The New Middle Class and the Remaking of the Central City

Abstract

What factors lie behind the rehabilitation of central city districts across the world? Set against the context of international transformations in a post-industrial postmodern society, this book examines the creation and self-creation of a new middle class of professional and managerial workers associated with the process of gentrification. These are amongst the privileged members in the growing polarization of urban society. The book examines their impact on central housing markets, retailing and leisure spaces in the inner city as well as their effects on urban planning and urban policies.