Do aestheticized urban landscapes always attract higher income groups?

On this week’s edition of The City, we’ll critically evaluate the connections between artists, galleries and boutiques, city policy, and processes of neighbourhood change. Artists have long been implicated in processes of neighbourhood social-economic upgrading, and their preferred locational choice of affordable, (lower-income) inner-city neighbourhoods is implicated in early stages of major neighbourhood class transformation. We’ll look at how artists and cultural workers themselves view these processes, the role of city planning policy, and the potential barriers to gentrification.

The City speaks with the following people to critically examine these issues:

• Tarah Hogue (Curator, Gam Gallery)
• Richard Newirth (Director, Cultural Services, City of Vancouver)
• Dr. Harvey Molotch (Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and Sociology, New York University)
• Wendy Pedersen (Carnegie Community Action Project)

Here’s a preview of the upcoming episode, featuring Sharon Zukin (Sociologist, City University of New York) (via BigThink.com) and Tarah Hogue (Curator, Gam Gallery in the Downtown Eastside).