Summary: Twigge-Molecey (2014) — Exploring resident experiences of indirect displacement in a neighbourhood undergoing gentrification: The case of Saint-Henri in Montréal
Full Reference
Twigge-Molecey, A. (2014). Exploring resident experiences of indirect displacement in a neighbourhood undergoing gentrification: The case of Saint-Henri in Montréal. Canadian Journal of Urban Research. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26195250.
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@article{TwiggeMolecey2014,
author = {Twigge-Molecey, Amy},
title = {Exploring Resident Experiences of Indirect Displacement in a Neighbourhood Undergoing Gentrification: The Case of Saint-Henri in Montr{\'e}al},
journal = {Canadian Journal of Urban Research},
year = {2014},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {1--22},
url = {https://www.jstor.org/stable/26195250}
}
Questions
What is the article about?
The article explores how residents experience indirect displacement in a gentrifying neighbourhood, focusing on Saint-Henri in Montréal. Rather than examining only direct physical displacement (e.g. eviction or demolition), the paper investigates how neighbourhood transformation can create emotional, social, cultural, and political forms of exclusion even when residents remain physically in place.
The study particularly examines the relationship between new-build gentrification and indirect displacement. While new-build developments may not directly force residents out of housing, they can reshape neighbourhood identity, affordability, social relations, and political power structures in ways that make longstanding residents feel they no longer belong.
What kind of contribution is the paper trying to make?
The paper makes both a conceptual and empirical contribution.
Conceptually, it develops a four-fold typology of indirect displacement, consisting of:
- Social displacement
- Cultural displacement
- Political displacement
- Housing market displacement
This extends Davidson’s (2008) earlier three-fold conceptualisation of indirect displacement.
Empirically, the paper uses qualitative interviews with residents in Saint-Henri to demonstrate how these dimensions are experienced in everyday life.
What gaps does it identify/tackle?
The paper argues that displacement research has traditionally focused too heavily on direct displacement, while the more subtle and emotional experiences associated with indirect displacement remain underexplored.
It also identifies a gap in understanding how:
- new-build gentrification affects adjacent communities,
- residents experience “loss of belonging” without physically moving,
- emotional and social dimensions of neighbourhood change operate.
The article builds on and connects several strands of literature:
- Marcuse’s (1985) concept of displacement pressure,
- Davidson’s (2008) work on indirect displacement,
- Chernoff’s (1980) idea of social displacement,
- literature on emotional geographies and gentrification.
What is the main research question/argument?
The paper asks:
- How do residents experience indirect displacement in a gentrifying neighbourhood?
- How does new-build gentrification reshape neighbourhood belonging and social relations?
- What dimensions of indirect displacement can be identified empirically?
The main argument is that indirect displacement should be understood as a multidimensional process involving emotional, cultural, political, and economic pressures that precede or accompany direct displacement.
The paper distinguishes:
- Direct displacement = losing one’s home physically.
- Indirect displacement = losing access to, attachment to, or belonging within the neighbourhood.
How are they explored/presented?
The study uses qualitative interviews with long-term residents of Saint-Henri. Residents were generally required to have lived in the neighbourhood for at least five years so they could reflect on neighbourhood change over time.
The paper analyses residents’ narratives about:
- social networks,
- commercial changes,
- neighbourhood identity,
- political representation,
- rising housing pressures.
The framework is organised through the four-fold typology of indirect displacement.
How are data used to test them?
The paper primarily uses:
- semi-structured interviews,
- neighbourhood demographic change,
- census indicators of gentrification.
Indicators used to demonstrate gentrification include:
- increases in highly educated residents,
- rising income levels,
- increases in professionals and managers,
- growth in owner-occupied housing,
- new-build development.
The qualitative approach is useful because indirect displacement is highly experiential and emotional. However, the study is limited by:
- relatively small interview samples,
- dependence on subjective experiences,
- challenges in generalising findings beyond Montréal.
What are the main findings?
The paper finds evidence of several dimensions of indirect displacement:
Social displacement
Residents experienced weakening neighbourhood ties due to:
- turnover in rental housing,
- displacement of friends and neighbours,
- erosion of longstanding social networks.
Cultural displacement
Residents felt local shops, cafés, and boutiques increasingly catered to affluent newcomers rather than incumbent residents. Even without leaving physically, some residents felt emotionally excluded from neighbourhood life.
Political displacement
There was limited evidence of direct political appropriation in this study area, but concerns emerged that gentrifiers possessed greater influence in shaping the future of the neighbourhood.
Author pointed out the importance of global “deprivation hierarchy” in this concept. Specifically, Montréal’s lower position within the global urban hierarchy may moderate the intensity of political displacement compared to cities like London.
Housing market displacement
Rising housing costs and competition from more affluent residents created exclusionary pressures, especially affecting long-term and lower-income residents.
What is the contribution?
The paper contributes:
- a clearer conceptualisation of indirect displacement,
- empirical evidence connecting new-build gentrification to emotional and social exclusion,
- a framework for analysing displacement beyond eviction statistics,
- insight into displacement pressure as an antecedent to multiple forms of indirect displacement.
The article is particularly important because it shifts attention from simply whether residents are forced out physically to whether they still feel they belong in the neighbourhood.
Discuss!
Several ideas from the paper are especially relevant for a flow-based approach to displacement pressure.
The concept of displacement pressure is highly important. The paper suggests that neighbourhood transformation can create pressures before direct displacement occurs. This aligns with the idea that migration flows may reveal restructuring processes prior to visible socio-economic change.
The distinction between direct and indirect displacement helps justify studying neighbourhood change through mobility patterns rather than only housing outcomes. People may already feel excluded socially or culturally before they physically relocate.
The paper suggests that different forms of gentrification (traditional vs new-build) may generate different displacement dynamics. This raises the possibility that migration patterns may vary depending on the form and intensity of neighbourhood restructuring.
The article reinforces the importance of hierarchy and uneven power relations. The comparison between Montréal and London suggests that displacement processes are shaped by broader urban and global hierarchies.
What am I still confused about?
How are standard “gentrification indicators” theoretically justified, especially the use of highly educated residents as indicators of gentrification?
To what extent can typologies of gentrification be generalised across cities and countries?
Are conflicts between newcomers and incumbents driven mainly by class and social status, or simply by newcomer status itself?
Can social and cultural displacement be analytically separated from displacement pressure, or are they largely manifestations of the same underlying process?
How can indirect displacement be operationalised quantitatively rather than only qualitatively?
Based on the above, why was I encouraged to read this?
This paper is highly relevant for research on displacement pressure and migration restructuring because it provides a strong conceptual foundation for understanding displacement beyond physical eviction.
It is especially useful for:
- defining indirect displacement,
- linking neighbourhood change to emotional and social exclusion,
- conceptualising displacement pressure,
- understanding how gentrification restructures neighbourhood belonging,
- connecting qualitative experiences with broader urban restructuring processes.
The paper also helps justify why migration flows may reveal neighbourhood transformation before traditional socio-economic indicators fully capture change.