254: Is gentrification inevitable — or is it political?

In this special dialogue episode of Urbcast, two leading urban thinkers — Leslie Kern (The Feminist City, Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies) and Samuel Stein (Capital City) — join the conversation to unpack the forces reshaping our cities.

From Toronto to New York, we explore how housing became an asset class, why planners operate within political constraints, and how tenant movements are pushing back against the real estate state.

We discuss:

• Financialization of housing

• The politics of densification

• Rent stabilization and community land trusts

• Feminist urbanism and care-centered cities

• Whether regeneration can happen without displacement

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