Catherine Osborne wrote an interesting paragraph for her article “Bien chien” in the magazine Design Lines Toronto. “Starbucks used to be the sign a neighbourhood was on a gentrification upswing. But now, it’s your local dog boutique. They’re everywhere – spas that offer organic shampoos, daycare centres with webcam feeds, bakeries that sell handmade biscuits with restaurant-grade ingredients.”

I’m featuring this because it’s so true. In the city I previously lived in, a coffee shop, whether Starbucks or one that was similar, meant gentrification and recently, I’ve seen an in flux of dog boutiques all over areas undergoing gentrification in the city. Same goes for Toronto of course!

I guess we can all thank Yuppies for this – they started it all in New York City. But nowadays, Hipsters are the new Yuppies, because like Jay McInerney said in his article Yuppies in Eden, Hipsters are contributing to gentrification in New York City in the 21st century just like the Yuppies did during the previous century.

image sources: dogpetboutique.blogspot.com

http://www.delawareonline.com/blogs/uploaded_images/Starbucks-740160.jpg

http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/yuppie80s.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/LOC_Brooklyn_Bridge_and_East_River_8.png