Аннотация:This paper addresses the debate on the relationship between social stratification and gentrification processes –which has prevailed in the English-speaking world. The objective of this approach is to interpret gentrification either as the result of the “natural” evolution of socio-occupational structures in post-industrial societies of the Global North or as a revanchist mechanism for the colonization of central working-class areas. The relationship between the increase in research on gentrification and the expansion of the Latin American middle class over the last 10 years is not coincidental. Bearing in mind the different historic configuration of social classes in Latin America, this paper argues that the emergence of new social segments in urban central areas is the reason behind the dispute and displacement of lower-income groups. However, the analysis of the situation of Quito (2000-2010) shows that people are not “returning to central areas” but colonizing new peri-urban zones, thus adding depth to segregation and replacement processes in the periphery of the consolidated city.
