Verticalization

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Verticalization is a phenomenon, typically seen in major cities, where there is a general increase in the population of high-rise residential buildings [1] . As of 2024, there is no agreed-upon definition of verticalization.

Contents

Across multiple research papers, verticalization or “vertical gentrification” has been linked with the densification and super-gentrification of urban areas since it generally occurs in neighborhoods that were undergoing gentrification or had been previously gentrified [2] . Densification refers to increasing the population through jobs or housing [3] ; super-gentrification refers to the redevelopment of previously gentrified neighborhoods [4] .

High-rise residential buildings and luxury apartments are main contributors to the verticalization of urban areas. The verticalization of neighborhoods with luxury buildings attracts a demographic of dwellers that rent by choice not necessity, labeled as “discretionary” renters by Yardi Matrix [5] .

One research paper from 2020 that is investigating the effects of COVID-19 on luxury markets defined luxury real estate in Boston as $4.50 per square foot or higher in rent or properties that sell for $1,200 per square foot or higher [6] . John Lauermann defines luxury housing as a property that reaches the minimum threshold for the “mansion tax” in his research into vertical gentrification in New York City [2] .

The effects of verticalization are similar to those of gentrification including an increased neighborhood economic value, residential demographic change, and displacement of current residents.

History

Term Origin

Iconic vertical cityscape of New York City New York City (New York, USA), Empire State Building -- 2012 -- 6436.jpg
Iconic vertical cityscape of New York City

The term vertical comes from the late Latin word “verticalis” meaning “overhead” and the Latin “vertex” meaning “highest point” [7] . Verticalization is used interchangeably with Manhattanization, vertical urbanization or urbanisms, and vertical gentrification in many research studies.

One of the main considerations of a potential buyer is where the building is located. If you think of location in a 3-dimensional plane, the street that the building is located on is the 2-dimensional coordinate and the height is in the 3rd dimension; the floor that a high-rise unit is located on can be far enough away from the busy streets that the building location does not play a role. Verticalization takes advantage of the 3-dimensional space on the same 2-dimensional plot of land [8] .

High-Rise Buildings

High-rise luxury buildings predate World War II when they were designed to facilitate the transition away from a servant-dependent society and provide mass public housing [9] . In theory. high-rise buildings acted as an economically logical solution in urban areas that maximized the number of units within a building complex once it surpassed seven stories; since the developer already invested in the requirements for a high-rise building, the costs would be divided across more units which could lower the cost per unit and create the opportunity for more affordable housing [10] .

Since the mid-1990s, the number of high-rise buildings in cities around the world has drastically increased from 20 being built in 1992 to 331 in 2019 if high-rise buildings are defined as towering over 150 meters [11] . The process of verticalization is also related to consumer culture and symbols of power [12] .

Roof-top pool at the 30 story Pierce Boston Roof-top pool deck at Pierce Boston.jpg
Roof-top pool at the 30 story Pierce Boston

High-rises provided their inhabitants with more amenities due to the seemingly limitless space they leveraged. The additional amenities available, such as gyms, pools, outdoor lounge spaces, parking, retail spaces, and more, in this newly obtained vertical space jumped to the top of many renters’ and prospective home buyers’ wish lists.

As of 2020, a renter preferences survey performed by the National Multifamily Housing Council and Kingsley Associates consulting firm showed that 44% of residents consider amenities an important factor when choosing where to live [13] . Some of building features that are not outright considered amenities but do increase a high-rise’s marketability are increased security, improved air quality, improved accessibility, and a more desirable location [14] .

As the list of benefits to high-rise living increases, the price of each unit begins to reflect that which attracts a more affluent social class. Throughout the available content, there is a gray area between what people consider high-rise buildings and luxury high-rise buildings implying that a large amount of high-rise buildings are intentionally constructed as luxury housing.

Between the 1930s and 1970s, modernists believed that physically raising lower social classes into higher buildings would improve their morale, social norms, and monetary status; they also thought it would also protect urban residents from gas attacks and bombings [10] . Though the latter statement is not a main motivation for high-rise construction anymore, the social class effects are still prevalent today.

Causes

Elite class

Real estate acts as a common investment opportunity for the elite class [15] . As more luxury high-rise buildings are developed in densely populated and heavily sought after areas, more members of the elite class are interested in buying. The distribution of housing started to skew as developers built for the rich rather than the general public.

The high-rise buildings transitioned from a solution to affordable housing to luxury condominiums.  Because some cities relied on the capital investments of these high-rises, the goal of providing more affordable housing was overlooked [16] .

Along with this intensification of neighborhoods followed increasing social class gaps. As years passed, the elite class continued to gravitate toward high-rise buildings which provided a physical height above surrounding low-rise properties coincidentally representative of the gap in social class; the exclusivity of these units perpetuated a more private, prestigious, and powerful lifestyle [17] .

One research paper examines the theoretical relationship between power and height through the lens of vertical urbanization [18] ; they dive into how vertical height was inversely proportional to wealth in the late 18th to early 19th centuries.

The features unique to a luxury high-rise building, like exclusive panoramic views, became synonymous with wealthy inhabitants and cycled through until they were rarely attainable to middle and lower social classes. While this proves true for many American cities, an exception to the rule is how the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in Indonesia has employed high-rise buildings to provide affordable housing and sustainable solutions [19] .

Covid

After the Covid-19 pandemic, the kinds of amenities desired in a living space changed to be more hygiene-oriented and all-encompassing. According to Dubuque, the Amenity Wars was put on pause during the brunt of the pandemic [20] ; the Amenity Wars represents the battle within the available housing market over what amenities your building provides and how they align with specific lifestyles. However, since the end of the pandemic, buyers and renters moved back from the suburbs and rural areas to cities and commuter towns [21] .

Though many of these luxury high-rise buildings are being intentionally constructed to improve its residents’ lifestyles post-coronavirus, the poor construction and close quarters pose a health risk in itself [22] .

One of the risks involved with living in a high-rise includes an increase in viral transmission through the sewage system and shared spaces like stairs and elevators [23] . Poor construction consequences like leaks, failing equipment, and maintenance negligence in common spaces makes the amenities associated with high-rises out of service [22] .

Examples of Verticalization in the U.S.

Boston

In 2018, twelve of the highest-priced luxury condominiums were 50 times more expensive than Boston’s median household income [15] . Over half of these condos owner’s do not apply for residential exemption, meaning this is not their primary residence [15] . Between 2020 and 2022, 89% of the new units built in Boston were luxury apartments [24] .

The housing advocates believe that building more housing for the elite class will create a trickle-down effect that vacates existing units for lower-income groups [25] . On the contrary, housing activists believe that developing more mixed-income housing will provide more affordable housing while avoiding any increased land value from new luxury real estate [25] .

Roxbury Crossing saw a 70% increase in its housing prices between 2010 and 2015 [26] . Some developers offer to reserve units at discounted rates for residents that were requested to move, but these are still too high.

However, there have been efforts from the city of Boston to combat the gentrification in Boston neighborhoods; in 2022, Mayor Wu created the Rent Stabilization Advisory Committee and allocated $40 million in funding towards 700 income-restricted units [27] . Additionally, the Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) requires that market-rate housing support the income-restricted housing market by dedicating a portion of their building as affordable housing, creating affordable housing near their building, or contributing to the IDP fund [28] .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentrification</span> Urban socioeconomic process

Gentrification is the process of change in the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been used to describe a wide array of phenomena, usually in a pejorative connotation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apartment</span> Self-contained housing unit occupying part of a building

An apartment, flat, or unit is a self-contained housing unit that occupies part of a building, generally on a single storey. There are many names for these overall buildings. The housing tenure of apartments also varies considerably, from large-scale public housing, to owner occupancy within what is legally a condominium, to tenants renting from a private landlord.

In the United States, rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the rent of residential housing to function as a price ceiling. More loosely, "rent control" describes several types of price control:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">80/20 housing</span> Housing guideline in the US for low- to moderate-income families.

In the United States, 80/20 housing is multifamily housing program that meets federal guidelines for tax-exempt financing. 80/20 housing developments reserve 20 percent of units as affordable housing, only to be rented by low-income residents, leaving the remaining 80 percent of units to be rented at the typical market rate. Housing projects that meet these the 80/20 rule receive tax-exempt financing from State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs). The 80/20 program uses the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) along with bond sales to finance housing projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Henri, Montreal</span> Neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Saint-Henri is a neighbourhood in southwestern Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the borough of Le Sud-Ouest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single-room occupancy</span> Type of low-cost housing

Single-room occupancy (SRO) is a type of low-cost housing typically aimed at residents with low or minimal incomes, or single adults who like a minimalist lifestyle, who rent small, furnished single rooms with a bed, chair, and sometimes a small desk. SRO units are rented out as permanent residence and/or primary residence to individuals, within a multi-tenant building where tenants share a kitchen, toilets or bathrooms. SRO units range from 7 to 13 square metres. In some instances, contemporary units may have a small refrigerator, microwave, or sink.

The YIMBY movement is a pro-housing movement that focuses on encouraging new housing, opposing density limits, and supporting public transportation. It stands in opposition to NIMBY tendencies, which generally oppose most forms of urban development in order to maintain the status quo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infill</span> Rededication of land in an urban environment to new construction

In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban margin. The slightly broader term "land recycling" is sometimes used instead. Infill has been promoted as an economical use of existing infrastructure and a remedy for urban sprawl. Detractors view increased urban density as overloading urban services, including increased traffic congestion and pollution, and decreasing urban green-space. Many also dislike it for social and historical reasons, partly due to its unproven effects and its similarity with gentrification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affordable housing</span> Housing affordable to those with a median household income

Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affordable housing refers to mortgages and a number of forms that exist along a continuum – from emergency homeless shelters, to transitional housing, to non-market rental, to formal and informal rental, indigenous housing, and ending with affordable home ownership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixed-use development</span> Type of urban development strategy

Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some degree physically and functionally integrated, and that provides pedestrian connections. Mixed-use development may be applied to a single building, a block or neighborhood, or in zoning policy across an entire city or other administrative unit. These projects may be completed by a private developer, (quasi-)governmental agency, or a combination thereof. A mixed-use development may be a new construction, reuse of an existing building or brownfield site, or a combination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medium-density housing</span>

Medium-density housing is a term used within urban planning and academic literature to refer to a category of residential development that falls between detached suburban housing and large multi-story buildings. There is no singular definition of medium-density housing as its precise definition tends to vary between jurisdiction. Scholars however, have found that medium density housing ranges from about 25 to 80 dwellings per hectare, although most commonly sits around 30 and 40 dwellings/hectare. Typical examples of medium-density housing include duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, row homes, detached homes with garden suites, and walk-up apartment buildings.

Green affordable housing is reasonably priced housing that incorporates sustainable features. The phenomenon has become increasingly common in all over the world as climate change and the cost of housing become alarming issues. For example, the United States adopted state and local policies that favor or require green building practices for publicly owned or funded buildings. Potential benefits of green affordable housing include lower energy cost burden and improved health. One challenge to green affordable housing is the tendency to prioritize short-term costs over long-term benefits, leading to higher upfront cost. The challenge for green housing advocates is to see to the life cycle cost of the building. Many affordable housing projects already find it a challenge to raise capital to finance basic affordable housing. This challenge is compounded by the phenomenon of urban greening and environmental gentrification, which can drive up housing prices and becomes a challenge for green affordable housing. Green affordable housing has taken form in traditionally wooden homes, green homes and most recently with 'upcycling' shipping containers.

Rent regulation is a system of laws for the rental market of dwellings, with controversial effects on affordability of housing and tenancies. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentrification of San Francisco</span>

The gentrification of San Francisco has been an ongoing source of tension between renters and working people who live in the city as well as real estate interests. A result of this conflict has been an emerging antagonism between longtime working-class residents of the city and the influx of new tech workers. A major increase of gentrification in San Francisco has been attributed to the Dot-Com Boom in the 1990s, creating a strong demand for skilled tech workers from local startups and close by Silicon Valley businesses leading to rising standards of living. As a result, a large influx of new workers in the internet and technology sector began to contribute to the gentrification of historically poor immigrant neighborhoods such as the Mission District. During this time San Francisco began a transformation eventually culminating in it becoming the most expensive city to live in the United States.

Gentrification, the process of altering the demographic and socioeconomic composition of a neighborhood usually by decreasing the percentage of low-income minority residents and increasing the percentage higher-income residents, has been an issue between the residents of minority neighborhoods in Chicago who believe the influx of new residents destabilizes their communities, and the gentrifiers who see it as a process that economically improves a neighborhood. Researchers have debated the significance of its effects on the neighborhoods and whether or not it leads to the displacement of residents.

Environmental, ecological or green gentrification is a process in which cleaning up pollution or providing green amenities increases local property values and attracts wealthier residents to a previously polluted or disenfranchised neighbourhood. Green amenities include green spaces, parks, green roofs, gardens and green and energy efficient building materials. These initiatives can heal many environmental ills from industrialization and beautify urban landscapes. Additionally, greening is imperative for reaching a sustainable future. However, if accompanied by gentrification, these initiatives can have an ambiguous social impact. For example, if the low income households are displaced or forced to pay higher housing costs. First coined by Sieg et al. (2004), environmental gentrification is a relatively new concept, although it can be considered as a new hybrid of the older and wider topics of gentrification and environmental justice. Social implications of greening projects specifically with regards to housing affordability and displacement of vulnerable citizens. Greening in cities can be both healthy and just.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Co-living</span> Type of residential living model

Co-living is a residential community living model that accommodates three or more biologically unrelated people living in the same dwelling unit. Generally co-living is a type of intentional community that provides shared housing for people with similar values or intentions. The co-living experience may simply include group discussions in common areas or weekly meals, although will oftentimes extend to shared workspace and collective endeavors such as living more sustainably. An increasing number of people across the world are turning to co-living in order to unlock the same benefits as other communal living models, including "comfort, affordability, and a greater sense of social belonging."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-over-1</span> Type of building

5-over-1 or over-1s, also known as a one-plus-five or a podium building, is a type of multi-family residential building commonly found in urban areas of North America. The mid-rise buildings are normally constructed with four or five wood-frame stories above a concrete podium, usually for retail or resident amenity space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentrification of Mexico City</span>

Mexico City has massively been expanding its urban fabric and population density, becoming the sixth largest city in the world. A combination of neoliberal policies, complex geographic location, socio-economic disparities and inefficient strategies have influenced the process of gentrification en la city. The combination of numerous megaprojects, inefficient city-planning strategies, and remote work after the COVID-19 pandemic have led to dysfunctions in circulation, community allocation and equal access to resources. In consequence, middle and low-income communities have been directly or indirectly alienated and challenged to adapt to a complex and evolving urban environment, and the culture erasure that comes with the process of gentrification.

Gentrification in the United States is commonly associated with an influx of higher-income movers into historically divested neighborhoods with existing, working-class residents, often resulting in increases in property prices and investment into new developments. Displacement and gentrification are also linked, with consequences of gentrification including displacement of pre-existing residents and cultural erasure of the historic community. In the United States, discussions surrounding gentrification require critical analysis of race and other demographic data in examining the inequalities and disparities between existing residents, the community, new buyers, and developers caused by gentrification.

References

  1. ↑ Bustamante, Leonel Pérez; Bello, Gerardo González; Gutiérrez, Daniela Villouta; Contreras, León Pagola; Zañartu, Christian Ávila (December 30, 2019). "Procesos de reestructuración y verticalización en el centro de Concepción: Barrio Condell". Revista de Urbanismo (in Spanish) (41). doi: 10.5354/0717-5051.2019.53926 . ISSN   0717-5051.
  2. 1 2 Lauermann, John (April 3, 2022). "Vertical Gentrification: A 3D Analysis of Luxury Housing Development in New York City". Annals of the American Association of Geographers. 112 (3): 772–780. doi:10.1080/24694452.2021.2022451. ISSN   2469-4452.
  3. ↑ "Urban Densification". Buildings and Cities. January 14, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  4. ↑ Lees, Loretta (November 2003). "Super-gentrification: The Case of Brooklyn Heights, New York City". Urban Studies. 40 (12): 2487–2509. doi:10.1080/0042098032000136174. ISSN   0042-0980.
  5. ↑ "How We Define the Apartment Rental Market | Yardi Matrix". www.yardimatrix.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  6. ↑ Dubuque, Elise (September 2020). "Multifamily Amenity Wars: Defining their Current State in Luxury Urban Markets and Determining Impacts of COVID-19". Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 146 – via MIT Libraries.
  7. ↑ "vertical | Etymology of vertical by etymonline". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  8. ↑ Lauermann, John (April 3, 2022). "Vertical Gentrification: A 3D Analysis of Luxury Housing Development in New York City". Annals of the American Association of Geographers. 112 (3): 772–780. doi:10.1080/24694452.2021.2022451. ISSN   2469-4452.
  9. ↑ Schoenauer, Norbert (2000). 6,000 Years of Housing. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN   978-0-393-73120-0.
  10. 1 2 Graham, Stephen (September 3, 2015). "Luxified skies: How vertical urban housing became an elite preserve". City. 19 (5): 618–645. doi:10.1080/13604813.2015.1071113. ISSN   1360-4813.
  11. ↑ Liong, Ju Tjung; Leitner, Helga; Sheppard, Eric; Herlambang, Suryono; Astuti, Wahyu (November 2020). "Space Grabs: Colonizing the Vertical City". International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 44 (6): 1072–1082. doi:10.1111/1468-2427.12949. ISSN   0309-1317.
  12. ↑ Machado, José Roberto; Méndes, César Miranda (December 2003). "O processo de verticalização do centro de Maringá-PR, Brasil". Investigaciones geográficas (in Portuguese) (52): 53–71. ISSN   0188-4611.
  13. ↑ Dubuque, Elise (September 2020). "Multifamily Amenity Wars: Defining their Current State in Luxury Urban Markets and Determining Impacts of COVID-19". Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 146 – via MIT Libraries.
  14. ↑ Calabrese, Peter (January 9, 2023). "Real Estate Attorney | Construction Lawyer Boston Massachusetts (MA)". Calabrese Law Associates. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 "Towering Excess: The Perils of the Luxury Real Estate Boom for Bostonians". Inequality.org. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  16. ↑ Atkinson, Rowland (January 2019). "Necrotecture: Lifeless Dwellings and London's Super-Rich". International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 43 (1): 2–13. doi:10.1111/1468-2427.12707. ISSN   0309-1317.
  17. ↑ Harris, Andrew; Wolseley, Tom (December 7, 2023). "Vertical Horizons : Dealing with luxury urban skies". Urban Studies. 61 (4): 654–668. doi: 10.1177/00420980231206972 . ISSN   0042-0980.
  18. ↑ Harris, Andrew (October 2015). "Vertical urbanisms: Opening up geographies of the three-dimensional city". Progress in Human Geography. 39 (5): 601–620. doi:10.1177/0309132514554323. ISSN   0309-1325.
  19. ↑ Liong, Ju Tjung; Leitner, Helga; Sheppard, Eric; Herlambang, Suryono; Astuti, Wahyu (November 2020). "Space Grabs: Colonizing the Vertical City". International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 44 (6): 1072–1082. doi:10.1111/1468-2427.12949. ISSN   0309-1317.
  20. ↑ Dubuque, Elise (September 2020). "Multifamily Amenity Wars: Defining their Current State in Luxury Urban Markets and Determining Impacts of COVID-19". Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 146 – via MIT Libraries.
  21. ↑ "Trends from the Covid Pandemic that will influence luxury real estate in the future!". artistreere.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  22. 1 2 Chen, Stefanos (April 15, 2022). "They Expected Luxury. They Got Leaky Ceilings and Broken Elevators". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  23. ↑ Lyu, Hongxin; Zhong, Xianwu; Huang, Qiaojie; Zheng, Linkai; Chen, Hongbiao; Cai, Song (May 20, 2023). "High-rise buildings: A risk factor in the COVID-19 Omicron epidemic period". Public Health in Practice. 5: 100389. doi:10.1016/j.puhip.2023.100389. ISSN   2666-5352. PMC   10199749 . PMID   37234095.
  24. ↑ Bunnell, Caroline. "On apartment construction, Boston lags behind". www.boston.com. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  25. 1 2 "Does building more luxury housing drive other rents up or down?". GBH. July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  26. ↑ Kim, Samuel (January 18, 2018). "Roxbury residents face gentrification". The Huntington News. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  27. ↑ "South Boston NDC — Gentrification in Boston has 'devastating' impacts on affordable housing, experts say". South Boston NDC. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Inclusionary Development Policy | Bostonplans.org". www.bostonplans.org. Retrieved August 5, 2024.


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