This study examined the complex process of gentrification in the Reuter Quarter (RQ), a locality in the borough of Neukölln in what was formerly West Berlin, in terms of the chronological process of this urban change. The controversial word “gentrification” and its conceptualization are often linked to the positionality of individual researchers. As one example of this, the rent-gap theory of Smith was criticized by Lees’ value-gap theory, which is also known as the Atlantic gap, reflecting the different land laws in the USA and UK. Additionally, there is a European gap as a result of the different historical and cultural backgrounds of

European countries. These gaps imply that sufficient consideration of regionality is necessary. Accordingly, this paper uses Krajewski’s index model, common in German geography, and analyzes its four indicators

of upgrading (economic functional, social, structural, and symbolic) in the RQ. Focusing on the changes in the commercial environment related to this upgrading, especially the geographical distribution and year of construction of buildings with new types of uses (artistic, new retail businesses, and new types of services) which have increased since the second half of the 2000s, the specific types of business, commercial characters, and years of establishment in the RQ were clarified. Interviews were also conducted with the owners of new businesses to determine the reasons for their location choice. The results can be summarized as follows.

First, the RQ faced a marked decline during the division of Germany due to its location on the border, and its image as a “problem quarter” did not change after reunification. Therefore, a quarter management program with the aim of improving the neighborhood was initiated in 2002 with financial support from the state, city, and EU. In addition, in 2005, a private temporary-use agency began revitalizing vacant stores in the quarter. During the 2000s, revitalization continued in the RQ; however, around 2008, the local changes showed signs of gentrification. Second, analyzing the four indicators of upgrading showed that symbolic upgrading played an important role in triggering the other three processes. In the case of the RQ, the appearance of cafés and bars that offer cultural events and are related to the arts made it a “place that should be visited” in the media. This “placeness” attracted not only new residents but also urban entrepreneurs who catered to this group’s lifestyle and consumption tastes with retail and service businesses. Third, looking at the changes in this quarter in chronological order, the first new uses established in the RQ were artistic, followed by new retail and service businesses. Among the artistic uses, ateliers, studios, and galleries appeared at the beginning of the 2000s, followed by cafés and bars in the second half of the decade. This means that more noncommercial, less profit-oriented artists could be regarded as pioneers of gentrification. On the other hand, the presence of cafés and bars promoted the more commercial uses represented by new retail and service businesses. The influence of cafés and bars was especially great because they stimulated the formation of a nightlife district in a residential area. During the survey of the quarter, new cafés, bars, and restaurants opened nearly every month. The quiet and partially declining “problem quarter” of the 1990s had been transformed into a lively, popular quarter by the beginning of the 2010s. The role of culture in the consumption-side analysis plays a significant role in the process of gentrification.

We reconstructed the monthly mean of daily maximum temperature variations for July and August since 1779 in Hiroshima, western Japan, based on the number of rainy days documented in historical records. We investigated the spatial distributions of the correlation coefficients between the number of rainy days and temperatures for June, July, and August using recent meteorological data. The results showed a strong negative correlation between the monthly mean of the daily maximum temperature and number of rainy days for western Japan in July and August. Subsequently, we reconstructed the monthly mean of the daily maximum temperatures for July and August since 1779 using the number of rainy days computed for Hiroshima. The estimated temperature series indicates the occurrence of cool summers in the 1780s and during 1830‒1840s, which correspond to historical famine periods in eastern Japan. On the other hand, we estimated that warm summers frequently occurred in the 1820s and 1850s, when the temperatures were warmer than in other periods of the 19th century.