Should gentrification be stopped?

Gentrification is a process that dramatically alters local neighborhoods. One of the primary changes linked to gentrification is the displacement of people as more affluent residents and businesses arrive, oftentimes forcing lower income residents and small businesses to leave. Gentrification occurs predominantly in large cities, but small towns can also face this kind of rapid development and change. For some, these changes are seen as improvements to historically disinvested areas. Others see gentrification as a negative process that displaces poorer residents and adversely affects local communities. Should gentrification be stopped?

investigate

East Austin Restaurant Owner On Gentrification: 'It Ain't About The Black Or White Or Mexican'

Listen

Additional resources to think about

Gentrification's Roots In Segregation And How Communities Respond
An article from PBS with multimedia explanations of gentrification's history, roots, and connection to segregation and racism.

Study: Gentrification And Cultural Displacement Most Intense In America’s Largest Cities, And Absent From Many Others
Explore a 2019 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition about the issue of gentrification and its effects on communities.

There Goes the Neighborhood
Discover NPR’s podcast about gentrification, There Goes the Neighborhood.

As Gentrification Spreads, Tensions Start to Mount
Watch a short documentary about the gentrification of Jersey City.

The Uprooted Project | University of Texas
Learn about an anti-displacement project at the University of Texas.

Gentrification Explained
Explore research about gentrification by the Urban Displacement Project at University of California, Berkeley.

contemplate

Who created this message?

What kind of “text” is it?
How similar or different is it to others of the same genre?
What are the various elements (building blocks) that make up the whole?

What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?

What do you notice (about the way the message is constructed)?
What’s the emotional appeal?
What makes it seem “real?”
What's the emotional appeal? Persuasive devices used?

How might different people understand this message differently from me?

How many other interpretations could there be?
How could we hear about them?
How can you explain the different responses?

What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?

What type of person is the reader/watcher/listener invited to identify with?
What ideas or perspectives are left out?
How would you find what’s missing?
What judgments or statements are made about how we treat other people?

Why is this message being sent?

What's being sold in this message? What's being told?
Who is served by or benefits from the message
– the public?
– private interests?
– individuals?
– institutions?

5 Key Questions of Media Literacy used with permission from the Center for Media Literacy.
Copyright 2002-2021, Center for Media Literacy, www.medialit.com

debate