Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The aim of this project was to investigate the significance of gender as a factor in processes of gentrification, and to explore the interplay between changing gender divisions and urban change. The research was based on a comparison of three local areas in Edinburgh, one where gentrification began in the late 1960s, one where gentrification began in the early 1980s, and one modern suburb. The local case studies were developed using data from the Register of Sasines and other documentary sources, together with semi-structured interviews with consumers and producers of private sector housing. The research findings endorse the view that non-family households in general and women in particular are important agents of gentrification. However, no support was found for the widespread assumption that attitudes to gender roles and household gender divisions of labour are any more 'traditional' in suburban areas than in areas subject to gentrification. The study shows how the relationship between gender practices and location is mediated by factors including the presence or absence of children, class differences and geographical origins.

The data were previously only available by personal visit to the School of Scottish Studies Sound Archive at the University of Edinburgh. This new edition makes the data available online through the UK Data Archive.


Main Topics:

Building design; class; community participation; domestic responsibilities; demography; employment; gender; gentrification; home buying; home ownership; home sales; home security; housing; housing finance; housework; neighbours; neighbourhoods; public transport; tenants home purchasing; shopping; urban development; urban life; urban renewal; urban traffic.