Alternative gentrification: coexistence of traditional and new industries in historic districts through transfer of development rights in Dihua Street, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

The transfer of development rights (TDR) has been widely used in the preservation of historic districts. The Dihua Street TDR (DS-TDR) in Taipei, Taiwan, successfully preserves the exteriors of historic buildings and traditional landscape in Dihua Street, without significant displacement of previous residents or increases in rents. This study describes this process as ‘alternative gentrification’, which facilitates the coexistence of traditional and new industries in historic districts, unlike typical gentrification in other cities. Although new shops gradually replace existing shops, the rent level remains relatively affordable compared with other shopping streets in the Taipei city centre. These aspects enable the coexistence of a clustering of new creative-industrial stores and existing stores within the buildings restored and landscaped by the DS-TDR.

KEYWORDS:

• Historic district
• transfer of development rights
• historic buildings
• restoration
• landscaping

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the support and data provision of Taipei City Government and the funding support of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI) under Grants [number 20H02325 and 21H00636].

Notes on contributors

Kojiro Sho

Kojiro Sho is an Associate Professor of the Department of Architecture and Faculty of Human Environment Studies at Kyushu University. He received his PhD degree from the Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. His research explores diverse aspects of social dynamics within urban spaces of global cities including Taipei, Taiwan, Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan. He is particularly interested in issues of gentrification and spatial transition in various urban spaces such as city centres, historic districts and disadvantaged communities. Prior to joining Kyushu University, he taught urban planning and design courses for four years at Osaka City University. Based on empirical analysis using quantitative and qualitative approaches, his research aims at filling the theoretical gap in the fields of urban studies and geography, providing solutions and practical urban policies or activities.

Yi-Ling Chen

Yi-Ling Chen is an Associate Professor at University of Wyoming, USA. Her research is based on housing and urban development in Taiwan from political-economic and feminist perspectives. Her recent research has expanded to cover comparisons of housing policies in East Asia, USA and the Netherlands. In 2019, she edited a book with LSE geography professor Hyun Bang Shin: Neoliberal Urbanism, Contested Cities and Housing in Asia (The Contemporary City), Palgrave Macmillan.

Ken Tadashi Oshima

Ken Tadashi Oshima is a Professor at the Department of Architecture, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, where he teaches trans-national architectural history, theory and design. Dr. Oshima’s publications include Kiyonori Kikutake: Between Land and Sea (2015), Architecturalized Asia (2013), International Architecture in Interwar Japan: Constructing Kokusai Kenchiku (2009) and Arata Isozaki (2009).