Gentrification or Rejuvenation

In 1983 not long after the Minister for Transport Mr. Abbott had announced the abandonment of the MATS plan in June, the Minister for Environment and Planning Dr. Hopgood, was in Hindmarsh on July 2nd.  He had a belief for rejuvenation, offset against gentrification for bringing people back to Hindmarsh and Thebarton.

He was not alone.  Separately in the Pughole 24 Recollections, we learn from Karen Joyce that Mr. Tom Noakes, " was born in West Street, Brompton, on the 18th December, 1926, in a two storey house."  "I've lived here all my life and when I see where factories have taken over houses I used to know, I get depressed." He … "would like to see Brompton as a residential area…love to see Brompton come back to a state where people are caring for each other, and be together as a community."

The Hindmarsh Pughole reported on the Seminar.

The Hindmarsh Pughole, Issue no. 24, July Edition 1983, page 12

The Residents Association Planning Seminar was held at the Bowden Brompton Parent Child Centre on Saturday 2nd of July.  About forty people managed to make it through the heavy rain to ensure that the seminar would not be a washout, even if the day itself looked certain to be.

The morning session was devoted to hearing the three speakers, each of whom were keenly tested in a question time following their respective contributions.  The Minister for Environment and Planning, Dr. Hopgood opened the seminar.  The other speakers were Hindmarsh Town Planner, John Hunt, and lawyer and town planner Stuart Paine.  We were also fortunate to have in the audience the General Manager of the Housing Trust, Paul Edwards, and a number of officers from the Dept Environment and Planning.  Unfortunately, however no Hindmarsh Councillors saw fit to attend.

Dr. Hopgood said that the government had been alarmed at the last census figures which indicated a 121/2% decline in the population of Hindmarsh since the previous census.  This trend was counter to the increasing population of inner suburban areas in other capital cities.  In planning terms it made sense to encourage people to live in these areas because of the lower costs and greater quality of service delivery.  

The north-south corridor plan was creating a great deal of uncertainty in the inner western suburbs, and a decision therefore had to be made.  No government would have the money to build the transport corridor in the next fifteen years, so despite the obvious argument that it should keep its planning options open the present Government decided to abandon the corridor plan. The Dept Environment and Planning is now working to remove the planning constraints, which remain.

The Government believed that a unique opportunity now existed for state and local government planners and residents to get together and develop a plan for the rejuvenation of the inner western suburban area.  It was envisaged that this redevelopment would be basically residential, though commercial redevelopment would of course be expected to follow.  But the redevelopment should be at a level of cost which would not raise housing prices in the area to a degree which would exclude the people who had traditionally lived there.

The migration of professional and business people into low cost housing areas to renovate old houses and build new and dearer ones was a real danger.  This so called 'gentrification' process was a common problem with redevelopment projects: the Minister preferred to use the term 'rejuvenation' to emphasise the need to offset it.

From the "urban troublemakers", by Colin Ball