Large‐scale urban projects (LSUPs) are capable of changing cities' structures and, consequently, have a potential deep impact on land values. However, to assume that the LSUP always uplift land values may dismiss too quickly some key aspects of these investments. This work uses a difference‐in‐differences model to assess the impacts of LSUPs on land values, implemented in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Results indicate that the impacts of LSUPs vary according to the kind of project (transit, iconic building and retail) and property (residential, commercial and vacant land). Macroeconomic cycles, negative externalities, and projects location within the local urban structure are key to understand the impacts' dynamics.

This paper aims to bridge universality – as gentrification stands as a global threat to vulnerable communities – and local circumstances and geographies, by investigating structural factors, such as deindustrialisation and land rent gaps, as well as local political economies and socio-spatial structures, which are all common in the Global South. We conducted research in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to investigate whether a neoliberal economic development policy acted as a trigger for gentrification, relying on mixed methods research to analyse evidence of economic restructuring, land rent creation, changes in resident profiles and major urban development trends in the region. Findings indicate evidence of economic restructuring and that the policy triggered higher land values. However, we did not observe evidence of gentrification in the area and attribute this to a still-relevant manufacturing sector, the extensive presence of large informal settlements, the growing numbers of suburban gated communities, the low proportion of renters, and the fact that local elites are moving southwards while the policy took place in the northern peripheries of the metropolis. Federal policies such as minimum wage increases and housing programs partially contradicted neoliberal state policies. This case study offers a lens to investigate gentrification in different latitudes and illustrates how social policies may prevent gentrification processes.

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Resumo Este artigo busca compreender os contornos do processo de financeirização do imobiliário no Brasil sob a centralidade das operações de securitização, criadas no sentido de conectar o mercado imobiliário ao mercado de capitais. A análise fundamenta-se em uma amostra de dados sobre os Certificados de Recebíveis Imobiliários (CRI) emitidos entre 2005-2020, priorizando o mapeamento dos interesses e das interações entre os agentes envolvidos na cessão de créditos imobiliários. Constatou-se a baixa capacidade dos CRIs (e outros instrumentos) de financiar a habitação. Contudo, eles têm cumprido um papel fundamental para o setor financeiro: a aceleração do ciclo de reprodução do capital no setor imobiliário e a absorção crescente da riqueza imobiliária sob gestão dos fundos de investimento.