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Lofts in translation: Gentrification in the Warehouse District, Regina, Saskatchewan
Author(s) -
Mathews Vanessa
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the canadian geographer / le géographe canadien
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.35
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1541-0064
pISSN - 0008-3658
DOI - 10.1111/cag.12495
Subject(s) - gentrification , context (archaeology) , habitus , demographics , cosmopolitanism , geography , sociology , consumption (sociology) , regional science , economy , political science , ethnography , archaeology , civil engineering , engineering , social science , demography , law , economics , politics
This paper contributes to analyses of gentrification in smaller cities. Drawing on a case study of Regina, Saskatchewan's Warehouse District, I document the conversion of post‐industrial structures into loft condominiums and the rise of middle‐class consumption to support this residential base. I demonstrate that while the Warehouse District displays similarities with the paradigmatic case studies on loft living that dominate the literature (e.g., demographics, built form, gentrification), it also highlights how these processes and practices are adapted in peripheral spaces. While the resemblance to the loft scene in SoHo, New York is evident in loft districts internationally, it is less relevant in this smaller urban context. Ultimately, the chic cosmopolitanism of loft living is lost in translation, leaving an incoherent place identity as producers and consumers attempt to engage with global and local ideals of the loft habitus. This paper draws on a qualitative approach including semi‐structured interviews with loft residents, local businesses, and key stakeholders, and discourse analysis of planning and policy materials and media documents.