There's Basically No Way Not to Be a Gentrifier classism, gentrification, intersectionality, and oppression It’s that combination, with an assist from generations of rotten and racist urban policies, that makes economic segregation so widespread and pernicious. It also explains why it’s growing so quickly – faster, even, than economic inequality. And it’s why none of your personal decisions about where or how to live will have any effect on gentrification. Being considerate to your neighbors might make you a good person, but I’d like to suggest that you have another kind of responsibility: to be aware of these underlying systemic processes and use what social and political power you have to change them. The exact solutions can be debated, but I would start by lobbying your local government for housing subsidies for the low-income, protections against eviction due to rising rents, and an end to exclusionary caps on housing construction that keep prices artificially high.