Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. define gentrification as "the transformation of a working-class or vacant area of the central city to a middle class residential and/or commercial use". There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been used to describe a wide array of phenomena, sometimes in a pejorative connotation.
Gentrification is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the economic value of a neighborhood, but at the cost of changing demographic composition and potential displacement of incumbent residents. Gentrification is more likely when there is an undersupply of housing and rising housing values in a metropolitan area.
The gentrification process is typically the result of increasing attraction to an area by people with higher incomes than those of local residents spilling over from neighboring cities, towns, or neighborhoods. Further steps are increased commercial investments in the area and its infrastructure by real estate developers, local government, or community activists and resulting economic development, increased attraction of business, and lower crime rates.
Origin and etymology
Historians say that gentrification took place in ancient Rome and in Roman Britain, where large villas were replacing small shops by the 3rd century CE. The word gentrification derives from gentry—which comes from Old French genterise, "of gentle birth" (14th century) and "people of gentle birth" (16th century). In England, landed gentry denoted the social class, consisting of gentlemen and gentlewomen (as the latter were known at that time).
A more direct derivational base of gentrification is the 19th-century neologism "gentrify," a verb coined by Samuel Laing (1780–1868). This term reflected shifting societal attitudes—specifically, the idea that one could attain upper-class status through conduct rather than birth—while also introducing undertones of conspicuous consumption and pretentiousness.
The British sociologist Ruth Glass was the first to use "gentrification" in its current sense. She used it in 1964 to describe the influx of middle-class people displacing lower-class worker residents in urban neighborhoods; her example was London and its working-class districts, such as Islington: as cited in
Definitions
In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Health Effects of Gentrification defines the real estate concept of gentrification as "the transformation of neighborhoods from low value to high value." A real estate encyclopedia defines gentrification as "the process by which central urban neighborhoods that have undergone disinvestments and economic decline experience a reversal, reinvestment, and the in-migration of a well-off middle- and upper-middle-class population."Smith N. Gentrification. In: Vliet WV (ed) The encyclopedia of housing. London: Sage;1998;198–199
Scholars and pundits have applied a variety of definitions to gentrification since 1964, some oriented around gentrifiers, others oriented around the displaced, and some a combination of both. The first category include the definition "the production of space for progressively more affluent users". The second category include Kasman's definition "the reduction of residential and retail space affordable to low-income residents". The final category includes Rose, who describes gentrification as a process "in which members of the 'new middle class' move into and physically and culturally reshape working-class inner city neighbourhoods".
say in their Brookings Institution report that "the term 'gentrification' is both imprecise and quite politically charged", suggesting its redefinition as "the process by which higher income households displace lower income residents of a neighborhood, changing the essential character and flavour of that neighborhood", so distinguishing it from the different socio-economic process of "neighborhood (or urban) revitalization", although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. argues that Glass's original use of the word employs a war metaphor to emphasize the 'displacement of lower-income residents' as central—a class-struggle meaning that risks being sidelined in its continued use to denote processes of 'urban change' or 'improvement.'
Gentrification has been described as a natural cycle: the well-to-do prefer to live in the newest housing stock. Each decade of a city's growth, a new ring of housing is built. When the housing at the center has reached the end of its useful life and becomes cheap, the well-to-do gentrify the neighborhood. The push outward from the city center continues as the housing in each ring reaches the end of its economic life.
Causes compiled five explanations for gentrification since the 1970s:
demographic-ecological: dual white-collar wage-earner households with fewer children wanted to live closer to work and thus moved to the inner city; sociocultural: middle- and upper-middle-class families developed more pro-urban views, opting to live in urban areas; political-economical: the decreasing availability of suburban land prompted more high-income individuals to live in urban areas; community networks: technological advances in transportation and communication prompts more people to live in large-scale communities;Greer, 1962 social movements: when high status elites and institutions sought to revive the inner cities, more high-income individuals moved into the cities.
Other explanations propose that as people tire of the automobile-dependent urban sprawl style of life, they move to urban areas, in particular to homes near public transit stations. The increase in professional jobs in the central business district has increased demand for living in urban areas according to . Critical geographers have argued that capital flows and developers have been instrumental in causing gentrification.Neil Smith, Uneven Development: Nature, Capital, and the Production of Space (Verso Books, 2020)
Researchers have identified displacement stemming from shifting demand for housing and real estate in areas impacted by climate change and natural hazards as leading to climate gentrification.
The de-industrialization of cities in developed nations may have caused displacement by reducing the number of blue-collar jobs available to the urban working class and middle class.
Some have argued that the counterculture movement in the 1960s created disdain for the "standardization of look-alike suburbs", prompting people to live in urban areas. Others argue that a desire to live near cultural attractions prompts gentrification.
Effects
Crime According to a 2020 systematic review of existing research, gentrification in the United States has led to a short-term reduction in crime in gentrifying neighborhoods. However, it noted that there is little evidence for more long-term impacts and that gentrification in some cases widens crime-related disparities.
Displacement Displacement is often seen as a key effect of gentrification, although evidence is mixed as to whether gentrification leads to displacement (or even reduces displacement) and under which circumstances. In 2005, USA Today claimed that gentrification is a "boost for everyone" based on the impact of some recent studies and that displacement that arises is minimal, or caused by other factors. Some scholars have disputed these assertions, arguing that such studies distort facts and used limited datasets. In 2002, economist Jacob Vigdor wrote, "Overall, existing literature has failed to convincingly demonstrate that rates of involuntary displacement are higher in gentrifying neighborhoods."
A 2018 study found evidence that gentrification displaces renters, but not homeowners. The displacement of low-income rental residents is commonly referenced as a negative aspect of gentrification by its opponents.; ; ; ; ; A 2022 study found evidence that gentrification leads to greater residential mobility.
In the United States, a 2023 study by Princeton University sociologists found that "eviction rates decreased more in gentrifying neighborhoods than in comparable low-income neighborhoods." A 2016 study found "that vulnerable residents, those with low credit scores and without mortgages, are generally no more likely to move from gentrifying neighborhoods compared with their counterparts in nongentrifying neighborhoods." A 2017 study by sociology professor Matthew Desmond, who runs Princeton University's Eviction Lab, "found no evidence that renters residing in gentrifying or in racially- and economically-integrated neighborhoods had a higher likelihood of eviction." A 2020 study which followed children from low-income families in New York found no evidence that gentrification was associated with changes in mobility rates. The study also found "that children who start out in a gentrifying area experience larger improvements in some aspects of their residential environment than their counterparts who start out in persistently low-socioeconomic status areas." A 2023 study by economists at the W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that the construction of new large apartment buildings in low-income neighborhoods lead to an influx of high-income households but also decrease rents in nearby units by increasing housing supply.
In the United Kingdom, recent studies suggest that gentrification leads to exclusionary displacement – i.e. preventing low-income households from moving to an area due to high rent/home prices – but less so for direct displacement – forcing low-income households to move out of an area due to high rent/home prices. Often, a lack of low-level migration data limits displacement-based research.
In Vancouver, Canada, Hogan's Alley was an ethnically diverse and predominantly Black area in the Downtown Eastside that was demolished in the 1960s to construct the Georgia Viaduct. As a historically working-class district and Vancouver's first and only Black community, Hogan's Alley was home to many residents who were displaced, resulting in disruption to the community. This reflects how gentrification has disproportionately impacted racialized communities in many North American cities. Since the 1970s, the Downtown Eastside has undergone ongoing urban transformation. The influx of upper-end restaurants and bars into historically marginalized communities has contributed to resident polarization, disinvestment in lower-income housing stock, and tensions between different socioeconomic groups.
Social changes
Many of the social effects of gentrification have been based on extensive theories about how socioeconomic status of an individual's neighborhood will shape one's behavior and future. These studies have prompted "social mix policies" to be widely adopted by governments to promote the process and its positive effects, such as lessening the strain on public resources that are associated with de-concentrating poverty. However, more specific research has shown that gentrification does not necessarily correlate with "social mixing", and that the effects of the new composition of a gentrified neighborhood can both weaken as well as strengthen community cohesion.