The author and contributors of this book seek to present alternatives to the mainstream discussions of gentrification. It does not present a single coherent vision of the causes, effects and experiences of gentrification, but a number of different views that do not always coincide. What the authors have in common is the attempt to escape a naive empiricism which has dominated much mainstream research, as well as the conviction that questions of social class lie at the heart of this issue. This book was first published in 1986.