description Neil Smith Overview
Neil Smith was a Scottish-born geographer who worked in the United States and wrote about capitalism, cities, nature, and geographic scale. In Uneven Development, he argued that spatial inequality is produced through capitalist investment and disinvestment rather than arising as a simple accidental difference between places. His account of gentrification, including the "rent gap" theory, connected neighborhood change to disparities between current and potential land values.
help Neil Smith FAQ
What is Neil Smith's rent-gap theory of gentrification?
Smith argued that gentrification becomes likely when a large gap develops between a property's current rental value and the value investors could obtain after redevelopment. The theory shifts attention from individual lifestyle choices to capital investment, land markets, and disinvestment.
What does Uneven Development argue about capitalism and geography?
Smith's 1984 book argues that capitalism actively produces geographic inequality through alternating investment and abandonment. It also develops his idea of the production of nature, rejecting a simple division between untouched nature and human society.
What did Neil Smith mean by the revanchist city?
Smith used the phrase to describe aggressive urban policies that reclaim desirable city space for affluent groups while punishing homeless, poor, and marginalized residents. He developed the argument through his analysis of New York City in The New Urban Frontier.
How was Neil Smith connected to David Harvey?
Smith studied under Marxist geographer David Harvey at Johns Hopkins University. He later became a major figure in critical geography through work at Rutgers University and the City University of New York.
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