Does Urban Regeneration Lead to Gentrification? An Empirical Analysis Based on Big Data
2025-12-29
Amid rapid urban transformation across the Global South, gentrification is widely understood as a product of large‐scale urban regeneration jointly driven by state and market forces. This study employs a big data‐integrated approach to empirically confirm that urban regeneration in Beijing significantly contributes to gentrification, yet the impacts vary notably across different implementing entities. Projects implemented by governments and local government financing platforms (LGFPs) generally show minimal gentrification effects, suggesting stronger protection of public interests in urban regeneration. In contrast, market‐oriented projects lack effective mechanisms to achieve equity goals. Regeneration‐induced gentrification exhibits a concentric spatial pattern, with its impacts being stronger within the Sixth Ring Road than in peripheral suburban areas. However, within the innermost core area (within the Third Ring Road), urban regeneration tends to suppress gentrification, reflecting the government's policy orientation and the involvement of public capital in promoting public welfare and reducing population density in the city's core. This study reveals the differentiated socio‐spatial impacts of urban regeneration under distinct implementation approaches, offering new empirical evidence and perspectives for understanding gentrification in the context of the Global South.