“Generationed” space: Societal restructuring and young adults' changing residential location patterns

Abstract

Considering Vancouver and Montreal as case studies, this article demonstrates the increasing centralization of the young adult population since the early 1980s. Gentrification, which brings higher income earners to the inner city, is often explained as a class‐based process associated with post‐industrial, post‐Fordist, and, more recently, neo‐liberal restructuring. However, delays in child‐bearing, increasing educational attainment, and the growing amenity and housing component in inner cities have also sharpened the division of space by demographic variables such as age and household size—variables that relate to life‐cycle stage, consumption practices, and generational differences. This article contributes to the understanding of the factors delineating urban space by considering residential location patterns of two different generations of young adults in two metropolitan areas. The findings show that today's young adult residential ecology is increasingly defined by proximity to transit, high‐density housing, and walkability to urban amenities. Due to the higher‐priced housing market and land use planning policies emphasizing densification, the residential pattern is one of concentrated decentralization in Vancouver. In Montreal, centralization of young adults is mostly associated with changing household profiles. In both metropolitan areas, the inner city residential ecology is increasingly delineated by young adults.

Generational Dimensions of Neoliberal and Post‐Fordist Restructuring: The Changing Characteristics of Young Adults and Growing Income Inequality in Montreal and Vancouver

“…This article therefore provides an empirical analysis of the young adult labour force in two specific places. It connects changes in earnings structure to larger forces of post‐Fordist and neoliberal restructuring occurring in the Montreal and Vancouver metropolitan areas (also see Moos, forthcoming).…”

Peak Millennials: Three Reinforcing Cycles That Amplify the Rise and Fall of Urban Concentration by Millennials

“…There are certainly many benefits that Millennials have brought to the inner districts of central cities, including economic revitalization, an improved tax base, a pronounced youthification, and a general increase in vitality (Moos, 2014;Moos et al, 2015). At the same time, the overflow of Millennials has also been a prime source of support for gentrification in these neighborhoods, and for that reason some respite from the growing Millennials might be viewed favorably in some quarters.…”

The Shifting Destinations of Metropolitan Migrants in the U.S., 2005–2011

“…The shift in the migration of young people toward urban cores—which is supported by the data in this paper—is frequently cited as key to the revitalization of central cities relative to their suburbs, and potentially part of a shift toward a more sustainable model of urban living (e.g., Doherty and Leinberger ). However, it remains to be seen whether this generation will remain in the urban core as they age and have families (Moos ). Indeed, the 1970s literature on gentrification predicted such a shift 40 years ago, which did not come to pass as expected.…”