Social media can reveal rising gentrification and reduce its negative impacts

Gentrification in big cities is a trend which is increasing the value of properties and therefore causing a displacement of lower-income families and small business. Its negative impacts could be addressed and reduced in the cities of tomorrow if we can predict gentrification in its early stage. A team of scientists in the UK used data from social media networks like Twitter (consisting of tweets, check-ins, and interactions among friends in a particular young and hip social groups) to reveal patterns of London’s gentrification. The study found that London’s poorest areas, which were visited by diverse social media users, eventually became gentrified neighborhoods.