Denver’s Green Mile: Marijuana gentrification as a process of urban change

Does recreational marijuana legalization have the potential to transform urban spaces? Using Denver’s “Green Mile” as a case study, this study explores the potential for marijuana legalization to encourage the creation of thematic urban spaces. More specifically, the analysis contributes to understandings of gentrification by suggesting that commodified vice (i.e., marijuana) can function as a driver of gentrification, when accompanied by the evolution of societal (or gentrifier) perceptions. Utilizing a grounded theory method, we describe a specific type of commercial gentrification—marijuana gentrification—characterized by economic change and displacement due to the infusion of marijuana-related businesses and associated symbology into an area. Major elements of this process include: (1) commodification supported by the middle and upper classes that in turn serves as a magnet for other businesses frequented by the more affluent, (2) signs and symbols associated with a marijuana-themed environment that carry meanings appealing to particular urban gentrifiers, and (3) people attracted by, and with access to, the marijuana industry sharing the classic traits of gentrifiers. Explicating this process contributes to literature related to the impacts of marijuana legalization on urban spaces and adds to research on gentrification and thematic urban districts, by introducing legalized marijuana as a material foundation for both.