden death or continue as usual, exploiting new niches and mutating as it has done before.
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State-led gentrification in three Latin American cities
Article
Many authors agree that gentrification in Latin America depends on the intervention of the state. However, for the renovation of large urban areas that have long lacked public attention, state intervention is a pivotal driver. This comparative analysis involved fieldwork analysis and short ethnographies in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Results show variations and some common threads, namely land valorization policies, schemes designed to promote the creation of economic opportunities for upper-income investors and developers, the establishment of creative or cultural industrial hubs, investment in new transport and cultural infrastructure, city rebranding, and the use of iconic architecture. Displacement policies have been implemented in Brazil, although with limited success. In Brazil and Mexico, attempts have been made to control social behaviors within particular spaces, often in a racialized manner. We arrive at a narrative that differs from that of the Global North, which considers state-led gentrification to constitute the privatization of social housing under the hegemonic imposition of discourses of “social mixing.” The concept of state and its trajectory differ considerably in each hemisphere.
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Transnational mobilities of the tallest building: origins, mobilization and urban effects of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa
Article
  • Mar 2021
The media and scholarly descriptions and understandings of the tallest building in the world, namely the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, generally, have been simplified. Either celebrating or condemning it, these explanations typically stress the unique technological solutions, the symbolic and political motivations or the financial risk and economic gamble. This manuscript documents the origins – in terms of both its generation as centrepiece of the large-scale development project called Downtown Dubai and the mobilization of antecedents of Dubai’s icon (including the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, the Samsung Tower Palace Three, Seoul). Drawing on secondary data and prior research materials, the paper analyses the mobilities of architectural, engineering and real estate experts and solutions, arguing that this urban spectacle worked at multiple scales, that multiple actors embraced it for different purposes: the government celebrating the nation and the city, the developer gaining a distinct landmark in a massive development to market it internationally, enticing partners and regulators in subsequent transnational operations and the design experts testing unprecedented technological solutions. The conclusions concentrate on the diverse motivations behind this architectural piece and the importance of a place-based yet critical and multiscalar understanding of similar urban transformation processes and their uneven urban effects.
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From Managerialism to Entrepreneurialism: The Transformation in Urban Governance in Late Capitalism
Article
  • Apr 1989
In recent years, urban governance has become increasingly preoccupied with the exploration of new ways in which to foster and encourage local development and employment growth. Such an entrepreneurial stance contrasts with the managerial practices of earlier decades which primarily focussed on the local provision of services, facilities and benefits to urban populations. This paper explores the context of this shift from managerialism to entrepreneurialism in urban governance and seeks to show how mechanisms of inter-urban competition shape outcomes and generate macroeconomic consequences. The relations between urban change and economic development are thereby brought into focus in a period characterised by considerable economic and political instability.
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Feel the urban warmth…tourism in ASEAN urban areas, morphologies, and practices
Chapter
  • Jan 2021
The ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) regional bloc of ten countries receives annually more than 600 million international tourists. That makes it one of the main tourism destination worldwide. With an attractive combination of warm tropical climate, rainforest, sandy beaches and colorful cultural diversity, the region is often depicted as the epitome of exoticness. Beyond the questionable orientalist view, this cliché downplays the importance of cities in the tourism phenomenon in ASEAN. When portrayed, cities are either gateways, contrasting modernity and colorful traditions or shopping and entertainment destinations. The current situation might be due to a lack of knowledge and study of the actual relationships between urban settings and tourism in ASEAN. Tourism spaces and practices in urban settings remain defined from models of North American and European cities, which are not transferable. These references continue to feed the impression of exoticness and it is perhaps time to define the essence of urban tourism by terms relevant to the case. With an unprecedented rate of urbanization in the region, new urban models are emerging, and their relationship with tourism needs to be analyzed. How is tourism performed within ASEAN metropolitan areas, and what is their relationship in shaping a unique urban production? This study is two-fold, first to define the characteristics of tourism within metropolitan areas of ASEAN, and second, to derive from it a typology of cities and tourism roles. It will use a qualitative approach, using data from observation and secondary sources within the metropolitan areas, and the cities with regional tourism interest.
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The Covid-19 economic crisis: dangerously unique
Article
  • Sep 2020
  • Bus Econ
The Covid-19 crisis is unique in several respects. This devastating recession does not have an economic origin, will dance largely to the tune of non-economic factors, and is truly global. The policy response has been equally unique, in terms of speed, size and scope, eliciting an unprecedented concerted effort combining monetary, fiscal and prudential policies. This has contained the fallout. At the time of writing, financial markets have rebounded to the point of looking exuberant, but it all feels more like a truce than a peace treaty. The crisis is transitioning from the liquidity to the solvency phase in a context of limited and shrinking room for policy manoeuvre. All this raises difficult near- and longer-term challenges. Rebuilding policy buffers in all policy areas is likely to be the policy challenge of the decade ahead.
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