Gentrification: Advancing Our Understanding of Gentrification

Ingrid Gould Ellen
New York University

Lei Ding
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

The opinions expressed in this guest editors’ introduction and in the following articles and commentaries are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia or the Federal Reserve System.

The term gentrification inevitably generates controversy and disagreement. People disagree about its definition, its causes, and, above all, its consequences. All seem to agree, however, that whatever gentrification is, it is becoming more prevalent in U.S. cities. Articles in the popular media now regularly highlight gentrification’s increasing reach and pace. One Boston Globe reporter wrote in 2016, “Transformation has always been part of city living, and part of life. But in neighborhoods like East Boston and South Boston, rents are rising so fast that they’re dramatically speeding up the natural order of things” (Teitell, 2016).