Gentrification is not merely a natural shift in the demographics and business landscape of an area, but a collection of systematic changes to maximize profit, serving a higher class of people while alienating the middle class and pushing out lower income individuals and families. The word gentrification comes from “gentry,” which denotes a noble, ruling class of people who own large tracts of land, to which they believe they are entitled, where other lesser people are not. It’s the same idea that fueled European colonizers to roll up on this continent looking to occupy already-occupied land behind the enlightened, civilized doctrine of “me want, me take.” It shouldn’t guide city landscapes in 2014.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:25:06 +0000