BU Sociologist Japonica Brown-Saracino’s New Book Looks at How the Meaning of Gentrification Has Changed
Boston University ethnographer Japonica Brown-Saracino says gentrification means more than a fresh coat of paint and rising real estate prices in old neighborhoods. It’s about how the market can turn anything into a hot commodity—and take it out of the hands of the people who nurtured it.
Brown-Saracino, a BU College of Arts & Sciences professor and chair of sociology, specializes in urban and community sociology and cultural sociology. Her new book, The Death and Life of Gentrification: A New Map of a Persistent Idea (Princeton University Press, 2026) examines how the word has evolved from a description of neighborhood change to a socially charged metaphor for cultural appropriation, upscaling, and loss of authenticity.