Abstract

The process of contemporary gentrification is a key feature of post-industrial growth and urban re-generation. A central concern of this research is to investigate the implications of the process of gentrification at the level of locality. This study approached this investigation by an examination of these processes within a particular inner city neighbourhood in Dublin called Ringsend. It is the understandings and experiences of contemporary processes that this research has aimed to capture. The aim of this research was to examine the changes occurring in Ringsend at a particular point in time and in a particular context. Ringsend is an inner city working-class ‘urban village’ in Dublin, Ireland. The identity of Ringsend as ‘place’ is deeply entwined in its industrial development. However, since the 1970s Ringsend’s industrial base has been constantly eroded. In recent years Ringsend has attracted considerable private investment as the area is undergoing a shift to a post-industrial landscape. The process of contemporary gentrification is extremely visible in the built environment. The aim of this study was to capture these shifts as they are occurring and as the landscape changes further the opportunity to explore this particular juncture may not arise again. The central findings of this research indicate the importance of ‘place’ in recent transitions. However within these changes place is being re-imaged and re-structured. Further this research also highlights the importance of the specificity of locality in gaining a deeper insight into the process of contemporary ‘gentrification’. Finally this thesis argues that the changes occurring in Ringsend are impacting on understandings of ‘community’ and community re-generation. A central theme within this study is that while the shift to a post­ industrial society is advantageous for capital accumulation contemporary gentrified sites, increasingly surrounded by walls and gates, function as symbols of the uneven development of contemporary urban renewal