I see this in Taichung and Kaohsiung as some of the old areas get some degree of gentrification with some sadness as I saw in Dublin and some EU cities. Old shops replaced by giant modern soulless mega buildings for people with money. Stories like this
I do love it here in part of the heritage buildings and shops but wonder will money and gentrification reach into historic cities and areas in Taiwan and and in turn a few big ultra modern metro which is what mega city north is like, It’s interesting my gen in twenty something do like the heritage buildings but the generation above us seems want get rid of it. Do you think gentrification will spread rest of Taiwan? Cities like Paris have done somewhat better job in keeping old building but in sense there is gentrification in that many young people can afford to live there, hoping here can keep living costs in check. As returning Taiwanese I have mixed feeling and wonder what do expat here feel or just not feel anything?
Not sure this is true, maybe just a bad example. With respect to Parisians, they do like a good protest which normally ends in destruction of property. And Notre Dame sadly not so good either.
Buildings get replaced as they wear out or become obsolete and too expensive to maintain. If you hold onto all of the heritage, you end up with a period like Detroit is in now with really beautiful buildings in a state of disrepair because there isn’t the money to sort it out and it’s cheaper for a company to tear down and rebuild with more (space and cost) efficient buildings.
Since you mentioned Dublin and I’m very familiar with a few of those areas.
The biggest problem for ‘Dubs’ is that rising property prices and massively increased population have pushed out the younger generation further out of the city if they want to buy a home. There are huge development companies that buy every apartment in a block directly from developers and then only rent them out at very high prices.
But I have to say a lot of the areas mentioned were terribly run down. For instance Phibsoboro and Constitution Hill and others like Mountjoy Square and Dorset St desperately need to be revitalised and renewed. Hipster cafes sound pretty good compared to betting shops and head shops and drug dealers . If one knows the history of those places they would know that they used to the swanky neighbourhoods back in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Also the docklands were notorious for looking like they had been bombed out and they had awful public housing projects. Rough. Pubs that would open at 6am. Many locals have been compensated well by the government there, usually having received free public housing or alternative better housing when redeveloped.
It is sad that very few of the kids in the neighborhood I geew up could really buy there now but its just accepted that is the way it is. It’s actually very difficult to redevelop parts of Dublin due to the very strict planning laws, so you have weird situations of housing estates very close to the city center there.
This is what the center of Phibsborough actually looks like, a 1960s monstrosity . They haven’t been able to knock it down yet.
Also some could say Paris is only as beautiful as it is today because it was basically knocked down and rebuilt in a massive gentrification starting in the 1850s.
Nice post and photo of Eddie Rockets !! (I checked to see if it’s from the 60’s, seems not that old of chain though the company is older than me). That area looks old, and not in any good way. (As you mention that period of design was not the best) You mentioned the Docklands which is nice and modern, wonder what was like before the renewals. It makes feel like the Kaohsiung habour front with same exact trams Alstom Citadis - Wikipedia , when I am in the tram here I think the overseas trams like Dublin. Here in Kaohsiung I think has done a better job to preserve the old dock area buildings which are tourist magnet was a place for me to chill out, though in Dublin there is lot more offices in Docklands. The Docklands seem to be a very much area of Gentrification with higher rents but maybe it was like that before? Anyways thanks for the very nice post and info !
Paris had its gentrification in the 1800’s when much of the working class old buildings and medieval street patterns were torn down to make way for boulevards. It was a big deal at the time. Some saw it as the destruction of the city.
To me the area near Ikea and big Library has lots of new tall expensive residential towers open or soon to open. It will drive out lower income people, but time will tell . This area is the best example. The Art Museum area has lot newer more expensive towers but I think there was nothing there before, so not kicking out others.
I made that exact point about Paris and shared the same Wikipedia page already in this thread. Then you edited your post to say what I had already said (unless I’m mistaken and we both wrote the same thing and posted the same link simultaneously)
The docklands area was the heart of the old city when it depended on ships . Then in the 1960s it feel into ruin , partly because boats couldn’t navigate up it anymore. It was quite a dangerous and filthy place you wouldn’t wander around at night on your own, known for a prostitution and drugs problem. So when you hear the ‘locals’ complain about it 1) it wasn’t a great place 2) not many people were living there,it was mostly abandoned warehouses and derelict industrial sites . Also there weren’t so many bridges years ago to easily cross the river.
Great video (a very different U2 which seems gentrification has changed them a bit)!! old Docklands. Now they have Silicon Dock, Google Docks, ect Silicon Docks - Wikipedia
Yeah I agree, that’s a monstrosity. Us friends over the Irish Sea would probably ‘list’ that as a historical building, mind. Just because it’s downright ugly doesn’t mean it isn’t a relic of it’s time and an important piece of history (let’s say hypothetically it is, I’ve never heard of it in all honesty).
I don’t particularly agree with listing it though, as that tends to hinder development, and we’ve listed some absolute shite recently (controversial opinion). Barbican Estate - Wikipedia
A poem about the redesign of Paris of that time. By one of the greats of French poetry. Scroll down for the English translations. I love this poem. @KenavoDemat https://fleursdumal.org/poem/220
The highest per capita number of Mercedes is in Dublin. The Lord Mayor is Chinese. The Minister of Trade is Indian. Ireland is 4th in the world in per capita GDP. The average Irish earn more than the average Brit. But I’m sure there are many Irish who cannot afford to live in the Dublin. Before, Irish left Ireland because Ireland is too poor. Now, Irish leave Ireland because it’s too rich
There’s some photos of pre haussmann paris and they are very interesting. things do look quite run down, but i love the inconsistency in building heights and style. i think that’ s much more beautiful than every building being the same uniform height.
Its something i really like about japan. each building has to have a gap between the next, so everything looks very contrasting tidy to my eyes.
And to that 1960s building, yea i think a haussmann remodel is probably preferable to having any buildings from the 60s and 70s. the tower blocks in england are hell on earth.
Many locals have been compensated well by the government there, usually having received free public housing or alternative better housing when redeveloped.
Then you edited your post to say what I had already said (unless I’m mistaken and we both wrote the same thing and posted the same link simultaneously)
