"a process of renovating or improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste "
By definition, gentrification is meant to create a better balance in society, providing new and improved facilities to all. Despite it appearing as change for good, it has both positives and negatives.
As communities and districts are developed and improved the value of the place increases. Better facilities are provided, there is more equity and standards are reached. However with improvement and redevelopment, the cost of living in the same area increases by far. In most cases a financial barrier acts as a filtering device, forcing all those who can't afford the new living costs to move out.
On the other hand, there were cases where previous tenants who were still able to afford the new costs of living still moved out due to the rapid change and development. Despite being provided with a range of living facilities made affordable by the developers, people still found it difficult to adapt.
Therefore it seems gentrification can't be classified as exactly good or bad as it really just depends on your perspective and experiences. An example of gentrification can be seen in this video.
This video gives us an example of gentrification in a neighbourhood which caused the original community to move out, and as a result the feeling of a community was lost. The boys explain how gentrification in their neighbourhood failed because the needs of the previous tenants was not considered by the developers. They also explain that a much better result could be achieved if consideration and importance could be given to the original community so that the sense of community would only grow instead of being lost.
I think it can be agreed that the intention behind gentrification is what's important. More importantly, the correct execution of this could lead to a neighbourhood being gentrified for a more promising outcome.
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