Class definition and the esthetics of gentrification: Victoriana in Melbourne

As its name suggests, the process of gentrification is intimately concerned with social class, yet in economic, social and political terms, the class dimensions of gentrification are only beginning to be scrutinized. The architectural and internal decorative esthetics of gentrified buildings and neighborhoods have attracted only passing comment and almost no sustained attention. This lack of attention is particularly surprising in that the esthetics of gentrification not only illustrate the class dimension o f the process but also express the dynamic constitution of social class of which gentrification is a specific part. Indeed the esthetics of the process are the most immediately visible aspects of its constitution; etched into the landscape in the decorative forms of gentrification is a picture of the dynamics of social class.