For middle- and upper-class white people, gentrification–when poor urban areas are taken over by influxes of wealthier people—represents new opportunities for profit and investment. 

For people in the poor and working classes, immigrants, and marginalized people, though, it all too often means displacement, increased economic hardship, and the loss of communities. 

Further, gentrification is often oversimplified by observers on both sides of the debate. 

The first step toward understanding and mitigating its harmful effects, Kern argues, is acknowledging the full range of factors that contribute to gentrification—and the demographics who are most impacted by it. 

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