Yordanos GebrekidanUrban PolicyGovernment Term Paper4.6.2014Gentrification in the Washington Metropolitan AreaAmong the many issues affecting urban communities, both locally and abroad, there is one in particular, which has been the victimization of the poor within urban areas. communities for almost a century; that would be the problem of gentrification. Gentrification is a word used to describe the process by which urban communities are forced to adopt improvements in housing, businesses, and general appearance. Usually hidden behind less abrasive or less stigmatized terms such as; “urban renewal” or “community revitalization” What the process of gentrification attempts to do is remove all undesirable elements from a particular community or neighborhood, in favor of commercial and residential improvements designed to enhancing both the function and aesthetic appeal of this particular community. . The purpose of this article is to make the reader aware of the importance of the gentrification process and its underlying impact on community and community participation. The problem however, with these "renewal projects", is that the changes implemented are generally never intended to benefit the long-time residents of these communities, these changes are generally aimed at eliminating the element of poverty that exists in many of these communities (which is a direct result of decades of neglect) in exchange for the ability to meet broader demand. a wealthy population (generally less “ethnic”). Simply put, city planners, elected officials, potential businesses, and even law enforcement, all converge in an effort to drive the poor out of an area by simply making it too nice and by extension…. . middle of paper. ....r of inequality in America, with so much poverty located close to the White House. That being said, gentrification efforts in Washington seem to focus on eliminating the poor, or at the very least, the visual image of crime, poverty, and corruption as it relates to the most powerful city of the country. Community activist groups have repeatedly tried to prevent gentrification from affecting their community, but often to no avail. What's really sad is that even though this cycle continually perpetuates itself as a matter of "haves versus have-nots," the way in which this system still seems to disproportionately marginalize one race of people in favor of another raises concerns. the question of whether or not gentrification was orchestrated to work in this way; and if so, what will the groups concerned do?.