Which statement best defines gentrification?

• A. A decline in urban investment leading to neighborhood decay.
• B. Influx of higher-income residents into lower-income neighborhoods, raising property values and rents.
• C. A government policy that prohibits development in city centers.
• D. A process of converting urban areas into industrial zones.

Answer: (B)

Gentrification describes the process where higher-income residents move into lower-income neighborhoods, driving up property values and rents. This influx often follows reinvestment, renovation, and new amenities that raise a neighborhood’s desirability. While it can bring improved housing stock, services, and investment, it also tends to raise costs for existing residents and can lead to displacement as rents and taxes climb. It’s about market-driven demographic and economic changes within a city’s housing landscape, not a policy ban or a shift to industrial use.