The Harms of Gentrification

Abstract

Abstract The harms of gentrification are typically associated with displacement, and this chapter categorizes these objections as involving (1) distributive inequalities, (2) loss of community character, and (3) social inequalities. The first and third categories of harm are grave injustices and the source of enduring inequality. The second category of injury, the loss of community character, is essentially a stand-in for the disadvantages of social inequality. In response to standard views of these harms, this chapter maintains that groups do not have legitimate claims to any territory based on social identity alone. It explains that these harms are deeply related to the history of racial segregation and discrimination in housing. To address this enduring injustice, it argues that corrective justice is due to those who currently suffer the ill effects of segregation, concentrated disadvantage, and concentrated poverty.