Change is inevitable, but is gentrification?

Review of A Recipe for Gentrification: Food, Power, and Resistance in the City, edited by Alison Hope Alkon, Yuki Kato, and Joshua Sbicca. First paragraph: A Recipe for Gentrification is a masterful explora­tion of the complex relationship between intent and impact at the intersection of alternative food systems and urban development. The goal of this edited volume is to unpack the ways in which food systems can both drive and resist gentrifica­tion. The introduction lays out the many nuanced drivers of both processes. For instance, well-intentioned efforts to increase food access in a neighborhood can be an early initiator of gentrification. And urban agriculture and public green spaces are frequently co-opted for develop­ment efforts. At its best, food empowers a strong cultural sense of self and fuels efforts for sover­eignty in marginalized communities. This volume aids in exploring these entangled effects through what may be simplified as a study of impact vs. intent. . . .