Gentrification is a fatal phenomenon affecting many cities, transforming lower-class neighbourhoods into highly desirable districts, gradually driving house prices up and the original inhabitants out. Are the new wealthy occupants to blame for the price hikes, or is something else going on? Filmmaker Fredrik Gertten follows the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing as she investigates the shrouded world of venture capitalists, property speculators and slumlords. She visits major cities in Great Britain, Spain, Chile and South Korea to see how such a variety of locations are beset with pretty much identical problems: tenants facing a tripling of their rent while luxury homes - or even entire developments - are left vacant on purpose.

Together with Jeroen Moes, PhD, we will shed light on the history and effects of gentrification in Maastricht.