Hyun Bang Shin’s scholarship on gentrification offers a profound rethinking of gentrification, positioning it as a globally significant yet deeply context-specific process. His work challenges the dominance of Western-centric frameworks in urban studies, advocating for a nuanced understanding that considers the diverse and uneven ways in which urban transformation unfolds across the world. Central to his contributions is the seminal book Planetary Gentrification (2016), which argues that gentrification is not merely a phenomenon rooted in Europe or North America but one that has evolved on a planetary scale, shaped by the socio-political and economic specificities of different regions.
In Planetary Gentrification, Shin and his co-authors dismantle the notion of gentrification as a one-size-fits-all process, urging scholars to move beyond simplistic North-South or West-East trajectories. Instead, they call for an open-minded approach that recognises the complexity of urbanisation. Gentrification, they argue, is constitutive of a wide array of urban processes, from slum upgrades to large-scale mega-displacement. Drawing on “new comparative urbanism” and writings on planetary urbanisation, the book demonstrates how diverse local dynamics interact with global forces to produce highly uneven urban landscapes. By provincialising Western notions of gentrification and foregrounding its plural forms, Shin’s work not only deepens our understanding of urban transformation but also highlights the importance of striving for social justice in cities worldwide.
Shin’s research in China exemplifies his commitment to examining gentrification within the specificities of local contexts. In Chinese cities, where the economy is transitioning from socialism to a market-oriented system, gentrification often begins with the dispossession of residents’ rights to their homes and neighborhoods. This process of “accumulation by dispossession,” as Shin describes it, enables decommodified real estate to be transformed into speculative investment opportunities. By foregrounding this dynamic, Shin draws attention to the role of the state in orchestrating urban change through coercion and co-optation, reflecting China’s path-dependent socialist legacy. His work not only sheds light on the unique mechanisms of displacement in China but also contributes to broader debates about gentrification in the global South, where capitalist urbanisation intersects with distinctive socio-political structures.
The case of Seoul provides another important lens through which Shin explores the complexities of gentrification. In his study of Korea’s capital, he demonstrates how new-build gentrification has been deeply embedded in speculative urbanisation processes shaped by the developmental state. From the 1980s onward, property owners, construction firms, and government actors have collaborated to close rent gaps, driving displacement as part of Seoul’s rapid industrialisation and urban development. While there has been resistance to these processes, Shin observes that popular struggles have largely failed to stem the tide of speculative accumulation. The Seoul case offers valuable insights into the interplay between state-led development and class transformation, showcasing how gentrification in non-Western contexts challenges dominant theoretical frameworks.
Beyond specific geographies, Shin has also turned his attention to the theoretical dimensions of studying gentrification outside the Anglo-American paradigm. He argues for “provincialising” gentrification, recognising it as a mutable process shaped by the uneven and context-specific nature of capitalism. Rather than forcing comparisons with Western models, Shin advocates for an approach that acknowledges the plurality of gentrification while maintaining a critical focus on its defining feature: the class remaking of urban space. For him, gentrification is not merely a question of displacement but a reflection of broader power struggles over who controls and benefits from urban development. By reframing gentrification as a dynamic and plural phenomenon, Shin’s work opens new possibilities for understanding how divergent urban processes shape socio-spatial and material landscapes.
Across his body of work, Hyun Bang Shin demonstrates how gentrification serves as a window into the wider transformations wrought by global capitalism. His emphasis on the political economy of urban change and his focus on the global South disrupt traditional paradigms in urban studies, offering a richer and more inclusive understanding of how cities evolve. At the heart of his scholarship lies a deep concern for social justice, as he continuously questions whose interests are served by urbanisation and whose lives are disrupted. Through his critical lens, Shin invites us to rethink the very foundations of gentrification, urging scholars and practitioners alike to engage with the realities of an increasingly planetary urban condition.
Selected work on gentrification
Shin, H.B. (ed.) (2017) Anti-Gentrification: What is to be done. Seoul: Dongnyok [In Korean:신현방 (편저) (2017) 안티 젠트리피케이션: 무엇을할것인가. 서울: 도서출판 동녘]
Lees, L., Shin, H.B. and López-Morales, E. (2016) Planetary Gentrification. Cambridge: Polity Press
Lees, L., Shin, H.B. and López-Morales, E. (eds.) (2015) Global Gentrifications: Uneven Development and Displacement. Bristol: Policy Press
Shin, H.B., Lees, L. and López-Morales, E. (eds.) (2016) Locating gentrification in the Global East. Urban Studies 53(3): 455-625
López-Morales, E., Shin, H.B. and Lees, L. (eds.) (2016) Latin American gentrifications. Urban Geography 37(8): 1091-1252
Shin, H.B. (2019) Planetary Gentrification: What it Is and why it matters (プラネタリー・ジェントリフィケーション ―それは何であり、何が問題なのか). Space, Society and Geographical Thought (Osaka Prefecture University and Osaka City University) 22: 127-137 (Japanese translation by M. Aramata and N. Senba)
Shin, H.B. and López-Morales, E. (2018) Beyond Anglo-American gentrification theory. In: Lees, L. and Phillips, M. (eds.) Handbook of Gentrification Studies. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp.11-23
Shin, H.B. (2018) Studying global gentrifications. In: Harrison, J. and Hoyler, M. (eds.) Doing Global Urban Research. London: SAGE, pp. 138-152
Shin, H.B. (2018) Redevelopment, Gentrification, and the Spatio-temporality of Displacement: the Case of Nangok, Seoul. In: Korea Center for City and Environment Research (ed.) Urban Regeneration and Gentrification. Seoul: Hanul, pp. 309-325 [In Korean: 신현방 (2018) 재개발, 젠트리피케이션, 그리고 축출의 시공간성: 서울 난곡 사례를 중심으로. <도시재생과 젠트리피케이션> 한국도시연구소 엮음. 서울: 한울, 309-329쪽]
Shin, H.B. (2017) Speculative urbanisation, gentrification and the right to the city. In Choi, B-D. (ed.) City of Hope. Seoul: The Seoul Institute, pp. 216-243 [In Korean: 신현방 (2017) 투기적 도시화, 젠트리피케이션, 도시권. <희망의 도시> 서울연구원 엮음. 서울: 한울, 216-243쪽]
Shin, H.B., Lees, L. and López-Morales, E. (2016) Introduction: Locating gentrification in the Global East. Urban Studies 53(3): 455-470 [View]
López-Morales, E., Shin, H.B. and Lees, L. (2016) Introduction: Latin American gentrifications. Urban Geography 37(8): 1091-1108 [View]
Shin, H.B. (2016) Editorial review: Developmentalist urbanization, gentrification and the alliance of resistance. Space and Environment 26(3): 5-14 [In Korean: 신현방 (2016) 편집의 글: 발전주의 도시화와 젠트리피케이션, 그리고 저항의 연대. <공간과사회> 26권 3호, 5-14쪽] [View]
Shin, H.B. and Kim, S-H. (2016) The developmental state, speculative urbanisation and the politics of displacement in gentrifying Seoul. Urban Studies 53(3): 540-559 [View]
Shin, H.B. (2016) Economic transition and speculative urbanisation in China: Gentrification versus dispossession. Urban Studies 53(3): 471-489 [View]
Shin, H.B. (2016) Dreaming of a world without gentrification. In: Jeong, H-S. (ed.) Hannam Forum. Seoul: Takeout Drawing, pp. 168-174 [In Korean: 신현방 (2016) 젠트리피케이션 없는 세상 꿈꾸기. <한남포럼> 정현석 펴냄. 서울: 테이크아웃드로잉. 168-174쪽]
Shin. H.B. (2009) Property-based redevelopment and gentrification: the case of Seoul, South Korea. Geoforum 40(5): 906-917
Shin, H.B. (2008) Living on the edge: financing post-displacement housing in urban redevelopment projects in Seoul. Environment and Urbanization 20(2): 411-426 [View]