Living through gentrification: subjective experiences of local, non-gentrifying residents in Leith, Edinburgh

There is a considerable academic literature on how gentrification affects low-income residents in gentrifying neighbourhoods (Atkinson 2002; Bailey and Robertson 1997; Lyons 1996; Marcuse 1986; Robinson 1995; Vigdor 2002). Atkinson (2002) has provided a thorough review of the empirical literature. He found that the overwhelming majority of studies pointed to a negative impact, citing displacement, community conflict, loss of affordable housing and homelessness as the major such outcomes. Fewer studies focus on the positive side of gentrification; the main areas of research examined in these include the renewal of the physical fabric of communities, local service improvements and poverty deconcentration. The remainder of this section will examine the potential impact of gentrification on local residents with regard to the three key issues featured in this paper: housing, amenities and services, and social interactions.

The main source of information for this qualitative study came from interviews with local residents in the Edinburgh neighbourhood of Leith. Leith was selected as a neighbourhood because it is rapidly gentrifying, and as a result, both housing and the retail structure of the neighbourhood have been radically altered. The area is gentrifying, and the process is not yet complete, as it is in other neighbourhoods such as nearby Stockbridge. This means that there is still a large group of residents who have lived through the changes in the community.

The main source of information for this paper was a series of interviews conducted with ordinary Leith residents. Rather than aiming for a statistical representation of the entire neighbourhood population, which would have included both gentrifiers and non-gentrifiers, the aim of this research was to concentrate on the non-gentrifying segment of the population. Because of this, the area selected in which to conduct the interviews was the traditional heart of Leith, the Kirkgate at the Foot of Leith Walk. This was the historical heart of the neighbourhood and was therefore a logical spot to conduct the interviews. Today, in addition to being one of the two major shopping areas in Leith, it still plays a central role in the community; it is a transport hub for several bus lines, and remains the social, economic, cultural and spiritual focal point of Leith. Interviews were conducted by the author in January and February 2006. They were conducted during the afternoon and evening to try to obtain a variety of respondents. The spatial division of retail and other amenities is not unique to Leith; Butler (2003) noted that in Islington, North London, a similar division occurred between gentrified and ungentrified shopping districts. It was hoped that by conducting interviews in this way, the author could focus on the target segment of the local population, rather than also including newer gentrifiers.

The interviews were open-ended, concentrating on the three major themes mentioned above. Many questions probed respondents’ feelings towards certain changes, as well as how they impacted on them, and the wider community. After the interviews were conducted, they were transcribed and analysed. Transcribing helped to give a greater degree of accuracy in capturing general themes and feelings, especially since the exact words of local residents were important for understanding their perceptions of the changes. The remainder of the paper uses many such direct quotes. In total there were 42 in-depth interviews. Approximately one-third of those who were asked agreed to be interviewed, with non-respondents citing time constraints as the major reason they were unable to participate.

All of the respondents lived in the community, though the length of time varied from a few years to their entire lives. Twenty were male and 22 were female. Their occupations varied from unemployed (and formerly homeless) to teachers, archaeologists and retired industrial workers. With reference to how this sample fits with an overall profile of the neighbourhood, young mothers or families with children were slightly underrepresented, as was the area’s growing immigrant polish community. There was also a slight overrepresentation of older respondents.

Potential interviewees were approached by asking them if ‘they had a few minutes to talk about Leith’. This, and a small tape recorder, helped the interviewer appear less like a market researcher, which several respondents noted was one of the reasons why they stopped. The text from these interviews has been extensively utilised in the paper, and appears word for word including any local accent or slang, as stated by the respondents. Where applicable, synonyms for local slang have been added in square brackets.

A second type of interview was conducted with key informants. They included two local city councillors, a member of staff at the Port of Leith Housing Association (POLHA), which runs a network of affordable housing units in Leith, a local pub owner, and several estate agents and property developers. These interviews dealt with the above-mentioned topics, but also delved further into the respondents’ areas of expertise to gain a broader sense of many of the changes. These persons were selected based on their knowledge of the recent history and development of the neighbourhood, as well as their involvement within the local community.

This research was carried out in Leith, a neighbourhood in the north of Edinburgh, situated on the Firth of Forth. Gentrification began in the 1980s, with the beginnings of the transformation around the waterfront and some of the traditional tenement houses akin to Ruth Glass’ original definition of the process. Over the past 10 years, this has intensified and since 2000 it has been joined with post-recession new-build gentrification in the former port areas (Davidson and Lees 2005; Hackworth and Smith 2001). This phase includes not only luxury flats, but a new shopping centre, Ocean Terminal, located on the waterfront. Ocean Terminal, and the upscale restaurants and bars around The Shore, have led to a large scale transformation of the area’s retail and amenity structure, as well as its image within the city. The current gentrification in Leith fits the four criteria for third-wave gentrification outlined by Hackworth and Smith (2001). First, Leith is situated further from the city centre of Edinburgh than other gentrified parts of the city; second, large national developers are active in the process, particularly on infill sights and in the former harbour; third, as the empirical sections of this paper will show, there is little local resistance to the changes; and finally, the state is involved in much of the regeneration.

Until the 1920s, Leith was a separate municipality from Edinburgh. Historically it was the port of Edinburgh. For much of the twentieth century, maritime and industrial activities constituted the major employers in the neighbourhood. They were situated primarily along the waterfront; however, most have been closed down since World War II, and it is expected that the remaining industrial lands will become new housing in the coming decade.

Beginning in the late 1980s, the economic and social fortunes of the community began to change albeit slowly at first. Many of the warehouses were being converted to offices, or other post-industrial uses, and the old ‘spit and sawdust’ working-class, sailors pubs along The Shore, the road along the waterfront, were slowly moving more upmarket.

The transformation of the port was strengthened by the arrival of Scottish executive offices, and a major tourist attraction, the Royal Yacht Britannia, the former yacht for the British royal family. Since its arrival in the late 1990s, it has become one of Edinburgh’s major tourist draws. The difference from the previous decade was quite profound; while today Leith is on many tourists’ itineraries, a 1985 article in The Scotsman stated that: “Ask a Leither if there are tourists in Leith and he’ll think you are daft” (A Tide Turns 1985).

The area’s retail structure has also changed, with the biggest addition coming in 2001 with the opening of the Ocean Terminal shopping centre. It is situated on former industrial port lands, around 1 km from the traditional shopping district in Leith. The waterfront developments are part of the overall gentrification of Leith, as they are creating affluent space and represent an upward class transformation from an old industrial site, to a consumption-based, and high-end residential space. According to a local city councillor, the Ocean Terminal facility was built to attract a higher-income segment of the population, who were expected to arrive with the changes in housing.

As gentrification has progressed, there have been major changes in the housing sector. Older tenements, which now have private toilets and central heating, are selling for more than £100,000, which in many cases represents a 100% increase over 5 years. In addition, much of the old industrial and port land is being turned over to new housing units. While some of this is affordable housing, the majority is market-driven and geared to middle- and upper-income households. According to one estimate, when the remaining port activity ends, 18,000 homes will be built in its place, representing the largest single development in Edinburgh’s history (Port of Leith).

These changes have impacted the image of Leith. Promotional literature for a new housing development called Love Leith contains statements such as: “If you love being at the centre of everything, read on. Leith is the social heart of Edinburgh”, and “On the fringe of the city centre and uncompromisingly cool, Leith holds its own, day and night” (Strathclyde Homes). This image has been deliberately crafted to attract new, affluent residents to the neighbourhood. This same marketing strategy would not have been possible in Leith during the 1970s or 1980s.

However, the community remains economically, socially and in some cases physically divided; there are still pockets of poverty and deprivation, particularly on some of the housing estates. But many such estates are situated side-by-side with new luxury developments such as Love Leith. Statistics from the Harbour Ward, one of the three council wards in Leith, paint a sharp picture when compared with average figures for all of Edinburgh. The Harbour Ward had above-average incidences of crime; for example, there were 61% more crimes involving fire, reckless conduct and vandalism. Births to teenage mothers aged 15–19 were 97% above the city average. Unemployment among young adults (16–24) was 7.4%, which was 85% over the city average (Harbour Ward 21 Profile, 2003). One interesting facet of the local housing market is the strong social-rented sector. While council house tenure is similar to the city’s average (10.6–10.9% for Edinburgh), other social rented housing, such as housing associations, are far more prominent in Leith (13.5% compared to 5.5% for the city). This would suggest that there are a large number of residents who live in housing which is not directly affected by displacement. However, this is a segment of population that often gets ignored in the gentrification debate, and only serves to underscore the nuances and complexities which exist in gentrifying neighbourhoods.

This brief overview of the neighbourhood suggests that it is currently in a state of transition; Leith maintains a mixed population. Gentrification has been ongoing for around two decades, yet remains incomplete; there are still pockets of poverty and deprivation, as well as stable, ungentrified groups as well. This is despite an acceleration of the process since the turn of the century.

Based on the majority of existing literature on gentrification, one would expect to see a negative response among interviewees, citing the affordability problems, as well as a fear of displacement. Residents interviewed in this study had decidedly mixed views; while there were genuine concerns about price and indirect displacement, particularly for young people trying to get on the property ladder, other responses were more positive and optimistic, citing that their neighbourhood was changing for the better. Many also noted that some of the negative impacts were not unique to Leith.

The increases in house prices were major concerns among many residents, especially those from less-affluent backgrounds. There was a general sense among the lower-income residents that the “working class cannot afford the prices for the flats, cause they’re too expensive”. Making reference to the housing issues being faced by his own son, one retired resident stated: “for a young man, he cannae [cannot] buy. He can only rent because…what they’ve done is they’ve priced the Leithers out of Leith. It is a big problem more for the young people”. This was a sentiment noted by many residents.

There was also a sense that the new housing being constructed was not for local people. A curator at a local maritime museum summed up this viewpoint: “I don’t know who’s supposed to be living in the new houses, because they are very expensive. Local people couldn’t move from here into one of these new houses”.

However, despite these concerns, there were many residents who were optimistic and positive about the changes. To some, changes in Leith were not unique, and reflected broader changes in society: “prices are something we’ve got used to…people get used to it. The house prices have gone up, but so have wages and salaries”.

With regards to housing, there were genuine concerns regarding price and affordability for local people, particularly for those wishing to move up the property ladder. This did manifest itself in some feelings of resentment towards the changes. On the other hand, better housing was welcomed as bringing improvements to the neighbourhood. There appears to be little imminent displacement fears amongst residents, and those expressing a sense that they would have to leave Leith stated so because they would need to upgrade to a bigger property. However, there was a sense of being slightly removed from the boom, a feeling also seen in other studies (see Atkinson 2000b). It is clear that while many residents found the housing changes nice, particularly the new-build units, there was a deep sense that they were not for the local, particularly lower-income population.

The arrival of new stores, restaurants and services was one positive element that many respondents mentioned. This relates to arguments made by Freeman (2006) and Wrigley (2002) as Leith had a lack of good, high-quality shops and amenities. One of the most favourable elements was that there were now more choices in Leith for shops, restaurants and pubs. While many of these were upmarket, many local residents made positive comments towards them. For many, this meant that they did not need to go into Edinburgh city centre to visit such places. As one retail store manager, who had lived in Leith for 25 years stated: “we now live, work and leisure in Leith, which is nice. [10 years ago] you would always go up the town, to Edinburgh [city centre]”. In addition to the restaurants, the new stores have also kept residents spending their money in Leith. As one female, middle-aged life-long Leith resident stated, with reference to Ocean Terminal: “it’s quite good because since it’s opened it’s got more shops and I do go there rather than go up to Princes street [the main Edinburgh shopping street]…it’s got most of the shops up on Princes street”.

Another area many residents spoke highly about was the changing image that their community has seen as a result of these developments. One woman, who had lived in the neighbourhood for more than 30 years, stated that: “if you told people you lived in Leith, they would say ‘oh my God’, but they don’t do that now because it’s an up-and-coming area”. A local publican, who had worked and lived in Leith since 1984, likened The Shore now to “a wee [little] bit of Paris! Like the left bank in Paris”.

However, just as with housing, the issue of price was also a concern for some residents when it came to the new restaurants and pubs. As one woman, who lived in a council flat, noted: “To go for a meal, for the two of you, to go out it might cost you 50–60 pounds and that’s being serious. What an expense…I couldn’t afford to go down to The Shore. I honestly couldn’t, it’s just too expensive”.

Price is an important factor in the new amenities, which restricts their use by many lower-income residents. And it is reflected in residents’ perceptions towards the new shops and services. Some new amenities, such as Ocean Terminal, are used by a variety of residents, gentrifiers and non-gentrifiers, local and non-locals alike. Others, however, such as the expensive bars and restaurants along The Shore, have a more upmarket clientele. While all these changes contribute to an enhanced image of Leith, something appreciated by local residents, as the last quotation illustrates, many of the new amenities are not really used by them and are intended for outsiders. Therefore, despite the optimism which has come about as a result of better amenities and services (and its associated reputation enhancement), there is a sense that many of these changes, while nice, are intended for “other people”.

Gentrifying neighbourhoods are often portrayed as being in conflict, creating tension between longer-standing residents and newly arrived gentrifiers (Lees et al. 2008; Slater 2006; Smith 1996) The relationship between gentrification and social cohesion often has been portrayed as one that leads to further divisions within the community, culminating in a sense of resentment among lower-income, local groups (Atkinson 2000b; Freeman 2006; Spain 1993). However, in the process of interviewing Leith residents, a less antagonistic discourse was evident. Leith has many socioeconomic divisions, and residents were well aware of this. They were also aware that with gentrification, particularly with the waterfront developments, these divisions were not decreasing. However, this did not lead to large-scale resentment towards the new residents.

Over the course of the interviews, this attitude prevailed. Residents were aware that there was a divide in their neighbourhood, but did not appear to be particularly threatened by it. One unemployed woman answered as if I was naïve to think that there was not a divide: “Hasn’t there always been? Of course there is. You are either rich or poor, there’s nae [no] in between”. What was surprising was that when asked further, she did not think it was necessarily a negative thing: “I know the waterfront is all being done up, but it’s good if it’s bringin’ money in. If it’s helping the community it’s a good thing”.

These responses show that while there clearly were divisions in the community between rich and poor, newcomers and longer-standing residents, these were not nearly as black-and-white as some residents had perceived them to be, or as were often cited in the academic literature. Furthermore, respondents felt that this division was not detrimental to the community; rather they appeared to accept it as a modern day reality.