Microgeographies of retailing and gentrification

It has long been argued that gentrification is a process of consumption as well as production but, in the main, analyses of consumption and gentrification have only tangentially or anecdotally considered the retail spaces of gentrified neighbourhoods. In this paper we investigate the nature of the retail landscapes of gentrification, using empirical evidence from Sydney, Australia. We point to micro retailscapes that differ between gentrified neighbourhoods that suggest a divergence of consumption practices between different groups of gentrifiers. These consumption practices are considered both in terms of their relations to identity (through food and the conception of the body) and to the spaces of the city. The paper concludes by drawing out the implications for future research on the consumption practices of the new middle class and the working class in an international context.