Ruth Glass: London's Gentrification Urban Visionary

Abstract

This paper analyses the contribution made by Ruth Glass to our understanding of gentrification and class change in London. It argues that not only was she remarkably ahead of her time in identifying and naming this important new phenomenon over 60 years ago, but that her discussion of the social and housing market impacts of gentrification have proved to be remarkably prescient. Although gentrification has taken many new forms which she could not have anticipated, she located gentrification as a process of social class and housing change which has subsequently transformed the physical and social structure of London and many other major cities. The paper examines her writing from 1964, 1973 and 1989 and highlights its continuing relevance in the context of the subsequent social and housing market changes in London and other cities.