Gentrification
noun /ˌdʒen.trɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ — The displacement of a community as wealthier residents move in.
Definition
The process by which a poorer urban area is transformed by wealthier residents moving in, bringing investment, rising property values, and amenities — but displacing the original lower-income community in the process.
Beyond the definition
Gentrification is the story of neighborhoods told twice: once from the window of the new café, and once from the sidewalk by someone who can no longer afford to live there.
Origin & history
Coined by sociologist Ruth Glass in 1964 to describe the transformation of London's working-class areas as middle-class residents moved in.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The Brooklyn of the 1990s and the Brooklyn of today are barely legible to each other — a gentrification so total it created a different city.
She watched her neighborhood gentrify from her rent-controlled apartment, the only long-term resident left on the block.
The coffee shops and bookstores are not the problem — they're the symptom. Gentrification is a story about who has the economic power to stay.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Gentrification” when the meaning fits your context: The process by which a poorer urban area is transformed by wealthier residents moving in, bringing investment, rising property values, and amenities — but displacing the original lower-income community in the process.
Synonyms
urban renewal (critical), displacement
Antonyms
urban decay, disinvestment
Related words
Gentrification vs urban renewal
Gentrification happens through market forces and private investment. Urban renewal is a government-led policy aimed at revitalizing declining areas.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Cityscape Showing Layers Of Time
An adult looks out over a landscape with ancient, crumbling ruins in the foreground and a modern, glass-and-steel city in the distance.
Gentrification is the transformation of an area through investment that displaces previous communities. The visual layering of modern city over ancient ruins captures this replacement of history by rising property values.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Gentrification" mean?
Gentrification is noun meaning: The displacement of a community as wealthier residents move in.. The process by which a poorer urban area is transformed by wealthier residents moving in, bringing investment, rising property values, and amenities — but displacing the original lower-income community in the process.
Where does the word "Gentrification" come from?
Coined by sociologist Ruth Glass in 1964 to describe the transformation of London's working-class areas as middle-class residents moved in.