Urban densification and exclusionary pressure: emerging patterns of gentrification in Oslo

Urban densification is often advocated as one of the most desirable ways to develop sustainable communities. However, gentrification scholars have criticized densification, linking it to housing inequalities and displacement. As conceptualized by Peter Marcuse in 1985, displacement can occur through various forms. Some are more evident than others and have received greater attention in gentrification studies (e.g. direct displacement). Others (e.g. displacement pressure and exclusionary displacement) are more subtle and under-researched, both empirically and theoretically. Yet, a nuanced view of displacement is of great relevance, enabling better engagement with contextual diversity when dealing with gentrification-like dynamics. Through this article, I place critical attention on this matter. Drawing upon Peter Marcuse’s definition of exclusionary displacement, I elaborate the concept of exclusionary pressure – a process involving exclusionary housing markets and social and spatial filtering up within a neighborhood – and I use it as an indicator of possible emerging processes of gentrification around recently densified areas in Oslo.