I hate gentrification; my area was so much cooler when there were people openly selling drugs on the high street, my neighbours’ house had a mattress outside and the nice restaurants needed bouncers so the diners weren’t constantly harassed by crack addicts. Now it’s all just nice coffee shops, other broadsheet readers and arthouse cinemas.
But don’t worry, for the Mayor of London is on the case, launching an inquiry into how much London land is being bought up by overseas investors and, as the Guardian reports, ‘the scale of gentrification and rising housing costs in the capital‘.
Sadiq Khan says there are ‘real concerns’ about the surge in the number of homes being bought by overseas investors, adding that the inquiry would map the scale of the problem for the first time. ‘It’s clear we need to better understand the different roles that overseas money plays in London’s housing market, the scale of what’s going on, and what action we can take to support development and help Londoners find a home,’ Khan told the Guardian.
I have to admit to never understanding why gentrification is seen as a dirty word – who wouldn’t want their area to have nicer shops, better maintained houses and more neighbours in work? Is it because anti-gentrification is seen
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