Ilia Farahani
Senior lecturer
Vanished in gaps, vanquished in rifts : the social ecology of urban spatial change in a working class residential area, Peykan-Shahr, Tehran, Iran
Author
Summary, in English
The article aims to understand the forms and processes of socio-ecological changes following sociogeographical
dislocation of workers in a working-class neighborhood (Peykan-Shahr) in Iran. The article
integrates theories of gentrification and metabolic rift. Existing studies on urbanization in Iran refute the
possibility of gentrification. This study, in contrast, by drawing attention to peculiarities of the capitalist
economy in Iran, adapts the basic economic mechanisms of gentrification such as the rent/value gap and the
concept of absolute rent, concluding that Peykan-Shahr is indeed in a process of gentrification. The theory of
metabolic rift adds theoretical dimensions and complexity to the analysis and provides a richer understanding
of the case. Grounded in Marx's labor theory of value, the analysis shows that by mediating the exploitation of
labor/nature by capital through displacing workers from their houses, gentrification in Peykan-Shahr has
caused a socio-ecological metabolic rift in terms of labor reproduction and deterioration of labor power.
dislocation of workers in a working-class neighborhood (Peykan-Shahr) in Iran. The article
integrates theories of gentrification and metabolic rift. Existing studies on urbanization in Iran refute the
possibility of gentrification. This study, in contrast, by drawing attention to peculiarities of the capitalist
economy in Iran, adapts the basic economic mechanisms of gentrification such as the rent/value gap and the
concept of absolute rent, concluding that Peykan-Shahr is indeed in a process of gentrification. The theory of
metabolic rift adds theoretical dimensions and complexity to the analysis and provides a richer understanding
of the case. Grounded in Marx's labor theory of value, the analysis shows that by mediating the exploitation of
labor/nature by capital through displacing workers from their houses, gentrification in Peykan-Shahr has
caused a socio-ecological metabolic rift in terms of labor reproduction and deterioration of labor power.
Department/s
- Department of Human Geography
Publishing year
2013
Language
English
Pages
395-412
Publication/Series
Journal of Political Ecology
Volume
20
Full text
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
University of Arizona
Topic
- Human Geography
- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Keywords
- Socio-ecological metabolic rift
- political economy of Iran
- gentrification
- labor reproduction
- Marxism
- absolute rent
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1073-0451