Gentrification

Gentrification describes the increase of housing prices when new residents move into an existing community. This can lead to the displacement of long-time residents and to a change in the community’s character. Frequently this process is depicted by scholars and the media as a harmful social problem, but is it? Certainly gentrification can have some harmful effects, but gentrification can also benefit individuals and communities. In the same way that the process of gentrification cannot be reduced to a simple question of good or bad, the individuals involved in gentrification are heterogeneous and complex, with a wide range of motivations and goals. In this section of the course we will examine gentrification from multiple angles by asking questions like: Are all gentrifies latte-sipping capitalists? Does gentrification always harm long-time residents?    

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