Gentrification in village core areas in Malta : a case study of Lija, Siġġiewi and Għargħur

Abstract

Gentrification involves the invasion by middle-class or higher-income groups m previously working-class neighbourhoods, as by remodelling dwellings, resulting m increased property values and in displacement of the poor. Many village core areas in Malta are experiencing this transformation as a pool of gentrifiers who are often younger, have a different socio-economic background and higher educational standards are· moving in. Being so different, the gentrifiers and the native occupants do not tend to interact so much. Moreover being more mobile, the gentrifiers have less chances of meeting the other villagers since they normally carry out their activities (like shopping, sports and weekend activites) further beyond the contiguous localities while the non-gentrifiers tend to remain quite more concentrated around their place of residence. This is also enforced by the fact that the gentrifiers may still have ties with other localities. Hence, the different circulatory patterns of the gentrifiers and non-gentrifiers result in low interactin levels. Never the less the gentrifiers also tend to participate far less in the social life of the village and make less use of the local services.