ECONOMICS UNIQUENESS

130 ■ THE ECONOMICS OF UNIQUENESS
have become almost exclusively the habitat of low-income households. Th erefore
such a renewal strategy could have the adverse eff ect of pricing the poor out of
that market—gentrifi cation.
For the proponents of inclusive urban development strategies, too oft en even
the use of the phrase “gentrifi cation” generates both anger and angst, when what
is necessary is to step back and consider the process more objectively. In any
urban strategy operation there are both positive and negative outcomes; however,
the consequences of so-called gentrifi cation should be weighed when initiating a
heritage-based strategy.
Gentrifi cation: Assessing the Positives
On the positive side, frequent outcomes include the following:
• Potentials for reinvestment. When a heritage area has been selected to receive
public investment in capital improvements of major buildings and in infrastructure,
the confi dence of individual private-sector investors is increased,
leading them to acquire and redevelop existing properties. Using public
investment as leverage to encourage private investment is always part of the
renewal strategy of center city eff orts in general and of heritage-based strategies
in particular.
• Increased property ownership. As was noted above, the cycle of decline is oft en
accompanied by a shift from owner occupants to tenant occupants in both
residential and commercial properties. Heritage-based regeneration eff orts
oft en spur a reversal of that pattern by attracting the return of owner occupants,
particularly in the residential sector.
• Improved public services. Commonly the level and quality of basic public
services—garbage collection, street cleaning, maintenance of public squares,
and public safety—improves signifi cantly in heritage-based eff orts. In part this
is because the local government commits to improve services in the targeted
area as a means to build public confi dence and attract private investment.
• Improved businesses climate. As the economic makeup of the area improves,
new businesses are started and existing businesses relocate to the neighborhood.
Th is pattern is the result of two parallel factors: (1) as there is more
investment and a greater number of households with spendable income,
there is simply a greater opportunity for business start-up and relocation; and
(2) particularly early in the cycle of regeneration, the rent levels are still relatively
low as compared to other areas of the city. Since the cost of occupancy is
a major consideration, particularly for small businesses, this rent competitiveness
adds to the area’s appeal.
• More renovation of vacant properties. Oft en the fi rst properties to be acquired
and rehabilitated are those that have been vacant. Th ese are favored targets