Meaning & use
gentrification
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
The process in which a poorer area changes as wealthier people move in, prices rise and older residents or businesses often have to leave.
Grammar: Used without a: gentrification is changing the district.
Patterns
- the gentrification of something
- gentrification in something
Rising rents are a sign of gentrification in the old harbor district.
Local shopkeepers worry that gentrification will drive them out.
The gentrification of the neighborhood brought new cafes and higher prices.
Common combinations
- the gentrification of a neighborhood
- The gentrification of the neighborhood began after the new station opened.
- fuel gentrification
- Cheap studios in warehouses can fuel gentrification.
- rapid gentrification
- Rapid gentrification pushed up house prices.
- resist gentrification
- Residents formed a group to resist gentrification.
- urban gentrification
- Urban gentrification is a topic in many cities.
Synonyms and how they differ
- regeneration
- Regeneration is a more positive word for improving an area, while gentrification highlights the effect on prices and residents.
- urban renewal
- Urban renewal often means planned rebuilding by authorities, whereas gentrification may happen without any plan.
- upscaling
- Upscaling is less common and focuses only on the area becoming more upmarket.
Opposites
Word family
- gentrify verb
- to change an area through gentrification
- gentrified adjective
- changed by gentrification
- gentrifier noun
- someone who moves in during gentrification
- gentry noun
- people of high social class, the root of the word
Commonly confused: gentrification or urbanization?
gentrification vs urbanization
Urbanization is the growth of cities as more people live in them, while gentrification is a change in who lives in a particular area.
Practice
As ____ spread through the old district, many longtime tenants could no longer afford their homes.
Choose one answer.
Gentrification is wealthier people moving in and pushing up costs. Urbanization is the general growth of cities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gentrification”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.