Geo793 final exam
Module 3 (A): Redevelopment & Gentrification: -
Gentrification - Gentrification is a distinct urban process that consists in the revitalization of low-
income neighborhoods and has become widespread across North America and beyond.
Here are some of the pros of gentrification: - 1. A more esthetically appealing neighborhood
2. Increased public safety
3. Increasing land values
4. Decreased crime rates
5. Decreasing urban sprawl
6. Increasing options for food, retail outlets, and jobs
Here are instead some of the cons of gentrification: - 1. Decrease in affordable housing
2. Decrease in affordable retail spaces
3. Increased policing of communities of color
4. Changes in the culture of the neighborhood
5. Removal of low-income residents
6. Increasing tensions within the local community
August & Walks
•The goal of this study is to examine how the financialization of rental housing is: - -Reshaping
Toronto's rental housing market
-Restructuring the social space of the city
,Financialization of multi-family rental housing.
What is "financialization"? - Financialization refers to the increase in size and importance of a
country's financial sector relative to its overall economy.
Financialization has occurred as countries have shifted away from industrial capitalism. The
term also describes not just the increase of the market and financial sector's presence in our
lives but the increasing diversity of transactions and market players as well as their intersection
with all parts of the economy and society.
The financialization of housing markets: - •Housing as a financial asset vs housing as shelter
•Multi-family rental housing is increasingly been treated as a financial asset
Toronto as the ideal case study: - Canada's financial centre-> Highly gentrified->Located at the
center of Canada's largest CMA->Large rental sector (• 46% of households are renters)
From social housing to vacancy decontrol: - 1950s-1970s: Apartment construction was massive
in the city.
1980s-1990s: rental housing construction declined in favour of condominium development.
1990s: The decline of social housing construction in the 1990s.
1997: The 1997 Tenant Protection Act and vacancy decontrol
Financialization of rental housing in Toronto
Financialization of rental housing started as a way to capitalize on: - •Deregulation
,•Downloading
•Lack of affordable housing
Private real estate companies' transformation into Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
Strategies of financialized landlords
Financialized landlords have developed strategies to maximize profits for investors: - -Treating
homes as financial assets
-Cutting costs
-Increasing revenues
-Gentrifying-by-upgrading
Geography of post crisis intestification and expansion
•Following the 2008-2009 recession, the financialization of rental housing intensified: - -New
and aggressive financialized landlords entered the Toronto market and have adopted 2 major
locational strategies
-New and aggressive financialized landlords entered the Toronto market and have adopted 2
major locational strategies - •Suburbs: squeezing profits from existing tenants
•Inner city: gentrifying-by-upgrade (thus displacing existing tenants)
Repositioning spatial inequality
Investing in multi-family housing has been quite profitable for financialized landlords: - •The
price has been paid by tenants in terms of
•Higher rents and fees
•Reduced quality of life
, The city has witnessed: - •Increased neighborhood income segregation
•Restructuring of the inner city
Conclusion (1): - •The financialization of rental housing has been allowed by neoliberal policies
Conclusion (2): The phenomenon is particularly evident in Toronto and this has resulted in: - -
Increasing inequality
-Spatial displacement
Module 3 (B): Redevelopment & Gentrification -
Lehrer
Toronto's socio- spatial transformation and its causes: - •Continued rapid suburban growth
•Decline and disinvestment in the inner suburbs
•Inner city reinvestment (gentrification)
City of Toronto Map (Total 6): - Green: Etobicoke
Yellow: North York
Light brown: York
Dark purple: Old Toronto
Light Blue: East York
Orange: Scarborough
Module 3 (A): Redevelopment & Gentrification: -
Gentrification - Gentrification is a distinct urban process that consists in the revitalization of low-
income neighborhoods and has become widespread across North America and beyond.
Here are some of the pros of gentrification: - 1. A more esthetically appealing neighborhood
2. Increased public safety
3. Increasing land values
4. Decreased crime rates
5. Decreasing urban sprawl
6. Increasing options for food, retail outlets, and jobs
Here are instead some of the cons of gentrification: - 1. Decrease in affordable housing
2. Decrease in affordable retail spaces
3. Increased policing of communities of color
4. Changes in the culture of the neighborhood
5. Removal of low-income residents
6. Increasing tensions within the local community
August & Walks
•The goal of this study is to examine how the financialization of rental housing is: - -Reshaping
Toronto's rental housing market
-Restructuring the social space of the city
,Financialization of multi-family rental housing.
What is "financialization"? - Financialization refers to the increase in size and importance of a
country's financial sector relative to its overall economy.
Financialization has occurred as countries have shifted away from industrial capitalism. The
term also describes not just the increase of the market and financial sector's presence in our
lives but the increasing diversity of transactions and market players as well as their intersection
with all parts of the economy and society.
The financialization of housing markets: - •Housing as a financial asset vs housing as shelter
•Multi-family rental housing is increasingly been treated as a financial asset
Toronto as the ideal case study: - Canada's financial centre-> Highly gentrified->Located at the
center of Canada's largest CMA->Large rental sector (• 46% of households are renters)
From social housing to vacancy decontrol: - 1950s-1970s: Apartment construction was massive
in the city.
1980s-1990s: rental housing construction declined in favour of condominium development.
1990s: The decline of social housing construction in the 1990s.
1997: The 1997 Tenant Protection Act and vacancy decontrol
Financialization of rental housing in Toronto
Financialization of rental housing started as a way to capitalize on: - •Deregulation
,•Downloading
•Lack of affordable housing
Private real estate companies' transformation into Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
Strategies of financialized landlords
Financialized landlords have developed strategies to maximize profits for investors: - -Treating
homes as financial assets
-Cutting costs
-Increasing revenues
-Gentrifying-by-upgrading
Geography of post crisis intestification and expansion
•Following the 2008-2009 recession, the financialization of rental housing intensified: - -New
and aggressive financialized landlords entered the Toronto market and have adopted 2 major
locational strategies
-New and aggressive financialized landlords entered the Toronto market and have adopted 2
major locational strategies - •Suburbs: squeezing profits from existing tenants
•Inner city: gentrifying-by-upgrade (thus displacing existing tenants)
Repositioning spatial inequality
Investing in multi-family housing has been quite profitable for financialized landlords: - •The
price has been paid by tenants in terms of
•Higher rents and fees
•Reduced quality of life
, The city has witnessed: - •Increased neighborhood income segregation
•Restructuring of the inner city
Conclusion (1): - •The financialization of rental housing has been allowed by neoliberal policies
Conclusion (2): The phenomenon is particularly evident in Toronto and this has resulted in: - -
Increasing inequality
-Spatial displacement
Module 3 (B): Redevelopment & Gentrification -
Lehrer
Toronto's socio- spatial transformation and its causes: - •Continued rapid suburban growth
•Decline and disinvestment in the inner suburbs
•Inner city reinvestment (gentrification)
City of Toronto Map (Total 6): - Green: Etobicoke
Yellow: North York
Light brown: York
Dark purple: Old Toronto
Light Blue: East York
Orange: Scarborough
