In the shadow of gentrification: the case of art-led neighborhood change in Osaka's developmental inner city

This study investigates the "shadow of gentrification;" that is, it examines the applicability of the concept of gentrification beyond the typical context of the global city and attempts to advance its understanding in the Global East. This topic is approached by analyzing the role of rental housing in art-led neighborhood change in Osaka's inner city, an area shaped during Japan's developmental period. Three characteristics of housing that facilitates art-led neighborhood change - physical features, economic conditions, and tenure type - were identified, along which the renovation work conducted by artists in Osaka's inner city, was analyzed. The results show that the developmental inner city provides only poor conditions for gentrification driven by artists. To enable a better understanding of neighborhood change in the Global East, this study suggests overcoming the concept of gentrification by focusing on other forms of neighborhood change, and highlighting breaks instead of continuities in the local political economy.