This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Clark, E. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Rent Gap Re-examined

Institute of Geography, Copenhagen University, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark

Rent gap theory is re-examined in view of Bourassa's recent critique. The critique is found to be flawed on three accounts. It equates an abstract concept (actual land rent) with a concrete event (contract rent); it seeks the relevance of the rent gap at times of redevelopment; and it diminishes rent gap theory to an equation for calculating the profitability of redevelopment. In this re-examination, it is argued that: (1) actual land rent is not equal to contract rent; (2) the significance of the rent gap extends over a longer period prior to redevelopment; and (3) rent gap theory should not be reduced to a break-even point in real estate accounting. It is a political economic theory of uneven development on the urban scale and as such cannot be divorced from the societal relations and power struggles involved in the creation and capture of values in the built environment.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Beitel Did Overzealous Activists Destroy Housing Affordability in San Francisco?: A Time-Series Test of the Effects of Rezoning on Construction and Home Prices, 1967--1998 Urban Affairs Review, May 1, 2007; 42(5): 741 - 756. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Hackworth and J. Rekers Ethnic Packaging and Gentrification: The Case of Four Neighborhoods in Toronto Urban Affairs Review, November 1, 2005; 41(2): 211 - 236. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Hackworth Postrecession Gentrification in New York City Urban Affairs Review, July 1, 2002; 37(6): 815 - 843. [Abstract] [PDF]