Commercial gentrification: affordable workspace policy is not a “policy panacea”

Jessica Ferm, "Preventing the displacement of small businesses through commercial gentrification: are affordable workspace policies the solution?", Planning Practice and Research 31 (2016): 4

The take-away: This article contributes to the gentrification literature by analyzing how affordable workspace policies in London have impacted commercial gentrification. The findings are not optimistic, as they suggest that despite positive intentions, affordable workspace policies are often counterproductive because they “provide a false sense of security”: even if such policy makes it appear that the local planning authority “is doing something positive to address” commercial gentrification, it actually has little mitigating impact on the loss of employment land (416). 

Abstract: Preventing the displacement of small businesses through commercial gentrification: are affordable workspace policies the solution? Jessica Ferm Jun 2016 The displacement of small businesses in cities with rising land values is of increasing concern to local communities and reflected in the literature on commercial or industrial gentrification. This article explores the perception of such gentrification as both a problem and an opportunity, and considers the motivations and implications of state intervention in London, where policies  requiring affordable workspace to be delivered within mixed use developments have been  introduced. Based on case studies of 13 mixed use developments in London, the findings reveal the limitations and unintended consequences of affordable workspace policies, leading to a call for planners to revisit and strengthen more traditional planning tools.   

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