The Misunderstood History of Gentrification: People, Planning, Preservation, and Urban Renewal, 1915–2020 by Dennis E. Gale (review)

Reviewed by: The Misunderstood History of Gentrification: People, Planning, Preservation, and Urban Renewal, 1915–2020 by Dennis E. Gale Katarina Litva Dennis E. Gale The Misunderstood History of Gentrification: People, Planning, Preservation, and Urban Renewal, 1915–2020 Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2021. xiii + 208 pages. Gentrification is ubiquitous, yet most people cannot agree upon a singular definition or its origins. In The Misunderstood History of Gentrification, Gale tackles the definition and has added to the body of knowledge by providing early twentieth-century case study examples of what we now understand as gentrification. The author dispels the notion that gentrification has been a new and recent phenomenon affecting cities since the 1960s or 1970s, as may be commonly thought. The author’s interest, preliminary research, and doctoral dissertation, “Restoration in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., 1915–1965,” are the impetus for this book using the Georgetown neighborhood as one of the detailed case study examples. The other two case study cities are New York and Boston. All three case studies cite examples of what Gale calls “embryonic gentrification” as early as the first quarter of the 1900s, over a century ago (11). Along with correcting misunderstandings about the historical origins of gentrification, Gale addresses the shift in government policy from large-scale clearing to “neighborhood conversion and renovation” and further addresses misinterpretations about the cause of gentrification (16). Gale’s final purpose discusses the word gentrification’s “semantic transmutation” (16). The Misunderstood History of Gentrification comprises an introduction, a conclusion, and seven chapters divided into three parts. The author introduces the idea of embryonic gentrification and describes five characteristics: the rehabilitation of predominantly residential dwellings in older urban neighborhoods; the geographic location along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; embryonic gentrification being driven by homeowners who, for the most part, did the renovations themselves; it being a localized trend rather than a haphazard, disjointed endeavor; and displacement. However, the author does not refer to it as “displacement”; instead, he calls it the “dislocation of incumbent residents” (12). Part I is the most extensive section, consisting of four chapters, and addresses specific examples of embryonic gentrification between 1915 and [End Page 72] 1945. Each of the first three chapters of this section is a detailed look at one particular neighborhood, Georgetown in Washington, D.C., the Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York, and Beacon Hill in Boston. Closing out this section is a comparative analysis of the three case study neighborhoods and an overall discussion of embryonic gentrification. This final chapter of Part I also briefly addresses embryonic gentrification in Philadelphia, Charleston, and New Orleans. Part II addresses the time frame between 1945 and 1980, discussing the impacts of federal policies such as urban redevelopment and urban renewal on gentrification, and finishes with a discussion of the 1960s English-coined term gentrification as it appeared in literature and discussions of that period. Part III consists of only one chapter, which discusses the time frame from 1980 to 2018, delving into the difficulty in understanding the nomenclature of the word gentrification due to the lack of a singular agreed-upon definition. Also explored are Gale’s thoughts on embryonic versus advanced gentrification, where he briefly touches upon displacement. Finally, the book concludes with many thoughtful and thought-provoking questions and ideas about the future of the urban landscape and further needs and investigations for gentrification. The strength of this book is the addition of well-documented research into three historic neighborhoods in the eastern United States, providing evidence of gentrification as early as the first quarter of the twentieth century. The three comprehensive case study examples provide detailed instances of private sector home renovations that started on a small and individual scale and led to more widespread neighborhood redevelopment. The book shows that gentrification has occurred in the United States for over a century. Students and scholars alike will appreciate these specific examples acknowledging the existence of gentrification in a more historical context. This book is worthwhile for preservationists, planners, and policymakers who want a better understanding of gentrification and how specific neighborhoods developed. These early examples allow for a better understanding of neighborhood change and its consequences, making better-informed decisions that affect...

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