gentrification

[ jen-truh-fi-key-shuhn ]

noun

1. the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, raising property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.
2. the process of conforming to an upper- or middle-class lifestyle, or of making a product, activity, etc., appealing to those with more affluent tastes:

   the gentrification of fashion.

gentrification

/ ˌdʒɛntrɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a process by which middle-class people take up residence in a traditionally working-class area of a city, changing the character of the area

Derived Forms

• ˈgentriˌfier, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gentrification¹

gentr(y) ( def ) + -i- ( def ) + -fication; coined by sociologist Ruth Glass (1912–90), German-born British sociologist in 1964

Word History and Origins

Origin of gentrification¹

C20: from gentrify (to become gentry )

Example Sentences

Jurado said she wants to help Latino residents fight the gentrification that radically transformed her native Highland Park and has crept into Boyle Heights over the past decade.

From Los Angeles Times

Last year, she started her “Was it really worth the gentrification?”

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s gentrification,” neighbor Sam Schultz said recently, sitting near the entrance of the Desert View Tower.

From Los Angeles Times

But they also raised complex concerns about how urban greening fits in with other pressing issues like homelessness and gentrification and called for adequate planning and maintenance.

From Los Angeles Times

The one that’s getting the most play in this campaign season was repeated as a mantra on the leaked audio: that gentrification is messing with the voting rights of working-class Latinos.

From Los Angeles Times