Gentrify

Gentrify

Welcome to the Voice of America’s News Words.

Little Haiti is an area of Miami in the U.S. state of Florida.

It is home to many immigrants from Haiti and other Caribbean islands.

GENTRIFY

Little Haiti is filled with Haitian businesses and art.

But some business owners are concerned that wealthy buyers will gentrify the area.

In 2016, prices for office space rose 50 percent, forcing many Haitian-owned businesses to close.

To gentrify is to make a poor area appealing to people with money.

As wealthy people gentrify an area, those with less money can no longer afford to stay there.