Journal Articles by Russell D Moore
Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 2022
Over the last two decades there has been a proliferation of high-rise building around mass transi... more Over the last two decades there has been a proliferation of high-rise building around mass transit stations in Bangkok, Thailand. But there is a lack of empirical research on how these new landscapes have been and are being shaped. This paper thus seeks to understand this further by exploring the interplay between the various stakeholders involved in these developments. By drawing on Bourdieu’s notions of ‘fields’ and ‘capitals’, I conceptualize the condominium market in Bangkok as a hierarchical social space in which agents operate and compete. Interviews with the property-development stakeholders reveal that the private sector is dominant in structuring space at the expense of the state, and it maintains this dominance by deploying a variety of capital. Developers’ practices can be seen as dynamic in nature as they adapt to the differing demands and realities of the specific contexts in which they operate.
Housing Studies, 2022
Gated residential communities are commonly portrayed as a negative phenomenon, leading to social ... more Gated residential communities are commonly portrayed as a negative phenomenon, leading to social segregation. However, given gated condominiums are commonly located in older residential areas of cities, it has been argued they have greater potential for social-tenurial mix. Bangkok is now seeing a proliferation of condominium building by transit in such areas. The aim of this research is to establish the extent to which this development results in social segregation. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with gated and non-gated residents in a case study area and the theories of Schutz and the lifeworld were drawn upon to understand the data collected. Findings reveal limited social interactions between the populations and significant physical, social, and symbolic divisions, accentuated by the transient character of the condominiums. Thus, condominiums built in residential areas do not appear to encourage social-tenurial mix. Exploring the subjects' lifeworlds has also revealed how subjective meanings are constructed and embedded within a particular culture, which is critical to understanding social segregation.
Sojourn Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia , 2022
This study reports on the housing experiences and pathways of different populations living in a g... more This study reports on the housing experiences and pathways of different populations living in a gentrifying neighbourhood in Bangkok — newcomers living in condominiums, original residents who have managed to remain and others who have been evicted. The respondents’ accounts reveal contrasting life-stories of hardship and progress. For poorer residents, gentrification intensified existing vulnerabilities, with evictions or the threat of evictions disrupting their ability to maintain stable lifestyles and livelihoods. For the more affluent, gentrification offered new life-style opportunities, new ways of enhancing personal and family interests and also promoted a renegotiation of family arrangements. Gentrification is a local and personal process, but one that is conditioned by broader economic forces and the inequalities of class. The theoretical challenge of gentrification is therefore to provide an account that considers the interaction between the varied experience of individuals, their biographical habitus, and the differential vulnerabilities of distinct social classes and their structural habitus.
Urban Policy and Research, May 12, 2015
There is limited research regarding gentrification's relationship with mass transit and, more gen... more There is limited research regarding gentrification's relationship with mass transit and, more generally, a lack of qualitative research that explores the experiences of those impacted by gentrification. This study aims to bridge this gap by examining through interviews the experiences of new and incumbent residents in two neighbourhoods along a mass transit extension line in Bangkok. Results show that new-build gentrification and displacement are occurring in the case study area due to mass transit. Residents' views are generally mixed. However, extremely negative views exist amongst those displaced, and the dangers of quantitative measures of displacement are evident.
对于城市中产阶级化与公共交通的关系，目前缺少研究。对于受城市中产阶化 影响的人群，也缺乏定性研究。本文旨在通过访谈，考察曼谷两条公共交通线 沿线两个居住区的新老居民，以填补这方面的空白。研究结果显示，搬迁和建 的中产阶级居住区与该地区公共交通的发展相伴随。居民对此看法各异。搬人 群强烈反对这种做法，而大规模搬迁的危险显而易见。
Interdisciplinary Studies Journal, 2013
Over the last decade, rather than being limited to large cities in Europe and North America, gent... more Over the last decade, rather than being limited to large cities in Europe and North America, gentrification has been seen as a phenomenon occurring in a multitude of places around the world. This has led many academics to question the way in which gentrification is contextualised and, with the domination of Anglo-American thinking underpinning research to date, to call for a re-analysis of the approaches taken to understand these socioeconomic changes. The aim of this paper is to examine the contexts within which the term ‘gentrification’ has been used in Southeast and East Asia through a review of recent literature and publications and to draw out from this particular contextual details that may be important for future research in these regions. Overall, the paper finds that the term is commonly used as a tool to examine the large-scale development of new-build condominiums in inner-cities and the beautification of areas for tourism driven by neo-liberal ideologies. It is suggested that a common understanding of the term ‘gentrification’ and its use in the region should be considered and further research in the region should retain its focus on issues of class conflict, displacement and the people impacted by such changes.
Housing, Care and Support, Sep 2014
The paper aims to add to the understanding of homelessness by exploring and analysing the homeles... more The paper aims to add to the understanding of homelessness by exploring and analysing the homeless pathway of a young expectant mother as she negotiates her way through temporary accommodation and comes to terms with her circumstances and new identity as a person without a home. A phenomenological interviewing approach was used in order to gain insights into the subject’s lived daily world from their perspective. Themes were then identified that encapsulated the essential qualities of the interview. The stress and negative emotions of being homeless appear to be accentuated significantly due to pregnancy, taking the potential for the positive feelings associated with pregnancy away from the participant. Structural factors such as the homelessness legislation and affordable housing supply had a strong influence over her homeless pathway, resulting in feelings of a loss of control over her destiny and choices and subsequent feelings of low self-worth, which she had to try to come to terms with. However, the pregnancy was also used as a positive coping strategy, as was family support. Minimal research has been undertaken on the experiences of homeless women who are pregnant. The results point to the need to understand the deeply negative impacts that homelessness can have on individuals, particularly expectant mothers. The value of examining homelessness as a pathway is also shown.
Conference Papers by Russell D Moore
The 3rd International Academic Consortium For Sustainable Cities Symposium, 2012
The Skytrain system was introduced in Bangkok in 1999 in order to move towards a more sustainable... more The Skytrain system was introduced in Bangkok in 1999 in order to move towards a more sustainable urban environment. More recently, the mass transit lines have been extended into areas away from the immediate center of the city, which has resulted in the building of many new luxury condominiums within close proximity to the mass transit lines and stations in these areas. Jenks (2003) has argued that the Skytrain and the places it connects to represent a ‘global world’ that is separate in form and character from the local one outside. In light of this and the fact that the neighbourhoods in which the new condominiums are placed in are often devoid of the cosmopolitan facilities of the central city, this paper aims to examine how the developers of these condominiums construct a place-identity for their developments in their marketing material and the extent to which the identity that is developed fosters a connection to the local environment they are placed in. The paper concludes that the local environment is neglected in favour of emphasizing connections to the cultural, business and financial icons of the central city and this may have implications for the housing choices that the purchasers make and the extent to which the new residents have a connection to the locality.
The Pacific Regional Science Conference Organization (PRSCO 2016), 2016
Bangkok has seen the introduction and expansion of two light-rail systems during the last two dec... more Bangkok has seen the introduction and expansion of two light-rail systems during the last two decades. Following this there has been a concentration of high-density residential accommodation built around many rail lines and stations, leading to an influx of new residents to these areas. Prior research from Bangkok and studies from some Western cities suggest that the exclusiveness of such forms of housing and their habitation by often higher-income residents may lead to low levels of social interactions and mixing between the new and old populations. Generally though, studies related to this in the context of condominiums are limited, and there has been no research into the influence of mass transit on such neighbourhood social dynamics. Drawing on the literature related to social mixing, and in particular social mixing in the context of new-build gentrification, this research presents the results of a structured questionnaire designed to measure and compare social mixing, levels of attachment and sense of community between newcomers and incumbent residents in a neighbourhood by a transit station. Although further qualitative research in a wider mix of locations is necessary to reach firm conclusions, initial findings from this study area suggest that there is currently limited mixing between the two populations and new residents have less attachment to the area than the existing residents. Given the continuing pace of development, this may have possible implications for neighbourhood social dynamics of many communities living around transit stations.
Thesis & PhD by Russell D Moore
MA Thesis Sheffield Hallam University, 2001
During the last two decades, Cambridge has experienced a surge of economic growth due to it being... more During the last two decades, Cambridge has experienced a surge of economic growth due to it being recognized as a world-class center for research and technology. This has resulted in huge job growth and in-migration. It has also been a town that has restrained housing development in order to maintain its attractive environment and quality of life. The consequence of this combination of restricted development and economic expansion has been a rise in house prices and displacement of workers from the city into the surrounding areas.
The aim of this thesis is to use gentrification theory as a framework to analyse these changes and to assess the impact of them on local residents. The objectives of this are to establish which areas in Cambridge are experiencing socio-economic change regarding inflows and outflows of residents, what are the motivations of those wishing to live in the central city and what are the attitudes and perceptions of those residents who live in the areas experiencing such change. On the basis of this the research will assess who loses from gentrification and what the policy implications of this are.
Sheffield Hallam Doctoral Thesis, 2019
This thesis explores the use of a housing pathways framework to understand how households impacte... more This thesis explores the use of a housing pathways framework to understand how households impacted by mass transit-induced gentrification and displacement in a neighbourhood in Bangkok navigate the field of housing and experience neighbourhood change. It focuses on the experiences of both gentrifiers and long-term residents of a neighbourhood, including those displaced. The housing pathways approach is framed around a combination of the theory of the habitus as interpreted by Bourdieu and phenomenological philosophy. Findings are based on a case study area of neighbourhoods close to a recent mass transit line extension, where two new stations were built. The study consisted of in-depth interviews with households living in the condominiums, in the neighbourhood, and in cases outside of the neighbourhood if they had been displaced from the area. There were also in-depth interviews with individuals from estate agencies, development companies, the Bangkok planning department, and the national low-cost housing provider. The research contributes to knowledge by adding to the literature on housing pathways. This is achieved through employing the concepts of the structural and biographical habitus and using vignettes to bridge these two approaches. It also contributes to knowledge by adding to the literature on gentrification, finding that although contextual factors must be considered, the theories developed in the West can provide significant insights when applied to neighbourhood change in Bangkok. The first key finding is that housing pathways have been shown to be complex in nature, influenced by traditional values but intertwined with emerging cultural shifts within contemporary Thai society. Another key finding of this study is that gentrification is intrinsically linked to aspects of mobility and proximity, similar in nature to the gentrification in the West seen by those as driven by practical considerations. Like in the West, it has also been found that social mixing between the new and old populations is limited and that displaced households and those in insecure tenurial positions suffered significantly in dealing with gentrification and attempting to resettle if they had been forced to move.
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Journal Articles by Russell D Moore
对于城市中产阶级化与公共交通的关系，目前缺少研究。对于受城市中产阶化 影响的人群，也缺乏定性研究。本文旨在通过访谈，考察曼谷两条公共交通线 沿线两个居住区的新老居民，以填补这方面的空白。研究结果显示，搬迁和建 的中产阶级居住区与该地区公共交通的发展相伴随。居民对此看法各异。搬人 群强烈反对这种做法，而大规模搬迁的危险显而易见。
Conference Papers by Russell D Moore
Thesis & PhD by Russell D Moore
The aim of this thesis is to use gentrification theory as a framework to analyse these changes and to assess the impact of them on local residents. The objectives of this are to establish which areas in Cambridge are experiencing socio-economic change regarding inflows and outflows of residents, what are the motivations of those wishing to live in the central city and what are the attitudes and perceptions of those residents who live in the areas experiencing such change. On the basis of this the research will assess who loses from gentrification and what the policy implications of this are.
对于城市中产阶级化与公共交通的关系，目前缺少研究。对于受城市中产阶化 影响的人群，也缺乏定性研究。本文旨在通过访谈，考察曼谷两条公共交通线 沿线两个居住区的新老居民，以填补这方面的空白。研究结果显示，搬迁和建 的中产阶级居住区与该地区公共交通的发展相伴随。居民对此看法各异。搬人 群强烈反对这种做法，而大规模搬迁的危险显而易见。
The aim of this thesis is to use gentrification theory as a framework to analyse these changes and to assess the impact of them on local residents. The objectives of this are to establish which areas in Cambridge are experiencing socio-economic change regarding inflows and outflows of residents, what are the motivations of those wishing to live in the central city and what are the attitudes and perceptions of those residents who live in the areas experiencing such change. On the basis of this the research will assess who loses from gentrification and what the policy implications of this are.