About this episode
The episode explores the human cost of gentrification in Detroit and London through the experiences of two guests and their respective studies.
What do we learn when a city’s future is defined not by rapid change, but by who leaves and who stays? Laurie Taylor looks at two neighbourhoods in different countries, during different periods in history and explores the human cost of gentrification - and what happens when the project fails. Sharon Cornelissen (sociologist and Director of Housing at the Consumer Federation of America) discusses her latest book, "The Last House on the Block - Black Homeowners, White Homesteaders, and Failed Gentrification in Detroit', her study of Detroit’s Brightmoor neighbourhood. After living as a homeowner in Brightmoor for several years, Cornelissen argues that American cities should look more closely at depopulation and disinvestment because she experienced firsthand what it is like to live somewhere with a very small population and a distinct lack of both public and private investment. In his new book, "Songs of Seven Dials - an Intimate History of 1920s and 1930s London", Matt Houlbrook (Professor of Cultural History at the University of Birmingham) writes about the history of the central London district in the interwar years through the story of a 1927 libel trial involving a Sierra…
People in this episode
Host: Laurie Taylor
Guests: Sharon Cornelissen, Matt Houlbrook
Topics covered
- gentrification
- urban development
- sociology
- race and class
- housing
- historical analysis
Keywords
- gentrification
- Detroit
- London
- housing
- urban development
- race
- class
- sociology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Consumer Federation of America
Books & works: The Last House on the Block - Black Homeowners, White Homesteaders, and Failed Gentrification in Detroit, Songs of Seven Dials - an Intimate History of 1920s and 1930s London
Places: Detroit, Brightmoor, London, Seven Dials, Covent Garden
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