Taking race seriously in gentrification research

In a recent analysis of trends in gentrification scholarship, Fallon (2020) argues that scholarly treatments of race and gentrification tend to treat race as “epiphenomenal to class in ways that do not require a clear racial logic.” This fact betrays the residents and observers of gentrifying minority communities, who often discuss gentrification in explicitly racial terms. This chapter responds to calls for increased race analysis in gentrification literature (Lees 2016) by presenting a case for taking race seriously in gentrification scholarship, debates, and policy. We argue that these issues present missing pieces in the understanding and debates surrounding gentrification and show how insights into these areas help understand contemporary race and racism. We conclude by drawing attention to the demands of activists in gentrifying neighborhoods, opportunities for future research, and the political implications of these issues.