租隙理論之發展及其限制

The Development of Rent Gap Theory and its Limitation

仕紳化為歐美大都市發展的新現象，其可簡單定義為中上階層遷入原先已經破敗都市地區的一種現象。但仕紳化仍然是一個混沌且複雜的觀念，因此，研究者嘗試以不同的角度來解釋他，在諸多解釋中，以租隙理論為最具綜合性的解釋依據。自從Smith於1979年提出租隙理論以後，雖有許多追隨者，但租隙理論仍然受到許多批評，本文旨在敘明租隙理論的發展，並從地租理論的觀點及相關實證結果，對租隙理論進行檢驗。經本文分析發現，租隙理論用在解釋仕紳化上的一些命題需再予驗證，且其適用性亦頗受限制。 Gentrification is a new phenomenon of urban development in many large cites. Gentrification can be definited briefly as the widespred emergence of middle- and upper middle-class enclaves in formerly deteriorated, inner-city neighborhoods. But the concept of the gentrification is still in chaos and complexity, and so there are many explanations why the gentrification exists in a city. Under the differential explanations is the rent gap theory by far the most sophisticated teoretically developed explanation available to date. Smith's rent gap theory of gentrification has received a substantial amount of attention since it appeared in 1979. This paper reviews the rent gap theory and re-examines it from the view of point of ground rent theory, and finds that the existed rent gap theory could not completely be applied to explanation of gentrification in Taipei City.