^^^^ that has been the enigma for all urban societies throughout the millennia in all countries on earth for all time. Communism's main tenet was to eliminate the bourgeoisie in favor of an egalitarian society and in those countries where the precepts of the idea initiated revolutions, other elements soon got in the way -- the corruption of power, the primacy of ruling class, separation by race, ignorance of history and ethnic order, and so on. In Edmonton, too, gentrification has always been a thing and, I am afraid to say so, but will most likely always be. In a Capitalist society unchecked greed and thirst for dominance by power will ever be an outcome. The two -- Communism and Capitalism -- are at opposite ends of a polar world view; it is extremely difficult to find and maintain the middle ground.
First Nations of the Pacific Northwest practiced a cultural meme known as "potlatch" the act of status attached to giving (rather than taking). A good starting point for urban society would be maintaining the act of lifting the poorest among us to at least the level of basic care -- health, shelter, and food sustenance. We have tried some of the more basic of these in the effort of mixing sustainable housing into all new developments, universal health care (more successful in Canada than in the U.S.), and providing food vouchers (in whatever form). Unfortunately, if I am an individual hard put upon, I am looked down by society in general. Until we can view "the poor" as an opportunity for investment to raise the bar for all society, we will continue to falter and there will be gentrification -- it is unavoidable!
