gentrification

noun

gen·​tri·​fi·​ca·​tion ˌjen-trə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

: a process in which a poor area (as of a city) experiences an influx of middle-class or wealthy people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses and which often results in an increase in property values and the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents

a neighborhood undergoing gentrification

"This week, we're talking about gentrification. Middle-class people move in. Property values and rents rise. Things change and improve but not for everyone. …"

—Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Opposition is also stoked by fear of gentrification—displacement of longtime residents through higher rents or property taxes.

—Steven Litt

The construction of luxury housing and gentrification of neighborhoods is pushing families out of communities they have called home for years.

—Heidi Romanish and David Snyder

In an effort to keep gentrification from creeping in the same way into the 30th Ward … Jessica Gutierrez wants to keep a lid on property taxes and inform residents about affordable housing.

—Alexandra Arriaga

Examples of gentrification in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Various sections of District 31 have their own challenges including gentrification, fast development, and homes getting turned into short-term rentals. — Sofi Zeman july 14, Kansas City Star, 14 July 2026

The project includes everything from videos of an Indigenous musician performing a song about water in the Tongva language to brothers worrying about the future of their family’s 60-year-old pickle business in the face of gentrification. — Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2026

Community groups in historically underserved neighborhoods such as Barrio Logan, San Ysidro and City Heights are working to establish land trusts to counter gentrification and host community hubs. — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 July 2026

That image has faded, however, aided by stricter policing, banning orders and the general gentrification of an increasingly expensive game. — Alexander Smith, NBC news, 3 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

gentry + -ification

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gentrification

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration