In an elegant and careful theoretical analysis, this book demonstrates how gentrification is always entwined with institutions and distinctive contextual processes. Matthias Bernt develops a new concept, the commodification gap, which is tested in three richly researched cases. With this, the concept of gentrification becomes a multiplicity and the possibility of conversations across different urban contexts is expanded. A richly rewarding read!

Jennifer Robinson, Professor of Human Geography, University College London, UK

Urban studies has reached a stalemate of universalism versus particularism. Matthias Bernt is breaking out of this deadlock by being very precise about what exactly is universal and what is not and how one can conceptualize both.The Commodity Gap is a key contribution to not only gentrification studies, but also to comparative urbanism and urban studies at large.

Manuel B. Aalbers, Division of Geography& Tourism, KU Leuven, Belgium

The Commodification Gap provides an insightful institutionalist perspective on the field of gentrification studies. The book explores the relationship between the operation of gentrification and the institutions underpinning - but also influencing and restricting - it in three neighborhoods in London, Berlin and St. Petersburg. Matthias Bernt demonstrates how different institutional arrangements have resulted in the facilitation, deceleration or alteration of gentrification across time and place.

The book is based on empirical studies conducted in Great Britain, Germany and Russia and contains one of the first-ever English language discussions of gentrification in Germany and Russia. It begins with an examination of the limits of the widely established rent-gap theory and proposes the novel concept of the commodification gap. It then moves on to explore how different institutional contexts in the UK, Germany and Russia have framed the conditions for these gaps to enable gentrification. The Commodification Gapis an indispensable resource for researchers and academics studying human geography, housing studies, urban sociology and spatial planning.

Matthias Bernt is a sociologist and political scientist who works as a Senior Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space in Erkner, Germany. He is also Adjunct Professor at Humboldt University in Berlin. His research focuses on the interrelations between urban development and urban governance.

List of Figures ix

List of Tables x

Series Editors Preface xi

Preface xii

1 Introduction 1

Gentrification Between Universality and Particularity 1

How to Compare? Why Compare? 8

Concepts and Causation 11

Design of this Study 15

Notes 22

2 Why the Rent Gap isnt Enough 25

Where the Rent Gap Works Well 25

Where the Rent Gap Falls Short 30

When and Why does Capital Flow? 32

At Which Scale is the Rent Gap Positioned? 34

Which Rent? 37

Property as Control? 40

How is the Rent Gap Realised? 43

Embedding Gentrification 48

Economy, Society and States 48

The Commodification Gap 51

Notes 54

3 Three Countries, Three Housing Systems 57

The British Experience 57

From Private Landlordism to a Dual Market 58

The Thatcherite Revolution 60

New Labour: More of the Same? 65

Austerity and New Class War Conservatism Under the Coalition Government 70

Conclusion: Neoliberalism, Tenurial Transformation and Gentrification 73

The German Experience 77

From the Controlled Housing Economy to the Lücke Plan 77

The Design of Tenant Protections 84

The Conservative Wende 86

Reunification and Neoliberal Consensus 89

Conclusion: Gentrification Between Regulation and Deregulation 91

The Russian Experience 98

Housing in the Soviet Union 99

From Shock Therapy to Failing Markets 102

Restricted State Capacities and Opportunity Planning 110

Conclusion: Gentrification in a Dysfunctional Market 112

State Intervention in Housing: Setting the Parameters for Gentrification 118

Notes 124

4 Barnsbury: Gentrification and the Policies of Tenure 129

The Making of Early Gentrification 129

The Right to Buy: Pouring Fuel on the Fire 137

The New Economy of Gentrification 141

Capital Gains Instead of Owner-Occupation 142

Penalty Renting 145

From Value Gap to Super-gentrification 150

Notes 154

5 Prenzlauer Berg: Gentrification Between Regulation and Deregulation 157

From Plan to Market 158

Rolling out the Market, Weakening Public Control 162

Since 2000: Privately Financed Refurbishments, Condominium Boom and No Regulation 164

New Build Gentrification and Energy Efficient Displacement 167

Between Deregulation and Re-regulation 171

Gentrification with Brakes? 174

Notes 179

6 Splintered Gentrification: St Petersburg, Russia 181

Unpredictable Regeneration Schemes 183

World Heritage vs. Gentrification 186

The Dissolution of Kommunalki Flats 192

State-run Repair and Renewal 198

Pro and Contra Gentrification 202

Notes 206

7 The Commodification Gap 207

Universality vs. Particularity Revisited 207

Gentrification and Decommodification 216

Meeting the Challenge: New Directions for Research and Politics 217

Notes 221

Appendix A Compulsory Purchase in Barnsbury 223

Appendix B Residents in NS-SeC Classes 1 and 2 229

References 235

Index 257