"Times Square was the capital of exhibitionism, " Sharon Zukin, a professor at Brooklyn College and author of "Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places, " a book chronicling the city's gentrification in recent decades.

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How Detroit copes with the changing community and gentrification in a city that is 90 percent African-American remains to be seen.

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The trend is driven by real estate prices and is particularly acute in the expensive New York City area, where there is a "real consciousness" about gentrification, Davidson said.

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Much of the city remains home to poor neighborhoods with dilapidated housing, and recent gentrification in parts of Washington has pushed some working-class residents to the outskirts of the metro area.

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South Boston's city councillor, Jimmy Kelly, says the motives for the deals are noble ones: to make sure gentrification doesn't displace his longtime, working-class constituents.

ECONOMIST: Development in Boston