Gentrification is a complex process whereby wealthier, typically white newcomers move into a neighborhood and displace former residents, who are often working-class and/or people of color. The word “gentrification” was coined in 1964 by a British sociologist named Ruth Glass whose observations in London: Aspects of Change describe the displacement of working-class residents by wealthier residents in London. However, while the term was coined in 1964, the process has been in use for far longer. Gentrification happens all over the world, but in recent years, it has been discussed extensively within the context of neighborhoods in large US cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Diego, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and many others. Although Take Back the Block is set in an unspecified city, Chrystal D. Giles states in her Afterword that the novel’s setting is loosely based on Charlotte, North Carolina, which is her hometown. However, she was first struck by the effects of gentrification while visiting Harlem, a historically Black neighborhood in New York City.

Gentrification does not occur instantaneously; it can take years for the population demographics of a neighborhood to change, and some neighborhoods go through several cycles of gentrification.