Review Of Willy Staley's 'Online Culture Of Gentrification'

Describe the current event(s) that it is linked to.
The author, Willy Staley, seems to have derived inspiration from an article he read about the gentrification of a food called chopped cheese. In his article Staley mentions many phenomenons that have been present in popular culture recently. These are tiny houses, “raw water,” “van life,” and the idea of being a good gentrifier. In his description of different fads Staley brings up the role that the internet has played in these trends. He mentions listicles published by websites like Thought Catalogue and AlterNet that help feed into the online culture of gentrification.
What do we learn about the etymology of the word/phrase?
“Gentrification” was coined by sociologist Ruth Glass as

One of the most obvious being cause and effect. Staley says why a neighborhood would be gentrified, for instance artists finding cheap space, and then ends his piece with a description of the final effects of gentrification; he described it as a shell neighborhood used as a way to store foreign money. To get from the cause to the effect, Staley also uses process mapping. He explains clearly defined “stages” of gentrification, walking the readers through the different people and businesses that take root in the neighborhood. It starts with artists, moving to middle class, bankers, and then the foreign shell corporations discussed above. Staley also uses example and metaphor in the beginning and end of the piece. Staley opens up by describing the gentrification of objects that his reader would probably be familiar with, like kale or pho. This gives the readers concrete examples to refer to as Staley develops his argument. At the end Staley uses metaphor explain how all of the cultural vibrancy is taken out of a neighborhood when major companies and foreign corporation buy up property. He compares this to that of the smoothing of a river rock when the water rushes over

By this logic things can also be gentrified because gentrification is more about taking someones lifestyle as opposed to their economic assets. Having visited many recently gentrified neighborhoods, like North Park in San Diego, I have noticed that the people who live and work their aren’t trying to develop the area in an economically profitable way, but instead fit a certain “aesthetic.” New residents keep some of the grit of the old neighborhood and then add fancy coffee shops, boutiques, record stores, and other niche businesses that are usually associated with a more bohemian lifestyle. My opinion on Staley’s claim is also informed by my parents and their experiences. My mom grew up in Brooklyn and I went back to her old neighborhood with my family when I was a kid. When we visited the deli my family used to go to, the original owners were still there and remembered my mom and her siblings. For my mom, visiting her old neighborhood and seeing it very much unchanged made her feel like a part of her childhood was preserved. When we went to Williamsburg in 2015 my mom felt lost and anxious. Her old burrow, an area that she identifies with, had become unrecognizable to her. She may not have been priced out of property, but she had still lost something valuable. So, I do agree with Staley’s central claim. However, I think Staley was missing one qualifying statement.