KRIHS Report
"Positive and Negative Effects Must Be Considered in Commercial Area Recovery Process After COVID-19"
Research findings have shown that gentrification has the effect of reducing crime in local areas, and that both the negative and positive aspects of gentrification should be considered simultaneously in order to promote the stable development of commercial districts after COVID-19.
On the 17th, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements analyzed changes in the activation level of Seoul's commercial districts after COVID-19 and the impact of gentrification as one of its positive effects, specifically on the reduction of crime and accidents, in a recently published report titled "The Crime Reduction Effect of Gentrification."
Gentrification refers to the involuntary displacement of small business owners due to rapid rent increases and the rise of large corporate franchise businesses, meaning the forced eviction from commercial areas. Broadly, it also includes touristification (touristy + gentrification), a phenomenon where residents' living areas become tourist destinations, threatening the residential environment of the original inhabitants.
According to the report, an analysis of the relationship between the stages of gentrification in commercial districts and the incidence rates of crime and accidents yielded results similar to previous studies, confirming that gentrification is effective in reducing crime.
In particular, before the outbreak of COVID-19, during the initial stage just before gentrification occurred, most crime rates were very high, whereas during the risk stage when gentrification was at its peak, crime rates were relatively low.
Especially in 2019, the difference in crime rates between the initial and risk stages was more than tenfold, empirically confirming the positive effects of gentrification.
However, the crime reduction effect of gentrification showed changes after the outbreak of COVID-19. Specifically, in 2020, the early phase of the pandemic, its influence decreased, and by 2021, it had completely disappeared.
Regarding the number of 112 crime reports per floating population and area, it was confirmed that in some crime categories, the average differences by gentrification stage after COVID-19 were not significant, indicating that the effect of crime and accident reduction in activated commercial districts disappeared.
Researcher Jinhee Lee stated, "Gentrification helps create safer commercial districts in terms of crime occurrence, but its effect can be diminished by external shocks such as COVID-19," adding, "It is necessary to find ways to recreate these effects during the recovery process of commercial districts."
While gentrification has positive functions such as crime reduction, concerns have been raised that, since its negative impacts have been highlighted so far, there needs to be careful consideration regarding the effective progression of gentrification.
Researcher Lee explained, "To maximize the positive function of gentrification in reducing crime, it is necessary to specifically identify the crime reduction influence of gentrification through additional research."
She added, "In commercial districts in decline where gentrification has not yet occurred, it is important to prepare for potential side effects of future gentrification while supplying key facilities, providing consulting, and reaching social consensus to stably develop low-activity commercial districts," and further noted, "The research results on the crime reduction effect of gentrification can be utilized as a basis for the practical application of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which is a spatial approach to crime prevention."
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