Is industrial heritage an agent of gentrification I?

The proposed session will examine the unfolding relationship between industrial heritage and those left behind in adjoining deindustrialized working-class areas. The four papers seek to understand the socio-economic and political impact of recognizing the industrial past in the present. Two guiding questions will be asked. Can industrial heritage support those ‘left behind’ in deindustrialized areas where nothing, or very little, has filled the economic or cultural vacuum? Has industrial heritage served as an agent of gentrification, displacing long-time residents in adjoining neighbourhoods? And, if so, how can we imagine an industrial heritage that works for, rather than against, working people? The session draws together leading scholars from Europe, North America and Australia to consider these foundational political questions.