Does Gentrification help or harm a community?

Gentrification is the process of renovating and improving housing and business districts so that it conforms to the middle-class taste. Gentrification is most frequently affecting predominantly black neighborhoods across the United States. This phenomenon is claimed to be the cause of the displacement of residents in poorer communities and of a cultural shift in neighborhoods with deep rooted histories. It could also be the case that gentrification is mainly hurting the long-time residents of these neighborhoods rather than hurting the actual neighborhoods themselves. Research on this topic includes, but is not limited to, various demographic data including before and after analysis of the neighborhood. It’s said that residents of these neighborhoods are being pushed out and around to surrounding neighborhoods so another point of research that is conducted is to observe the areas around the gentrified section using several different radii. Gentrification has also been praised because supporters of it claim it has been the result of the reestablishment of historical neighborhoods and has restored these neighborhoods to their former glory. To examine the impacts of gentrification I will examine property values, crime, and income per capita among other variables that will measure demographic changes in neighborhoods. This could also be further proof that gentrification is mainly hurting the long-time residents of these neighborhoods rather than hurting the actual neighborhoods themselves. The purpose of this research topic is observe the effects of gentrification before and after it occurs to determine if it has really helped or hurt the affected neighborhood