The Culture of Exchange Value: Rental Housing, Neighborhood Conflict and ‘Socially Conscious’ Urban Developers

• In Event: 1451 - Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 18. Urban Development

Abstract

Research in urban sociology often starts from the assumption that conflict over new development arises from the tension between developers who seek to maximize profits, or exchange values, and urban citizens who value the “non-economic” sentimental use values associated with their homes and communities. This paper, therefore, takes up a counter-intuitive question: why would a real estate developer diverge from profit maximization on a large-scale housing project on a highly valuable piece of land in a major North American city? Through a case study of a major rental housing redevelopment in Toronto I answer this question while developing a new perspective for urban sociology and studies of neighborhood conflict, the culture of exchange value. This approach integrates foundational theories from economic sociology regarding the role of meanings, values, symbolism and narratives in the economy into the explanation of urban development outcomes. Drawing on qualitative interviews, ethnographic observation and analysis of textual material, I identify four cultural strategies through which developers approach the market - economic distancing, community consultation, housing tenure narratives and gift-giving. By elucidating these strategies I argue that developers that pursue ostensibly altruistic motivations and diverge from profit maximization can, paradoxically, generate higher economic returns. The findings of this paper and, the culture of exchange value approach more generally, hold implications for urban political economy and housing studies as well as for popular understandings of urban redevelopment conflict across neighborhoods and cities.

Author

• Zachary Hyde, University of British Columbia