Since the earliest texts on gentrification appeared, the process has been represented in terms of binary oppositions, for example, inner city—suburb. I question these representations, which have been constructed as sites of difference. Some of these have become particularly prevalent if not dominant in the literature, some have become stereotypes. I illustrate these assertions through the analysis of four gentrification texts: academic, journalist, realtor, and gentrifier. I conclude that representations of gentrification and their expression through sites of difference need to be more nuanced or mobile, especially as many of these dualisms are becoming or can be displaced. A middle ground or space should be sought, for it is at the overlap and displacement of difference that the identity of gentrification is most traceable.
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