Gentrification vs. Revitalization

Dom Dada

vs. demographic inversion, as Alan Ehrenhalt calls "the rearrangement of living patterns across an entire metropolitan area, all taking place at roughly the same time" (http://somanyinterestingthings.blogspot.com/2013/02/sexiness-of-city.html). I've posted about the phenomenon known as gentrification before (http://somanyinterestingthings.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-very-odd-mix.html, http://somanyinterestingthings.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-double-edged-word.html) because even though it's not really a new force, it is a growing concern. Part of what makes this transformation of neighborhoods such a difficult issue to deal with is the inevitability of its nature and its myriad ramifications, which are both negative and positive. Benjamin Grant, urban design policy director at the civic planning organization SPUR, believes that the problem is not gentrification per se, but displacement, where it exists, and that the answer lies in updating public policy. “We need to understand that in many cities we have a serious housing crisis — a shortage that is a result of us not providing adequate housing, particularly in the kind of urban, walkable, amenity-rich neighborhoods that people increasingly want to live in,” he says. “I think it’s important to note that this broader process is a side effect of a very positive change in American cities where, after 85 years of abandoning our cities, people want to live in cities again”: http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-26/dont-blame-evil-hipsters-broader-forces-caused-gentrification