This master's thesis discusses the applicability of the concept of new-build gentrification in the context of Helsinki. The aim is to offer new ways to structure the framework of socio-economic change in Helsinki through this theoretical perspective and to explore the suitability of the concept of new-build gentrification in a context where the construction of new housing is under strict municipal regulations.
The conceptual understanding of gentrification has expanded since the term's coinage, and has been enlarged to encompass a variety of new actors, causalities and both physical and social outcomes. New-build gentrification on its behalf is one of the manifestations of the current, third-wave gentrification. Over the upcoming years Helsinki is expected to face growth varying from moderate to rapid increase of the population. The last decade has been characterized by the planning of extensive residential areas in the immediate vicinity of the Helsinki CBD and the seaside due to the relocation of inner city cargo shipping. Accompanied with characteristics of local housing policy and existing housing stock, these developments form the framework where the prerequisites for the existence of new-build gentrification are discussed.
The empirical part of this thesis concentrates on exploring the socio-economic and demographic structure of the resident base of Helsinki's new-build housing areas. The main research method is a GIS- analysis based on the appliance of the YKR Database by SYKE and the Grid Database by Statistics Finland. Besides the quantitative analysis, the existence of new-build gentrification in Helsinki is discussed in the context of general argumentation for the phenomenon's applicability by the critical gentrification research perspective.
The results of the study lead to the conclusion, that new-build gentrification does not occur in the chosen case areas as the process described in international case-studies suggest, but several of the characteristics of the phenomenon are however present in the local housing policies, housing market and development of new residential areas. In Helsinki the regulation of the tenure structure concerning the new-build housing stock has led to a situation, where the difference between new-build housing developments' and the surrounding areas' socio-economic status varies between the inner-and outer parts of the city. These results bear close resemblance to the outcomes of recent Western European studies highlighting the importance of comprehensive understanding of the local context in the contemporary gentrification research. The development of new-build housing areas in Helsinki is to some extent in line with international trends, but the specificities of national and local policy practices have led to distinct socio-cultural outcomes. The results support the notion that the concept of new-build gentrification becomes purposeful when accompanied with a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the local processes of urban change.
