The New Urban Agenda aims to improve the living conditions in European cities. But the upgraded neighbourhoods face gentrification – the result of an increasing attraction to the area from people with higher incomes and rising costs of living. This results in inequalities and displacement of the more exposed population. The EU-funded GentriHealth project will examine and minimalize negative social consequences of this policy. It will focus on gentrification processes in the Spanish city of Madrid and in Brisbane, Australia, comparing related urban policies and social and health correlations, as well as impacts within several groups of society regarding their material status and gender. The general aim of the GentriHealth project was to generate policy-relevant evidence for the relationships between neighbourhood liveability, gentrification, and health. Specifically, the GentriHealth project has four objectives that seek to:
1. Identify gentrification-related urban planning policies and legislation in Madrid
2. Investigate the relationship between gentrification and changes in neighbourhood liveability
3. Examine how gentrification impacts the health of ‘stayers’ and ‘movers’, and whether this differs by gender and socioeconomic status
4. Work with policy-makers to develop policy-relevant solutions to reduce the potentially harmful effects of gentrification