How can gentrification affect ethnoracial neighborhoods and school zoning?

• A. Influx of higher-income residents raises property values; displacement; changes in school enrollment patterns; potential re-segregation.
• B. Always lowers property values and increases affordable housing.
• C. Has no impact on school zones.
• D. Only affects commercial properties.

Answer: (A)

When a neighborhood undergoes gentrification, higher-income newcomers push up property values and rents. That often displaces long-time residents, especially low-income families and communities of color, changing who lives there. As the neighborhood’s ethnoracial makeup shifts, the number and composition of students in nearby schools also change. Families moving out or in alter school enrollments, which can lead to redrawn attendance patterns or zoning adjustments and, in some cases, a move toward re-segregation of student groups. Property values and funding linked to them also influence how resources are distributed across schools, reinforcing changes in school populations over time.

The other options don’t fit because gentrification typically raises property values rather than lowers them, it does affect school zones by changing enrollments, and its influence isn’t limited to commercial properties—housing and schools are both involved.