WISDOM WEDNESDAY- WHAT IS GENTRIFICATION

Gentrification is a shift in an urban community toward wealthier residents and/or businesses and increasing property values, sometimes to the detriment[citation needed] of the poorer residents of the community. Gentrification is typically the result of investment in a community by local government, community activists, or business groups, and can often spur economic development, attract business, lower crime rates, and have other benefits to a community. Despite these potential benefits, urban gentrification is perceived to result in population migration, with poorer residents displaced by wealthier newcomers, but separate studies by Lance Freeman (Columbia University) and Jacob Vigdor (Duke University) indicate that there is no more displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods compared to non-gentrifying neighborhoods.