A: What do you think of the plans to redevelop urban villages?

    B: Gentrification in itself is not bad. But it should not run ahead of the vast populace.

    Note: The term refers to the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals. First coined in the 1960s by sociologist Ruth Glass, the term gentrification is a popular topic in the discussion of urban development. Glass observed that although the middle class were “uplifting” the status and condition of previously run-down residential areas, the displacement of poorer families and small businesses and the disappearance of their local culture and history were among the problematic outcomes of this process.