Theorizing U.S. fifth-wave gentrification: Rental financialization and racial repercussions

Gentrification, the socioeconomic ascent of a neighborhood that threatens to displace low-income residents, has become central to urban scholarship over the past two decades. Yet there is still debate about what contemporary factors drive it and whether the process reproduces and exacerbates racial inequalities. We add to the gentrification literature by explaining how the drivers of gentrification have transformed in the last 20 years during two distinct gentrification waves: fourth- and fifth-wave gentrification. While there has been some initial, but limited, work on gentrification waves, we advance this theoretical effort in two important ways. First, fifth-wave gentrification is discernible from fourth-wave gentrification due to the increased presence of rental market financialization. Second, we argue that rental financialization associated with the fallout of the Great Recession exacerbates the racial repercussions of gentrification. Our U.S. fifth-wave perspective positions scholars to better assess future gentrification drivers and racial outcomes.