A review by haf666ia
Gentrification is Inevitable and Other Lies by Leslie Kern

informative slow-paced

3.0

This book was very interesting, and clearly so well researched and written from a very intersectional viewpoint, which I really appreciated. I gained perspective on just how interconnected things are and how gentrification is not just about one thing and it’s not simple. However, as interesting as this book was is was SO dry. This felt like the longest short book I’ve ever read. It is written very academically which was challenging for me, it read like a dry school text. I also wish there were interviews from people in relation to what the chapters were about I wanted to hear more from people affected by gentrification in their own words; the author kept saying “this story I just shared about…” but there actually weren’t any stories present. So that was a bit odd. Overall this seems like a good book for someone who already understands a decent amount about the policies around and history about gentrification, as someone who did not know much it was hard to follow at times but still I gained some insight into how insidious the structures that lead to gentrification are. I also appreciated the last chapter on how some communities have pushed back against gentrification in their neighborhoods, that was a hopeful end to the book.