gentrification

noun

gen·​tri·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌjen-trə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

: a process in which a poor area (as of a city) experiences an influx of middle-class or wealthy people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses and which often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents

a neighborhood undergoing gentrification

"This week, we're talking about gentrification. Middle-class people move in. Property values and rents rise. Things change and improve but not for everyone. …"

—Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Opposition is also stoked by fear of gentrification—displacement of longtime residents through higher rents or property taxes.

—Steven Litt

The construction of luxury housing and gentrification of neighborhoods is pushing families out of communities they have called home for years.

—Heidi Romanish and David Snyder

In an effort to keep gentrification from creeping in the same way into the 30th Ward … Jessica Gutierrez wants to keep a lid on property taxes and inform residents about affordable housing.

—Alexandra Arriaga

Examples of gentrification in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film leaves us with no easy answers, no sense of finality about this family and the project of gentrification that is rewriting the culture of Miami. —Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024

After a report last year revealed the dire financial situation faced by artists in London, Justine Simons, the city’s deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries, told the Guardian that the loss of studio space for artists was due to gentrification. —Angelica Villa, ARTnews.com, 23 Oct. 2024

In addition to gentrification, Colorado also has witnessed the disproportionate growth in wealth around its resort towns and picturesque soon-to-be-resort towns (if there are any left). —Andrew Depietro, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024

While the creative team behind the play made the project particularly appealing for Watson, she was also intrigued by how the story navigated the issue of gentrification, told through the perspective of an all-Black cast. —Kristen Tauer, WWD, 17 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

gentry + -ification

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above