gentrification
n. uncountablen. the process of changing a poor neighborhood into a richer one by moving in wealthier people and new businesses. This often makes the area more expensive and forces the original residents to leave.
n. the process whereby a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, typically displacing current inhabitants in the process.
Gentrification has changed the character of this neighborhood.
The rapid gentrification of the docklands led to a sharp increase in property taxes, forcing many long-term residents to sell their homes.
Urban planners often debate whether gentrification represents a genuine revitalization of decaying infrastructure or merely a displacement of social inequality from the city center to the periphery.
From gentry + -ification, after gentrify. Coined by German-born British sociologist Ruth Glass in 1964.
Often used in a critical or sociopolitical context; frequently paired with verbs like 'drive', 'accelerate', or 'resist'.