Gentrification seems to often be used as a stand-in for ghettoization. I could rationalize the need to increase the tax base thru targeted renewal if it was clear that increased revenue was being shared across the board to improve schools, low-income housing, policing, services, etc. And I could even (albeit weakly), overlook the absence of community input, rationalizing with those improved services as a result of the broader tax base democratic participation would increase. You know: a rising tide raises all the ships.

BUT, considering the anti-gov/anti-tax regressive context we seem to be struggling thru right now, there is no way I can rationalize those ends-justify-the-means benefits of gentrification. To push this metaphor to 11: the captains at the mouth of the harbor don’t think their mooring fees should pay to dredge the rear of the harbor. So why trust them to dredge just one more dock?