GENTRIFICATION AND LAND RENT: A HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE RENT GAP IN MINNEAPOLIS

Abstract

The rent gap theory has been a prominent explanation of gentrification for nearly two decades. It has been subject to much critique, but few empirical analyses. This research, based in Minneapolis, attempts an empirical evaluation of the hypothesis using land price data in nine redeveloped parcels over a span of 130 years. While the rent gap appears to exist in most parcels, a simple one-to-one correspondence between the gap and gentrification cannot be made because of the nature of the theory and the limitations of the data. There is evidence, however, that rent gaps may form not just in declining areas, but in stable poorer areas when there is substantial capital investment on the urban fringe. This finding lends support to the theory's emphasis on the role of uneven development in the creation and eventual closure of the rent gap.