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
Lulu Garcia-NavarroOpposition is also stoked by fear of gentrification—displacement of longtime residents through higher rents or property taxes.—Steven Litt
Steven LittThe 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
Heidi Romanish and David SnyderIn 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
Alexandra ArriagaExamples of gentrification in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
According to urban anthropologist Melissa Checker, public green spaces like parks raise property values in surrounding neighborhoods, thereby aiding urban displacement phenomena like gentrification.
—JSTOR Daily, 14 Nov. 2025
But Nico and his sister, Nixie Bleu, were brought up there before the gentrification started.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
In Liberty City, climate gentrification gave Black residents a new way to think about a process that, until that point, had seemed like regular old gentrification.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
The policy helped existing tenants, but ultimately raised market rents citywide and accelerated gentrification, causing the opposite of what policymakers intended.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
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JSTOR Daily, 14 Nov. 2025
But Nico and his sister, Nixie Bleu, were brought up there before the gentrification started.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
In Liberty City, climate gentrification gave Black residents a new way to think about a process that, until that point, had seemed like regular old gentrification.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
The policy helped existing tenants, but ultimately raised market rents citywide and accelerated gentrification, causing the opposite of what policymakers intended.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gentrification
Cite this Entry
“Gentrification.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gentrification. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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