Gentrification vs reinvestment from CNU

Gentrification is a complicated issue: definitions abound and the topic is one that brings out the most impassioned diatribes about how neighborhoods should develop. Discussions easily lead to polarizaion. Here's CNU president John Norquist's perspective.

The thing is, gentrification as used to denote the outpacing of neighborhood improvements against conservation of existing positive aspects of the neighborhood, bears the blame for too many other broken social systems. (Gentrification is also over-used to generalize, which is really the point of Norquist's op-ed.) Improvement efforts that occur with enlightened developers, through asset-based community development, through collaborative city agencies, through a partnership between the neighborhood and the city, are typically perceived as the exception to the norm. There isn't a comprehensive system to recognize indigenous neighborhood assets, to protect, integrate and utilize those assets for positive improvement. But there isn't one single way that a neighborhood should be improved either.