The Gentrification Acceleration Press Schema: A Critical Examination of Gentrification-Induced Displacement in Later Life

Aging in place is an important environmental consideration in gerontology from the standpoint of research and aging individuals. Although the majority of aging adults in the United States prefer aging in place to relocating to different environments (e.g., retirement communities and cohabitation with adult children), many barriers prevent this outcome. For example, for low-income and marginalized older adults, aging in place is far from a certainty due to historical disadvantages. Unanticipated changes to one's environment, such as neighborhood gentrification, may threaten one's ability to age in place. In certain circumstances, gentrification-induced displacement can lead older adults to experience severe outcomes such as later-life housing insecurity. In this paper, we use a person-environment fit framework and a competence-press model-gentrification acceleration press or GAP-to consider how environmental factors such as gentrification lead to displacement, directly affecting older adults' ability to age in place. By applying and expanding the GAP framework, we explore the contexts and other systemic factors that affect environments of underrepresented older adults and aging in place. Overall, we suggest ways that the GAP schema can guide important future research and help provide an age-inclusive framework for advocates of older adults wishing to age in place.