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9781472418500

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'This book is a must-read for students of urban sociology, socio-spatial studies, cultural class theory and more generally, Marxist and Gramscian political theory. It offers an insightful discussion of how both the causes and the effects of 'urban restructuring' far exceed their economic roots and are instead reflective of a hegemonic project to entrench modernity, and its composite parts, spatially, socially and temporally in order to produce neoliberal, materially-orientated (working-class) consumers. ... Since the recession, there has been a proliferation of views on gentrification as the panacea to all. As such, this book is a timely addition to a recently re-ignited debate, offering a thorough deconstruction of this redemptive and reductionist discourse which is not only novel, but arguably has actual practical application, encouraging those subjected to, and involved in, gentrification to question the function and value of this as an urban policy.' LSE Review of Books 'Here is a book (at last) that explains why gentrification is a key concept in understanding the neo-liberal world as opposed to one that simply tells you it is a nasty product. Kirsteen Paton's study of gentrification from Glasgow uses Gramsci's concept of hegemony to show how consent and coercion are two sides of the same coin when it comes to restructuring social processes. The working class are subject and object of this restructuring of people and places and not simply its abject victims.' Tim Butler, King's College London, UK 'Kirsteen Paton has written a valuable and insightful book for these neoliberal times. By combining theoretical insights from Gramscian Marxism and cultural theories of class with rich and detailed empirical data, Paton demonstrates how gentrification becomes a policy of creating neoliberal subjects. By allowing the reader to appreciate the connections of neoliberalism, class and the urban it is a must-read for anyone interested in these issues.' Matt Dawson, University of Glasgow, UK 'Here is a majestic Gramscian class analysis of gentrification in Glasgow, carefully researched and beautifully written, become something else: an absorbing, highly original and agenda-setting sociological account of how working class people experience the structural violence visited upon them, and how they respond in often unexpected ways to displacement threats. Kirsteen Paton shows us that gentrification is a class struggle over the degree of power people have over their housing situation, and all the voices in this remarkable book bear close reading for anyone interested in powerful urban theory for a better world.' Tom Slater, University of Edinburgh, UK '... provides an ambitious and lucid exploration of the micro-practices of this structural and subjective process of cultural, ethnic and class-based stratification ... This book is a must-read for students of urban sociology, socio-spatial studies, cultural class theory and more generally, Marxist and Gramscian political theory ... Paton articulately critiques the gaps in existing research and makes a valiant and thought-provoking effort to fill the aforementioned, offering a new conceptualization of gentrification as not only an economic project, but a cultural and moral one aimed at restructuring places and people'. LSE Review of Books

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Kirsteen Paton is lecturer in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, UK.

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