Poverty is a bigger problem than gentrification

Poverty displaces more people than gentrification and is a bigger, more intractable problem, according to research by City Observatory. The two images above are part of an infographic (click here to see it in full) derived from US city data from 1970 to 2010. Gentrification creates real problems, City Observatory says, but sometimes people forget that  concentrated poverty also displaces substantial numbers of the poor as homes become vacant and buildings fall or burn down. For every one poor neighborhood that gentrified between 1970 and 2010, 19 remained in poverty. In addition, many neighborhoods that were formerly wealthy become poor over time (often slowly, so people don't notice).