Gentrification and foodscapes: An integrative review of neighborhood change and food access

This article presents a purposive integrative review of research published since 2000 examining the dynamics of food environments and residents’ experiences of food access in relation to urban gentrification. The review synthesizes findings on how food environments and gentrification processes interact and how these interactions influence access for different groups. Guided by a realist Context–Mechanism–Outcome framework, the analysis identifies recurring mechanisms across diverse contexts, focusing on how food establishments function as drivers and signals of neighborhood change, how foodscape transformations create uneven access across demographic groups, and how communities respond. From an initial pool of 1353 publications, 40 empirical and theoretical studies were selected through a multi-step screening process. Four pathways emerge that clarify the mechanisms linking food retail transformations and neighborhood change in gentrifying areas. Symbolic displacement describes situations where new food spaces signal the beginning of customer switch before economic displacement occurs. Economic exclusion captures how food establishments contribute to rising costs of living and the pricing out of long-term residents. Racialized commodification refers to the appropriation and marketing of communities’ foodways to wealthier, predominantly white newcomers. Community resistance encompasses adaptations such as ethnic food stores and cooperatives that support resilience but may also unintentionally accelerate displacement or serve incoming residents. The review provides a framework for understanding how gentrification shapes food access and highlights opportunities for future research, including mixed-method approaches that capture these dynamics holistically. Interventions that strengthen community agency while addressing structural, economic, and cultural pressures may help preserve equitable food access in neighborhoods undergoing gentrification.