The return of the inner city. On the role of culture, capital and consumption in the process of gentrification

Since the 1970s the back to the city movement has sparked intense debates on the causes and consequences of gentrification. While early explanatory approaches have revolved around the dualism of structure/supply/capital versus agency/demand/culture, recent research strategies have become more complex. The pursuit of dialectical theoretical frameworks which consider capital and culture simultaneously offers significant theoretical insights to the gentrification debate. This paper sketches the debate on gentrification and argues for a renewed urban geography that is based on a new matrix of localism and globalism and the interwoven cultural and economic issues.