DIGITAL GENTRIFICATION AS A SIGN OF NEW INEQUALITY IN THE CONDITIONS OF SOCIO-SPICIAL TRANSFORMATIONS

Abstract

Abstract. The scientific hypothesis of the article assumes that inequality in access to digital infrastructure, inequality in digital skills and digital literacy, inequality in the use of digital technologies are new forms of social stratification and forms of manifestation of various digital divides. We argue that digital inequality objectively acquires new forms of manifestation. Digital and spatial inequality coexist in at least two forms of manifestation – digital periphery and digital gentrification. Digital periphery is the result of the formation of territories with limited access to digital infrastructure, which in the context of digitalization of economic processes inevitably leads to economic marginalization. An analysis of the literature has shown that digital gentrification is considered as a consequence of the increase in the cost of housing in areas with developed digital infrastructure due to the internal migration of digital workers. We believe that this approach to defining digital gentrification requires further study, because in the era of digitalization, digital technologies not only change the physical space of cities, but also create new forms of spaces – digital environments, digital platforms, digital communities. This allows us to develop the concept of "digital gentrification" as a phenomenon that describes the processes of displacement, exclusion and transformation in digital space. The purpose of the study is to determine the essence of digital gentrification and its typology, which will allow us to characterize the positive and negative consequences of gentrification processes for inequality from the perspective of socio-spatial transformation. We define the digital environment as the communication environment of digital devices and the environment of digital inequality. By considering the digital environment as the basis of a complex network of digital interactions, we can better understand the differences that arise in access to technologies, their use, and technology-related skills. In the context of spatial inequality, the household is a key entity, since its socio-economic situation directly depends on spatial opportunities: access to infrastructure, jobs, social services, environmental conditions, etc. The spatial localization of the household determines its inclusion in socio-economic processes and opportunities for development. In the context of digitalization, the concept of "household" is significantly modified. Under the conditions of digital transformation, traditional households are being modified into “digital communities” (groups of individuals united by common interests or goals in the digital space, who carry out economic activities) or “virtual collectives” (temporary associations of individuals for the implementation of short-term projects such as crowdsourcing initiatives) or into decentralized autonomous organizations (forms of collective economic activity based on blockchain technologies and smart contracts). Hybrid households are being formed – distributed households. We propose to consider digital gentrification as a process of transformation of digital interaction spaces and digital platforms, which is characterized by a change in the nature and intermediary functions of the digital environment, accompanied by a revaluation of digital assets in the interests of new user groups or data-driven companies, marginalization or displacement of initial users, forced simplification of digital specialization due to the development of ICT, which allowed us to distinguish platform gentrification, spatial digital gentrification, infrastructure digital gentrification, algorithmic gentrification, cultural digital gentrification, informational gentrification, economic digital gentrification, professional digital gentrification, virtual-spatial gentrification.