Most studies focus on the impact on families forced out of their homes,often overlooking the fate of those left behindDo we really understand the impact of gentrification? The term was first used in the 1950s by sociologist Ruth Glass to describe the regeneration of post-war Bethnal Green in east London – nowadays, gentrification can be found in the regeneration of poor neighbourhoods by middle-class families and businesses moving into the cheaper, or traditionally working-class areas of the city. The inner city is made available to the young,the educated and the creative at the expense of those who had called it domestic.
Some commentators note that gentrification might be a helpful thing: a process that improves a neighbourhood over time. For others, it’s a natural process that happens as cities evolve. But more critical observers point out that displacement causes problems for health and community cohesion as existing neighbours are forced out, and dispersed across a large area,often into places with worse conditions, poorer housing, or atrocious transport links and massive demands on an already straining health service.
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Source: theguardian.com