Marcuse’s article remains a canonical account of gentrification because it refuses to separate reinvestment from abandonment and displacement. The iconic idea is that gentrification and abandonment are not opposed urban processes but linked effects of economic polarisation, public policy and uneven demand. Its theoretical contribution is to define displacement as a multi-form process, challenging the assumption that revitalisation is socially benign if eviction is not immediately visible. Methodologically, Marcuse combines theoretical hypothesis, citywide analysis, neighbourhood comparison and policy critique to show how public decisions intensify pressure on poor residents. Its conceptual operation is systemic linkage: disinvestment and reinvestment become two sides of the same restructuring of urban land markets. The bridge to the wider field connects urban law, housing policy, political economy, planning ethics and critical gentrification studies.
URBANISM MEETS ART