My Evolving Thoughts on Gentrification

I thought I would write a post on my evolving feelings about gentrification.

Gentrification is undeniably a good thing. But it will come as no surprise to many people reading this that it’s undeniably a bad thing too. When I moved to this area of Shanghai ten years ago, it was full of “useful” shops: little supermarkets, dry cleaners, hardware suppliers. But now all the practical shops are being priced out, replaced by flashy fashion boutiques, expensive coffee shops, and quirky speciality stores designed to appeal to the browsing Chinese tourist. What used to feel like living in a special community can sometimes feel like living in Times Square. I now need to walk a good few blocks to find my nearest key-cutter or greengrocer, and I just lost another local shop to an upcoming… Pingu store.

I guess it’s better than watching your local high street empty out and fall into disrepair, we all know plenty of neighbourhoods like that. But I’m starting to understand the feelings of the outpriced and the overlooked - the original resident who feels outpaced by the March of the Penguins - opinions I might previously have discounted as retrograde. It’s taken living in one place for a decade for me to realise this.

So let this post be my public apology for being so late to the game with this sentiment. And a public lament for all the lost little cafés, jianbing stalls and boba tea shops. The secret’s out about our cute little neighbourhood in Shanghai.

🐧🐧🐧


For the Instagram version, see here.
For the LinkedIn version, see here.