My experience with gentrification has not been racial. Downtown Seattle was gentrified by MicroSerfs, who drove out the art community. North Hollywood was (sort of) gentrified by "hipsters" for lack of a better word, who drove out the gangs (Armenian and Mexican - Archie Bunker can be racist against both, but it's a stretch for most casual haterz, besides, without those two there's, like, zero food worth eating in Los Angeles). Not to say it doesn't happen, but to say it's not the exclusive cause.

Outside of racism, gentrification is driven by capital. People buy fixer-upper houses. They also move into fixer-upper neighborhoods. And while the old residents can't afford the taxes necessary to rebuild the sidewalks, the new residents get strident about it. Eventually, you hit a critical mass where the new residents get their way and the old residents are priced out. OR, the old residents start making the new residents feel unwelcome and someone cries "class/race war."

So that's the Ockham's Razor take - "Gentrification is driven by money." That's pretty much what we decided back when we moved the clubs from downtown to Belltown. Then they got too expensive so we moved them to Ballard. Then Ballard got too expensive so we moved 'em to Sodo. We'll probably move 'em back downtown in another few years. "Gentrification."

It's worth looking at the page of the art mentioned in the article. That shit ain't hidin' jack. It's hitting it with a highlighter.

It almost seems as if the author has an axe to grind and is perfectly happy to tailor the facts to fit the narrative.