Gentrification facts for kids
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. Because it tends to change the character of said neighborhood, it is a common and controversial topic in politics and in urban planning. Gentrification often increases the economic value of a neighborhood, but the resulting demographic displacement may itself become a major social issue. Gentrification often shifts a neighborhood's racial/ethnic composition and average household income by developing new, more expensive housing and businesses in a gentrified architectural style and improving resources.
The gentrification process is typically the result of increasing attraction to an area by people with higher incomes spilling over from neighboring cities, towns, or neighborhoods. Further steps are increased investments in a community and the related infrastructure by real estate development businesses, local government, or community activists and resulting economic development, increased attraction of business, and lower crime rates. In addition to these potential benefits, gentrification can lead to population migration and displacement. However, some view the fear of displacement, which is dominating the debate about gentrification, as hindering discussion about genuine progressive approaches to distribute the benefits of urban redevelopment strategies.
Images for kids
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Symbolic gentrification in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin
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Gentrification with old and new homes side by side in Old East Dallas
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Gentrification in the US: The North Loop neighborhood, Minneapolis, Minn., is the "Warehouse District" of condominia for artists and entrepreneurs.
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Ornate Edwardian architecture (seen here in Sutton, United Kingdom).
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San Francisco
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19th-century Victorian terrace houses in East Melbourne, Australia.
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Bedford-Stuyvesant in New York, traditionally the largest black community in the US.
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The Glockenbach district of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt in Munich, Germany
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Coffee shop attacked with paint in alleged anti-gentrification attack in the St-Henri neighborhood of Montreal, January 2012.
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Canale delle Moline in Bologna
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Design street in Milan's Zona Tortona.
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Clean up effort by the City of Denver at ink! Coffee in Five Points, Denver. The coffee shop was vandalized following the debut of a controversial ad campaign.
