The major difference between gentrification and infill development is that infill development does not always involve physical displacement whereas gentrification does. This is because infill development describes any development on unused or blighted land. When successful, infill development creates stable, mixed income communities. Gentrification is more strongly associated with the development of higher-end shopping centers, apartment complexes, and industrial sites. These structures are developed on used land, with the goal of attracting higher income residents to maximize the capital of a certain area. The mixed income communities seen during gentrification are inherently transitional (based on how gentrification is defined), whereas the mixed-income communities caused by infill development are ideally stable.
