Good Housekeeping, July 10, 2020: What Gentrification Means and How Common It Really Is
In 2015, my now-husband and I were on a roll: We adopted a dog, got engaged, and decided to buy a house, the next logical step in our journey as a couple. We found a fixer-upper with a fenced-in yard for our dog that was within walking distance to our favorite shops and restaurants, at a price we could afford. The neighborhood was what many would call “up-and-coming.” Many of the homes (ours included) had peeling paint and weed-filled yards, housing was cheaper than elsewhere in the city. Our neighborhood was a melting pot, and many of our neighbors were recent immigrants. As we moved in and started putting down roots, we grappled with a distressing question: Were we contributing to gentrification? The answer is more complicated than we initially imagined.
What does gentrification mean?
The definition of the term depends on which side of the fence you’re standing on, and its history is rooted in power imbalance. Merriam-Webster defines it as “the process of repairing and rebuilding homes and businesses in a deteriorating area, such as an urban neighborhood, accompanied by an influx of more affluent people and that often results in the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents.” But there’s more to it than a simple one family in, one family out dynamic.
