How the Internet Celebrity Economy Influences the Gentrification Trend of Historic Conservation Districts: Taking Tanhualin District in China as an Example

Yibing Yao, Jiaming Xu, Hong Geng, Yuanzhi Zhang and Jing Qiao ()
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Yibing Yao: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Jiaming Xu: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Hong Geng: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Yuanzhi Zhang: Nantong Institute of Technology, Nantong 226001, China
Jing Qiao: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-22

Abstract: Urban renewal has driven historic conservation districts to experience a series of changes characterized by gentrification. In the 21st century, internet traffic can be fully monetized. The intervention of the internet has made the gentrification process more diversified. Using color and item detection, points of interests (POIs), and word cloud analysis, this study takes a typical historic conservation district as an example to explore how it changed spatially, economically, and socially during the gentrification process. The results show that the internet celebrity economy possesses both promoting and dissolving effects. The promoting effects include the following: (1) the internet celebrity economy breaks the elites’ monopoly on spatial aesthetic discourse; (2) emotional value has promoted the integration of different groups’ consumption; and (3) gentrification occurs locally so spatial exclusion is not significant. The dissolving effects include the following: (1) the low-cost and rapid renovation of space reduces spatial quality; and (2) the fast-moving consumer model may possibly lead to unsustainable development. This study proposes that the intervention of the internet celebrity economy can alleviate the isolation drawbacks of traditional gentrification and promote social equity, and the promoting effects outweigh the negative effects.

Keywords: urban renewal; gentrification; internet celebrity economy; social justice; tanhulin district (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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