Coffee Shops: their Roles in Urban Gentrification

Lori Li, Jericho Senior High School
6/27/2026

There is no doubt that the rise in coffee shops has been evident around the world. Jennifer Ferreira, a human geography researcher at Coventry University, explains in the United Kingdom alone, there were over 25,000 shops in 2019 with a market value of £10.1 billion (Ferreira et al. 21). These places are referred to as “third places,” places not at home or work, making them a potential site for community-building. However, they resemble a class struggle from discussions over how these areas should be used. Maya Mueller, who led a team of scientists at Drexel University, posits “[g]entrification occurs when a neighborhood is restructured to accommodate a wealthier social class and results in rapid changes to the urban landscape…The gentrification process alters the built environment in all cases” (Mueller et al. e0341844). Thus, coffee shops reflect and accelerate urban gentrification by transforming “third places,” increasing economic displacement and reinforcing cultural erasure.

Coffee shops serve as “third places,” being the first factor in urban gentrification. Third places allow for people to build communities and form new ideas. Yuquan Zhou, a PhD candidate at the University of Southern California, concludes “the coffee shop, particularly in the context of western countries, is a critical indicator of urban vitality as it can be seen as the third location of urban life after the workplace and the home, offering individuals areas in which to socialize, develop connections, and exchange ideas” (Zhou et al.). The characterization of coffee shops as third places highlights their ability to foster social connection, but they can become exclusionary when these spaces begin to cater towards wealthier customers. The concept of beautification, or the process of increasing the visual appeal of an area, is an effect of establishing coffee shops, which are commonly seen as “aesthetic.”

In lower income areas, coffee shops are perceived to increase the visual value of that area. As a result, the spaces attract an influx of people (particularly young professionals) who seek to invest in these low-rent areas. Harry Hiller and Pernille Goodbrand from the Department of Sociology at University of Calgary exemplify this, asserting “the Canadian city of Calgary, a rapidly growing city of 1.3 million residents, provides an interesting case of a slum-like area as part of the downtown core that has resisted redevelopment for many years but has undergone a reimaging process with a new definition as a ‘village’” (Hiller and Goodbrand 49). The resurgence of urban spaces is tied to the building of coffee shops, drawing in more people that then shape or create new social classes after these areas become gentrified. This resurgence demonstrates that coffee shops are not neutral community spaces, but reshape neighborhoods in ways that align with gentrification. The spaces privilege certain socioeconomic groups, reinforcing inequality.

Beyond social restructuring, coffee shops create economic consequences for residents by causing price increases in areas these shops are built in. Similar to beautification, coffee shops increase not just “visual value,” but provide economic opportunities to make revenue and attract neighborhood visitors. Ziqi Xu, a researcher from the China University of Mining, explains that gentrified communities tend to have coffee shops in the area. This is proven by a study conducted in China, where Xu concludes “in Beijing, [coffee shops] were often located in rapidly gentrified hutong areas, further reinforcing the connection between [coffee shops] and economic development” (Xu et al.). Wealthy buyers are catered towards, pushing current residents out. Even with chain coffee shops, their menus often gear towards customers who are seen as “valuable,” or customers who are willing to pay said prices for coffee. Eventually, prices in the area rise from higher-paying customers moving into the area, which is the literal definition of gentrification. As a result, residents are displaced from increased prices in an area. Known as the Frappuccino Effect, in which areas located near prominent coffee shops (such as Starbucks) have a higher land value.

This economic shift is not new, but rooted in a longer history of colonialism. Maryanne Rhett, professor and historian from Monmouth University, corroborates “while coffee consumption spread rapidly between the 1400s and the early 1500s, coffee cultivation did not. Coffee cultivation remained in Ethiopia until the sixteenth century, when it was introduced to Yemen in the decades before 1543. The introduction of coffee into Yemen left an epistemological imprint on the commodity, which became more entrenched as it continued to spread around the world” (Rhett 59-60). Furthermore, coffee exploded in popularity following the Industrial Revolution due to the need to provide more energy to work longer hours in factories or jobs that require repetitive tasks. Karl Marx mentions this in his speech on Free Trade in 1848, stating “You believe perhaps, gentlemen, that the production of coffee and sugar is the natural destiny of the West Indies. Two centuries ago, nature, which does not trouble herself about commerce, had planted neither sugar-cane nor coffee there” (“Sugar and colonialism” 37). In addition, Anicka Fast, a specialist in missiology from Boston University, illustrates this idea through her analysis of coffee’s history centered on Kafumba, Congo, which was supervised by the Mennonite Brethren (MB) Conference in 1943. Fast states “the work at Kafumba was largely self-supporting through the production of coffee, palm oil, and food crops…After taking over the work, the MB Conference promptly liquidated the palm and coffee plantations” (Fast 438-439).

The nineteenth century allowed coffee shops to perpetuate ideologies of discrimination. It was not until the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany where the dissociation with Jewish people and coffee shops was carried out, where coffee shops became a popularized space. Anson Rabinbach, the Philip and Beulah Rollins Professor of History at Princeton University, asserts “for the antisemites, coffee shops were sites of iniquity and criminality attributed to Jewish owners and habitues…it was transformed…into a uniquely ‘Viennese cultural space’ by ‘removing any association with Jews and popular entertainment’” (Rabinbach 8). By placing negative connotations towards a group of people, it becomes part of the justification for wealthier newcomers to create displacement. Today, those groups of people are lower-income residents that are historically marginalized.

Different brewing methods of coffee have also created a dynamic where specialty coffee is seen as superior. In local areas where coffee shops are family-owned and craft menus catered towards cultures, coffee shops are seen as a potential for culture building. However, big chain restaurants serve generic flavors such as espresso and lattes, in contrast to local businesses that may serve beverages such as Ethiopian Buna (coffee ceremony culture), or Middle Eastern Qahwa, which is coffee spiced with cardamom. Tatiana Esther Blanco-Pacheco, leading a team of researchers from the Faculty of Business and Economics Sciences at the Universidad Del Magdalena writes “[c]offee is cultivated in >100 countries, with Brazil ranking first, followed by Vietnam and Colombia…More than 50% of coffee is consumed in countries located in the Global North, whereas 100% of coffee is cultivated in countries in the Global South” (Blanco-Pacheco et al.).

This whitewashing is perpetuated by building more coffee shops in lower income communities, erasing cultural methods of food and drink, and attracting customers that buy from big coffee. Not only has the history of coffee been built on colonizing actions, these ideologies dominate the cultural impact of the coffee industry on society today. This cultural gentrification also amounts to urban gentrification through the logic that the superior displace former cultures because they are considered “poor” or “lower.” In the context of coffee shops, displacement isn’t just through rising prices, catering towards the wealthy, and pushing people out, but through the very idea that “large-corporation” coffee appeals to the more Western and colonial styles of life that these “wealthy” people have historically been the dominant population of. This historical pattern of cultural dominance persists today, with modern coffee industries reproducing global inequalities through urban gentrification.

Some may argue that while coffee in the big industry does take part in gentrification, local coffee shops that serve traditional menus shouldn’t play a role in these discussions. While local coffee shops may foster cultural preservation on a small scale, their limited presence cannot combat the broader structures driving gentrification. Franklin Ng, professor in the Anthropology Department at California State University explains food is the basis of life and an important aspect of culture (Ng 113). While it is a true argument that food and culture, such as coffee culture, are pivotal in life, traditional coffee shops are not widespread around the country as big coffee corporations take over the industry. Gentrification still exists with the coffee industry not being equally profitable across the board. Thus, this assertion does not preclude the fact that big coffee is the main contributor to gentrification. Market forces and corporate expansion operate at a scale that small businesses currently cannot overpower.

As a result of gentrification changing social and economic ties, there are impacts to the community as a whole. Kylil R. Martin, assistant professor at California State University, clarifies that replacing traditional and local third places changes the new area’s ability to create social ties, explaining “the loss of communal third places disrupts established social networks and can contribute to feelings of alienation among displaced residents” (Martin). Therefore, while gentrification already has impacts on neighborhoods, simply replacing them with more coffee shops or local coffee shops cannot completely reverse the cultural damage done. Although local coffee shops are not contributors to such gentrification, they make up far too little of the total number of coffee shops in the United States or world, meaning gentrification still happens. This is not to discourage any strategies to mitigate gentrification.

These impacts raise a question, particularly how to combat gentrification. The best alternative is community building. For instance, ballparks and stadiums are also sites of community building. Through similar interests, stronger social bonds are created. Similar to coffee shops, these public spaces are where diverse interests often clash. Ann Killion, a sports journalist who writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, states these ballparks also reflect a struggle between conflicting teams but ultimately, nostalgia ties them all together (Killion). Tying sentiment and emotion to coffee shops can be a resolution for these struggles by embracing differences to create a more cohesive experience within a community. Ballparks demonstrate how competing interests can still be unified with shared spaces. Coffee shops reveal a contrast with how these shared spaces can reinforce class struggles because they often rely on economic exclusivity, not a collective identity pertaining to ballparks. Not all social spaces function equally, but this contrast suggests that the issue is not coffee shops, but how they function within communities.

Joe War-Wallace, a retired firefighter in Los Angeles, noticed the economic complications of the recent coronavirus pandemic, noting the development of luxury infrastructure that local residents weren’t able to afford. Ward-Wallace opened up a coffee shop and market as a method for cultural preservation and “renaissance” by operating a Black-owned cafe in his community. The shop “sales increased by 10 percent each month,” and Ward-Wallace reflects “we were on an upward swing right before COVID to reclaim our community” (“Minority Entrepreneurs”). Community building serves as an emphasis that still allows for reduced effects of gentrification by reclaiming a sense of community and identity. Prioritizing local businesses is a push to reorient these third spaces to promote inclusion, which can mitigate forces driving gentrification even if it cannot fully eliminate it.

Coffee shops, especially large corporations, are indicators of urban gentrification by becoming sites for young gentrifiers, creating economic shifts, and perpetuating colonialist ideas of cultural erasure. However, local coffee shops or even just shops with an emphasis on community building can mitigate these effects, allowing this beverage to be enjoyed without erasing identity. Understanding coffee shops as agents for gentrification helps clarify how communicates can redefine shared spaces.

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