The Consequences of Poor Urban Planning: Jane Jacobs’ Thoughts on Gentrification and Urbanization

Writer: Angela Yue
Editor: Isabel Snare

Gentrification is a deeply significant issue that affects neighbourhoods from all around the globe. Yet though the impacts of urbanization and gentrification might seem very distant for many HC students, their effects intertwine closely with our school community. As a matter of fact, the intersection of Allen Road and Eglinton Avenue, near Havergal, would have been severely affected by the devastating effects of gentrification if it weren’t for the effort of the author Jane Jacobs.

This article will explore how gentrification and urbanization impact local communities like the intersection of Allen Road and Eglinton Avenue in Toronto, as well as discuss the role of urban planning in both the causation and mitigation of the issue.

What is Gentrification?

Gentrification is the process by which a neighbourhood experiences a significant socio-economic transformation due to the influx of wealthier residents and related investment into the area;these changes often lead to the displacement of lower-income residents, whom are predominantly long-time residents. Gentrification usually involves rising property values, increasing rent, and the replacement of existing businesses with those more accessible and appealing to the richer portion of the population. The process can cause a shift in the socio-economic status of the people residing in the neighbourhood and can have detrimental effects on the community’s original cultural identity and diversity.

As cities across North America continue to grow, the intersection of gentrification and urbanization driven by poor urban planning is becoming increasingly evident. This issue

Impacts of Gentrification

Gentrification is the result of poor urban planning practices, particularly in cities where new developments and infrastructure projects change to suit wealthier residents.

It involves the transformation of working-class neighbourhoods into more affluent areas. This process usually causes rising rents, the closure of local businesses, and the displacement of lower-income communities who can no longer afford to live in these areas. The cultural identity of these neighbourhoods is therefore diminished, as new residents and businesses replace those who have long called the area home.

While gentrification can bring some benefits like economic development and enhanced infrastructure, it often comes at a high social cost. Local residents, particularly immigrants and marginalized groups, are forced out as property costs increase. Many small, family-owned shops that once catered to these communities are replaced with upscale restaurants, boutiques, and chain stores that cater to a wealthier demographic. The sense of community that existed in these neighbourhoods, built over decades, is destroyed. Furthermore, gentrification leads to the loss of mixed-use development—where residential, commercial, and recreational spaces coexist—which allows for different social classes to interact and creates public spaces that are filled with activity. Rising rents, overall wealthier residents, and the replacement of local and family-owned businesses are all also results of gentrification, and can significantly disrupt communities, especially those of middle to lower-income families.

In addition, the process of gentrification can lead to the displacement of lower-income residents who can no longer afford rising rents. This results in a loss of diversity, as wealthier newcomers replace a mix of working-class and poor residents. Jacobs would see this as a negative outcome, as the essential diversity and organic life of a neighbourhood would be replaced by more homogeneous, upscale developments. Diversity—whether of people, businesses, or architectural styles, is the key to a neighborhood’s health and vitality. One significant argument made by Jane Jacobs was that neighbourhoods should evolve gradually, with new and old buildings co-existing and attracting a multitude of people of different economic and social backgrounds.

Jane Jacobs’ Critique of Urban Planning

Jane Jacobs is known for her book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, in which she criticized mid-20th-century urban planning. She is strongly against large-scale redevelopment and separation of the different uses of buildings, as she believes that their detachment ignores the natural, everyday flow of city life crucial to a city’s vitality. She argues that successful neighborhoods need diversity, which comes from the mixing of different types of buildings, and businesses, as well as the presence of spaces intended for people of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds.

According to Jane Jacobs, vibrant, mixed-income neighbourhoods are essential for a healthy city, and gentrification disrupts these communities by damaging their cultural diversity. She criticizes top-down urban planning and speculative development, which ignores the realities of city dwellers and results in the destruction of close-knit communities. This can lead to long-time, lower-income residents being displaced and the decrease of diversity in the neighbourhood. She believes these processes destroy the unique, diverse character of neighbourhoods, replacing them with wealthier, more homogenous ones, which can be observed in modern-day gentrified communities.

Her activism and scholarship highlight the importance of community involvement in urban planning and have helped to spark movements against gentrification. Jacobs’ belief that local residents should have a say in how their neighbourhoods are developed and that city planners should focus on preserving the organic, diverse, and human-scale qualities that make neighbourhoods livable and vibrant is one that remains central to the discussion of gentrification today

The Intersection of Allen Road and Avenue West

The intersection of Allen Road and Eglinton Avenue in Toronto, near Havergal, illustrates the effects of gentrification and urbanization. With the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and rising development, higher property values threaten to push out long-time residents and change the area's cultural diversity. Small businesses may be replaced by larger companies as wealthier residents move in, shifting the neighbourhood's character.

Once a working-class area, the region is now facing pressure stemming from increased urbanization and the improvement of surrounding transit systems, which may attract wealthier residents and drive up rents, therefore posing the threat of the displacement of longtime residents. The intersection follows a trend that can be observed across all of North America, which is that gentrification pushes out communities, erases cultural identities, and deepens social divides.

Jane Jacobs, who fought against harmful urban projects like Robert Moses' highways in New York, advocated for community-driven development that is inclusive. Her ideas continue to inspire efforts to resist gentrification, promoting urban planning that benefits all residents, not just the wealthy. By following Jacobs' principles, cities like Toronto can create neighbourhoods that preserve their unique identity and protect long-standing residents from displacement.

For many, the changes in this area go beyond physical development—they represent the gradual loss of the cultural and social fabric that has defined these neighbourhoods for years. Long-time residents, ethnic communities, and local businesses could be priced out, deepening the divide between the city's wealthier and poorer residents.

This is not just a Toronto issue. Cities across North America, from New York to Vancouver, are experiencing similar trends, where once-affordable neighbourhoods are redeveloped to cater to higher-income residents, displacing longtime residents with little support.

Conclusion

The intersection of Allen Road and Eglinton Avenue shows how poorly planned urbanization and gentrification can disrupt communities, displace residents, and erase cultural identities. The neighbourhood's proximity to Havergal College raises concerns that wealthier residents could push out lower-income communities for upscale developments.

Jane Jacobs’ ideas on community-driven planning, mixed-use development, and preserving neighbourhood diversity offer a strong alternative to gentrification. Her work reminds us that urban planning should focus on creating spaces where people from all backgrounds can live, work, and thrive, not just catering to the wealthy.

References

Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Vintage Books.

TVO | Current affairs, documentaries and education. (n.d.). Www.tvo.org. https://www.tvo.org/article/the-streets-belong-to-the-people-why-a-premier-killed-the-spadina-expressway